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19 colour drenched rooms we love
When it comes to using colour in an interior, the biggest rule these days is that there are no rules. The conventional practice of painting ceilings and woodwork in white or a neutral shade still has its place, of course, but it can sometimes feel a little… boring, and we've long been fans of more colourful trims and equally colourful ceilings. “I’ve done this a lot in my houses and for clients, and once you’ve tried it you won’t go back," says Gavin Houghton, of colour drenching. “White ceilings can feel very unloved if you have no other white paint in the room," and decorative ceilings “never overpower" thanks to their position above the eye line. It's a sentiment that Emma Burns echoes in her design dos and don'ts. “Of course in lots of cases a simple off-white paint is great, but you can add another layer to the decoration of a room with a more adventurous choice. I love a gloss ceiling in robin’s egg blue or a butterscotch tone or a wallpaper like Fornasetti’s ‘Clouds’.”
The practice of ‘colour drenching’ is a specific development on this theme, in which you paint walls, ceilings, trim and even features like radiators in the same colour. “Colour drenching is a useful trick for maximising the feeling of space in a small room," points out designer Nicola Harding, who has often used the practice. "It also works for overcoming the challenge of awkward junctions or underwhelming architectural detailing,” she notes.
Ruth Mottishead of Little Greene agrees that ‘drenching’ a space in colour is a good way to make a statement, especially in confined in spaces like hallways. “I like an all-over approach to colour such as using mid-tones like ‘Garden’, ’Tea with Florence’ or ‘Pale Lupin’ on walls, ceilings and woodwork or combining an all over pattern such as beautiful leafy pattern such as our ‘Beech Nut’ wallpaper design. This will create a complete scheme, treating each element similarly, and will deliver a design statement when entering or viewing the hallway from other rooms within your home. Whilst you can't make a hallway larger you can embrace the size of what can often be an awkward space to create something that feels really engaging, inviting and contemporary.”
The experts have spoken: colour drenching is the way to make a space feel up to date. We've gathered our favourite ideas for how to do it right from the House & Garden archive.
James McDonald1/19The kitchen in a Kensington house by Kate Guinness, designed and made in collaboration with 202 Design, opens into the conservatory. