The biggest paint trend of the past year has nothing to do with a specific shade. It’s all about where you use color, which, to our delight, is everywhere.
The biggest paint trend of the past year has nothing to do with a specific shade. It’s all about where you use color, which, to our delight, is everywhere. This designer-approved approach has fittingly been defined as “color drenching,” or rather painting every surface in a space (the walls, doors, ceiling, window trim, baseboards) in the same hue. The result is cocooning and cozy, so it’s no surprise the pros are loving this look in high-traffic areas like living rooms. If you’ve been wanting to hop on the color-drench train but haven’t been sure where to start, here are some of our favorite examples—and the exact paints you’ll need to get the look.
Coffered ceilings, radiator vents, intricate moldings—color drenching takes the guess work out of painting a room that has a lot going on. Nickey Kehoe proved in this New York City loft that swathing all these features in one hue actually helps unique architectural features sing louder, not fade into the background.
When the design brief is “make a farmhouse feel like a French fashion editor’s cottage in the forest,” where do you even begin with paint colors? For designer Chloe Redmond Warner, founder and principal at Redmond Aldrich Design, that translated to a silvery blue.
This Takoma Park, Maryland, home was the first time designer Colleen Healey had painted a whole floor (walls and ceilings) a color that wasn’t white. The dusty peach shade was inspired by a trip the homeowners took to the Ignacia Guest House in Mexico City.
Color drenching isn’t just for bold color-lovers. Take it from this Chelsea townhouse by Nomad Studio: an earthy white can create that same cocooning feeling, especially when the furniture in the room is warm-toned. Psst: the couch is RH’s Matteo sofa.
You’ll notice quite a few green-drenched sitting rooms on this page, and that’s because the color has a soothing effect when used all over. For the 2025 Serenbe Showhouse in Georgia, Potts Mason Interiors plucked a tint fittingly dubbed Rural Green for the lounge space. Bonus points for the matching Milieu1928 game table.
Karen and Haley Pearson of JP Interiors raised the stakes of this pink-drenched room even higher by opting for a high gloss finish.
Studio Cabida’s thought process behind drenching this San Francisco living room was to quiet-down the heavy millwork. The weathered green pigment was inspired by the fireplace tile.
For a slightly less moodier Farrow & Ball swatch, give this blackened blue shade a try. Ayume Concepts founder Jenny Boutin used it in this TV room in a high-gloss finish to achieve a space that’s bold and unique while still being warm and comfortable.
A color-drenched room can skew playful or serious, depending on how you look at it. Knowing this, designer Gillian Segal covered this Palm Beach space entirely in Card Room Green, opening up the possibilities for it to be used as a lounge, office, or playroom.