6 great ways to use colour drenching in your home
From light and bright to dark and moody, this bold all-over paint effect gives an on-trend style update to any room
Colour drenching can be something of a miracle worker, in spaces both small and large. By painting everything in a room the same colour, from walls to woodwork and ceiling, it’s both a relatively easy and affordable way in which to achieve a range of different effects. A dark room can be given an instant, much-needed lift, or a voluminous area made pleasingly cosy, simply by playing with monochromatic tones.
Small pokey kitchens, narrow passageways, hallways and stairwells can be elevated into statement-making spaces in their own right when given this treatment. A single colour can delineate a section of a room or be used to create a seamless flow, smoothing over the boundaries between wall and floor.
Rather than a fleeting trend, colour drenching has become firmly entrenched in the ranks of serious interior decorating techniques, employed in a number of exciting and surprising ways with the right know-how. There’s an art to it. “It can look utterly beautiful and rather restful, even in darker colours,” says Patrick O’Donnell, brand ambassador for paint and wallpaper manufacturer Farrow & Ball.
A trusted colour consultant, Patrick delves into all things paint-related in his new podcast, The Chromologist in the company of guests ranging from Tan France to fellow-colour expert Kassia St Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Colour. So who better to impart expert knowledge on the subject of colour drenching than Patrick?
There are a few important things to consider before unleashing your creativity. “You can’t go wrong with a little pre-planning,” he says. “Before making any decisions, create a digital or physical mood board with all the room’s elements, from flooring to fabric, lighting to tiles—and, obviously, your paint colour.”
Patrick notes the importance of choosing colours based on your personal preferences. “What looks wonderful in your friend’s house may take on a very different characteristic in your own home.”
Below are Patrick’s expert advice for adding all-over colour punch to rooms and spaces…
6 colour drenching ideas
1. Create Unity
A good starting point when planning your project is to consider a selection of colours based on existing elements in the room. “Don’t commit to a colour until you have your big-spend items in place, such as sofas and curtains. You should be using the paint to unify the overall scheme, as it will be the cheapest element in any room,” notes Patrick. “The colour should be a flattering backdrop, not necessarily the star of the show!” When in doubt, he suggests opting for a mid neutral hue. (“Farrow & Ball’s London Stone teams with anything, from soft whites to steel blues and drab greens.”)
2 Bold or subtke
Colour washing is highly effective in creating a cohesive aesthetic. But there are two distinct ways of going about it. One is to use the same matt finish over everything for a bold visual statement, according to Patrick (he suggests using a multi-surface paint such as Farrow & Ball’s Dead Flat, which can be applied to walls, wood and metal.). The other is a more subtle approach, but which creates no less visual excitement. “Create gentle textural contrast and subtle sheen shifts by using one colour in different finishes, like eggshell for woodwork and emulsion for walls,” he says. “If you have a lot of decorative detail in a room, such as picture rails and fitted furniture, this technique helps to soften all these features but not obliterate them.”
3. THINK PINK
The Barbie moment might have been and gone, but pinks and glowing coral hues remain a winner when it comes to imbuing softness or a flush of feminine energy in otherwise cold interiors. “Use a gentle earth pink (like Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster) to warm up and lift a poorly lit room, which fades to a blush neutral in brighter spaces,” Patrick says.
4. EMBRACE THE DARK
Intense earthy hues and rich deep blues and greens work magic in making spaces feel significantly cosier. Don’t be afraid to take it even further in even darker hues for extra visual drama. “A charcoal black with a hint of blue (such as Farrow & Ball’s Hopper Head) can look striking in a bedroom, even if poorly lit. For a splash of relief, accent it with something strong on upholstery like burnt orange.”
5. PLAY WITH LIGHT
It might seem obvious, but before you take the plunge, test how a colour responds to the light in the room through all the stages of the day (and evening). Depending on which direction a room faces, the overall effect of the colour you use is likely to be markedly different.
“A blue-gray paint with a touch of green in it looks lovely in a west-facing room, reading more architectural and cool in the morning light and softening to a gentle green at the latter end of the day,” Patrick says. “Use a colour like Farrow & Ball’s Ball Green, a fresher take on French Gray, for a cosy living room or guest bedroom.”
6. ADD SCALE
While lighter hues used from floor to ceiling will immediately make a room appear more spacious, there are a few subtle tricks that can boost this effect.
