What is colour drenching?
Colour drenching is about taking a colour and using that fabulous chosen hue everywhere - walls, ceiling, radiators, doors etc. Using this method of decorating creates the perfect backdrop to your furnishings, decor and accessories and blurs the boundaries between the walls and the ceiling, disguising any stark lines and making your room feel grander, more cohesive, sophisticated, harmonious and stylish.
“Colour can turn the simplest abode into an edgy, sophisticated den in which to hunker down. There is simply no quicker or cheaper way of transforming a space.”
Abigail Ahern
Abigail Ahern's Top Tips For Colour Drenching
1. Paint the ceiling and walls the same colour.
Often the biggest hurdle, but one you will NOT regret. Pushing the paint colour all the way around the room like this, enveloping it in your chosen shade, elongates the space especially if you’re working with a small room and an sumptuous earthy colour.
2. Paint the skirting boards, window frames, doors and door frames the same colour as the walls.
Painting the skirting boards and all other woodwork in the room the same colour as the wall allows it to seamlessly blend into the floor, even if your floor is not the same colour, the boundaries are blurred and the proportions of the room feel grander. Painting your skirting boards and other woodwork white will draw unnecessary attention to them, unless of course they are a fabulous architectural feature of your room and you want to define them, even then, consider a tonal colour that complements the wall colour rather than stark white.
3. Should I paint the radiators the same colour as the walls?
Yes indeed, you should paint the radiators the same colour as the walls, there's no need to highlight something as practical (and let's face it, sometimes ugly) as a radiator. Let it blend into the background so that your eye isn't immediately drawn to it. There are some exceptions to this rule, as there are now an increasing choice of radiators that are a design statement in their own right, but if you have the normal wall hung type, I would always paint them out in the same hue to disguise them.
“One of the amazing things about colour drenching is that the walls and ceilings effectively disappear and become an amazing backdrop to all of your interesting furnishings and decor.”
Abigail Ahern
Discover Inspiration For Your Next Project
Abigail Ahern Paint Brochure
From rich moody palettes that resonate by creating a sense of intimacy to soft muted hues that add a touch of elegance. Crafted with extraordinary richness and depth these new hues add a comforting note to any interior, big or small. Reassuring, cocooning and the most important tool in your decorating arsenal.
1. Paint the ceiling and walls the same colour.
Often the biggest hurdle, but one you will NOT regret. Pushing the paint colour all the way around the room like this, enveloping it in your chosen shade, elongates the space especially if you’re working with a small room and an sumptuous earthy colour.
2. Paint the skirting boards, window frames, doors and door frames the same colour as the walls.
Painting the skirting boards and all other woodwork in the room the same colour as the wall allows it to seamlessly blend into the floor, even if your floor is not the same colour, the boundaries are blurred and the proportions of the room feel grander. Painting your skirting boards and other woodwork white will draw unnecessary attention to them, unless of course they are a fabulous architectural feature of your room and you want to define them, even then, consider a tonal colour that complements the wall colour rather than stark white.
3. Should I paint the radiators the same colour as the walls?
Yes indeed, you should paint the radiators the same colour as the walls, there's no need to highlight something as practical (and let's face it, sometimes ugly) as a radiator. Let it blend into the background so that your eye isn't immediately drawn to it. There are some exceptions to this rule, as there are now an increasing choice of radiators that are a design statement in their own right, but if you have the normal wall hung type, I would always paint them out in the same hue to disguise them.
“One of the amazing things about colour drenching is that the walls and ceilings effectively disappear and become an amazing backdrop to all of your interesting furnishings and decor.”
Abigail Ahern
Discover Inspiration For Your Next Project
Abigail Ahern Paint Brochure
From rich moody palettes that resonate by creating a sense of intimacy to soft muted hues that add a touch of elegance. Crafted with extraordinary richness and depth these new hues add a comforting note to any interior, big or small. Reassuring, cocooning and the most important tool in your decorating arsenal.
Why do interior designers use colour drenching?
Colour drenching is loved amongst interior designers and interior stylists alike as using colour to captivate the eye is such a powerful tool. If you colour drench your room, the lighting, soft furnishings, furniture, and accessories can all become the star of the show because they're not competing with the colour on your walls. Your eye is not immediately drawn to the boundaries of your room dimensions and instead can comfortably settle and enjoy the oodles of personality that your furnishings and decor inject into the space.
Abi's Final Thoughts On Colour Drenching
Choose A Colour That You Love
Choosing a colour that you love is essential. You need to consider how you want the room to feel and then work from there, having confidence in your own style means that you will create a home that YOU love.
Trust Your Heart
Choosing a colour that you love is essential. You need to consider how you want the room to feel and then work from there, having confidence in your own style means that you will create a home that YOU love.
Choose A Colour That You Love
Choosing a colour that you love is essential. You need to consider how you want the room to feel and then work from there, having confidence in your own style means that you will create a home that YOU love.
Trust Your Heart
Create a home that oozes your personality but most of all a home that makes you feel exactly how you want it to as soon as you walk in the door. So throw away the rule book, forget trends and trust your heart.
“When you paint out your walls, ceiling, skirting boards and radiators in the same colour, the whole backdrop recedes and any objects from chandeliers to cushions and bed linen, just takes more of a central role. ”
Abigail Ahern
The New Abigail Ahern Paint Collection
We've had a colour makeover and we're taking it to the next level, inspired by and in celebration of our beautiful landscape. We’ve obsessed over creating a cosy cocooning colour palette in which to unwind. Imbued in natural warmth these luxurious hues are perfect for fostering an environment you never want to leave.
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