Colour drenching has become one of the hottest interior painting trends of 2024, and with Google searches rising by 817% across the past 90 days, it’s certainly not fading away any time soon.
Chris Morgan, Senior Product Manager at Ronseal has shared a definitive guide to colour drenching in the home, including the most suitable rooms for the job, colours, and top tips for achieving the perfect finish.
TikTok and Google Search data has also been gathered to showcase the growing demand for current trends, along with insight from Laura Jolly Van, Head of Consultancy at Trendbible on the growing demand for colour drenching.
What is colour drenching?
Colour drenching essentially involves painting every surface of a room – the walls, skirting boards, ceilings and even furniture in a single paint colour.
Not only does this help create a fresh, contemporary feel, but it can also be more cost-effective and renter-friendly than wallpapering. It can also help small spaces in the home appear bigger than they are.
Ronseal’s new One Coat Everywhere paint range provides a quick and easy route to achieving the colour drenching trend. Available in 21 different colours, it can easily be applied without a primer on almost any interior surface including walls, ceilings, wood, and metal to give that seamless appearance.
Interest in the trend has surged throughout 2024, particularly on social media, as Laura Jolly Van, Head of Consultancy at TrendBible states:
“Colour drenching transcends beyond a trend, it’s a lifestyle and a design aesthetic that envelopes your space coating everything from the walls and ceilings to skirtings and covings.
As sustainability and personalisation continue to drive the up-cycling movement, consumers are ‘flipping’ second-hand wears, adding their own stamp to their homes and furniture.
Ronseal’s One Coat Everywhere provides the perfect solution to achieve the colour drench and custom look with a stay fast formula.”
(Image Credit: Ronseal)
Where to use colour drenching
Whilst any room of the house can be colour drenched, there are some rooms that are more popular than others as current UK TikTok searches uncover.
- Colour drenching living room +1,600%
- Colour drenching bedroom +1,283%
- Colour drenching kitchen +800%
The living room has seen a TikTok search surge of 1,600% across the last 12 months, making it the most popular room in the home to colour drench. This is followed by the bedroom with 1,283% and the kitchen with an 800% increase.
Suitable colours to colour drench a room
Colour psychology can have a large impact on your space. Current Google Search data has revealed the top three trending colours for colour drenching.
Chris also explains the most suitable rooms of the house where these colours should be used and the effect they can help create:
1. Green +875% increase
Green hues help to create a relaxing and calming environment and provide a nod to the natural world. Because of this, they are best used in hallways and stairways to create a welcoming environment.
2. Beige +850% increase
Beige tones help to lighten a room to give it a cosy and safe feeling. They are fantastic for multi-purpose rooms, such as living rooms, as accessories can be added to introduce pops of colour.
3. Grey +120% increase
Darker grey hues create a sense of security as they help to calm and neutralise spaces. Because of this, they are perfect for use in bedrooms and other cosy spaces as they help create a sense of serenity.
Other popular colours include blue which can help increase confidence and focus, red tones which add excitement and energy to a room, and yellows which help to stimulate activity and brightness.
(Image Credit: Ronseal)
A step-by-step guide to colour drenching
Chris has also shared a seven-step guide to colour drenching a room:
- Prep the area – Cover the surrounding areas and items you don’t want to get paint on with dust sheets or old towels.
- Prep the surfaces – For previously painted wood & metal, you’ll want to give them a good sand to ensure the surface is keyed which will help the paint to stick.
- Clean the surfaces – Make sure to fully wipe down all surfaces using a slightly damp cloth to remove any dust or dirt.
- Stir the paint – Before applying the paint, make sure to give it a thorough stir to ensure colour consistency. If using more than one tin of the same colour, mix them together.
- Apply the paint – Using either a paintbrush or roller, apply the paint to the various surfaces ensuring an even coat.
- Leave to dry – Leave this to dry for at least one hour. If a second coat is needed, wait at least 2-4 hours before applying another coat.
- Tidy-up – Once the paint is completely dry to the touch, remove any dust sheets and clean any brushes and rollers using warm, soapy water.
Chris’ top tips when colour drenching
- Use the same paint throughout – Make sure to use a multi-surface paint that includes a primer. This will ensure you get an even colour across different surfaces.
- Camouflage room hardware – Colour drenching can be used to hide radiators and light switches to help better blend these into the room.
- Coordinate woodwork – To help create the seamless effect of colour drenching, apply the same colour across room doors, frames, and skirting boards.
For more information, including a paint coverage calculator, please see the Ronseal website: https://www.ronseal.com/products/one-coat-everywhere-paint/
