How to Use Color Drenching to Create Interesting Spaces

Color drenching is using a single color or color family in a room to reduce the visual noise. The monochromatic technique starts with painting the walls, baseboards, window and door frames, and anything else that's part of the structure of the room one color. While it might sound boring initially, it can be highly impactful for creating a mood.

Once the room is painted, you can increase the effect by keeping the furnishings and décor in the same color family or in a single neutral color, like brown, gray, or white. Color drenching can make a small room appear bigger, a larger room appear more serene, and can help hide unattractive structural pieces like a radiator in plain sight.

For restful sleep, choose softer colors, like pale blue, light gray, or sage green. Anything that makes you feel calmer when you enter the room will work.

With the walls painted, you can choose the same color for your bedding, or a complementary neutral color. For example, if you go with pale blue for your walls but can't quite find the right shade for your bedding, you can use a beautiful cream color instead, like this Queen Bamboo Bedding Bundle in cream and the matching cream Bamboo Duvet Cover. Remember to keep any accessories in the same light blue or cream to keep the look cohesive.

How do you like your bathroom to feel? Are you looking for a vibrant space to help you wake up in the morning, or would you prefer the serenity of a spa to help you relax in the evening? You can create the vibe you crave with color drenching in the bathroom.

For an exhilarating morning routine, try a bright color, like yellow, for the walls and ceiling. Then choose white accessories and décor to help ground it while keeping it bright. This Ribbed Terry Bath Towel Set is perfect for adding a little texture to the room and is amazing for drying off post-soak.

For a more spa-like feel, choose more muted colors like charcoal, periwinkle, or a light grey. For a charcoal room, you could match the shade with this Charcoal Luxe Bath Bundle or keep it in the same color family but brighten the mood slightly with the light grey version.

Make a dramatic first impression with a color-drenched reception area. Despite what you might think, painting from floor to ceiling a midnight blue can make the space appear larger while welcoming your guests with an anything but boring entry.

• Be thoughtful before you start. Bring home paint chips and sit with them for a few days before you dive in. You may realize that the color you love in small doses might feel a little obnoxious if it covers your room.
  
  
• Use tools like ChatGPT to create an AI (artificial intelligence) version of the room to help you get a complete visual effect of painting your room a specific color. We used it to create the examples on this page with prompts like "I'd like to see a home interior entryway color-drenched in midnight blue from the baseboards to the ceiling." Then, we asked for tweaks to the images until we got them just right.
  
  
• Add texture to break it up. If you're concerned painting that everything the same color will make the room look flat, you can mix the paint's textures. Gloss, matte, and satin can go on different parts of the room to add a little dimension while keeping it monochromatic. For example, you can use matte for the ceiling, eggshell for the walls, and semi-gloss for door and window frames.
  
  

Color drenching can impact your space in a big way, and we hope these tips have inspired you to give it a try. We'd love to see how you do it. Post your "after" images and tag us on social media so we can see your room!