“Colour drenching is a good idea for small rooms as you are creating less contrast through using different colours on particular details, such as a bedroom with fitted wardrobes. Painting the wardrobes and similar furnishings in the same colour as the walls will help to elongate the proportions of wall,” he says. “In rooms with low ceilings, paint the skirting out in the wall colour will give the illusion of greater height.”
Colour drenching can be something of a miracle worker, in spaces both small and large. By painting everything in a room the same colour, from walls to woodwork and ceiling, it’s both a relatively easy and affordable way to achieve a range of different effects. A dark room can be given an instant, much-needed lift, or a voluminous area made pleasingly cosy, simply by playing with monochromatic tones.
Small pokey kitchens, narrow passageways, hallways and stairwells can be elevated into statement-making spaces in their own right when given this treatment. A single colour can delineate a section of a room or be used to create a seamless flow, smoothing over the boundaries between wall and floor.
Rather than a fleeting trend, colour drenching has become firmly entrenched in the ranks of serious interior decorating techniques, employed in a number of exciting and surprising ways with the right know-how.
But, there’s an art to it. “It can look utterly beautiful and rather restful, even in darker colours,” Patrick O’Donnell, brand ambassador for paint and wallpaper manufacturer Farrow & Ball, tells Country Living.
A trusted colour consultant, Patrick delves into all things paint-related in his new podcast, The Chromologist in the company of guests ranging from Tan France to fellow-colour expert Kassia St Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Colour. So who better to impart expert knowledge on the subject of colour drenching than Patrick?
There are a few important things to consider before unleashing your creativity. “You can’t go wrong with a little pre-planning,” he says. “Before making any decisions, create a digital or physical mood board with all the room’s elements, from flooring to fabric, lighting to tiles—and, obviously, your paint colour.”
Patrick notes the importance of choosing paint colours based on your personal preferences. “What looks wonderful in your friend’s house may take on a very different characteristic in your own home.”
Below is Patrick’s expert advice for adding all-over colour punch to rooms and spaces…
6 expert ways to use colour drenching
Bold or subtle?
Colour washing is highly effective in creating a cohesive aesthetic. But there are two distinct ways of going about it. One is to use the same matt finish over everything for a bold visual statement, according to Patrick (he suggests using a multi-surface paint such as Farrow & Ball’s Dead Flat, which can be applied to walls, wood and metal.).
The other is a more subtle approach, but which creates no less visual excitement. “Create gentle textural contrast and subtle sheen shifts by using one colour in different finishes, like eggshell for woodwork and emulsion for walls,” he says. “If you have a lot of decorative detail in a room, such as picture rails and fitted furniture, this technique helps to soften all these features but not obliterate them.”
Create unity
A good starting point when planning your project is to consider a selection of colours based on existing elements in the room. “Don’t commit to a colour until you have your big-spend items in place, such as sofas and curtains. You should be using the paint to unify the overall scheme, as it will be the cheapest element in any room,” notes Patrick.
“The colour should be a flattering backdrop, not necessarily the star of the show!” When in doubt, he suggests opting for a mid neutral hue. (“Farrow & Ball’s London Stone teams with anything, from soft whites to steel blues and drab greens.”)
Play with light
It might seem obvious, but before you take the plunge, test how a colour responds to the light in the room through all the stages of the day (and evening). Depending on which direction a room faces, the overall effect of the colour you use is likely to be markedly different.
“A blue-gray paint with a touch of green in it looks lovely in a west-facing room, reading more architectural and cool in the morning light and softening to a gentle green at the latter end of the day,” Patrick says. “Use a colour like Farrow & Ball’s Ball Green, a fresher take on French Gray, for a cosy living room or guest bedroom.
Embrace the dark
Intense earthy hues and rich deep blues and greens work magic in making spaces feel significantly cosier, explains Patrick.
Don’t be afraid to take it even further in even darker hues for extra visual drama.
Think pink
The Barbie moment might have been and gone, but pinks and glowing coral hues remain a winner when it comes to imbuing softness or a flush of feminine energy in otherwise cold interiors. “Use a gentle earth pink (like Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster) to warm up and lift a poorly lit room, which fades to a blush neutral in brighter spaces,” Patrick says.
Add scale
While lighter hues used from floor to ceiling will immediately make a room appear more spacious, there are a few subtle tricks that can boost this effect. “Colour drenching is a good idea for small rooms as you are creating less contrast through using different colours on particular details, such as a bedroom with fitted wardrobes.
Painting the wardrobes and similar furnishings in the same colour as the walls will help to elongate the proportions of wall,” he says. “In rooms with low ceilings, paint the skirting out in the wall colour will give the illusion of greater height.”
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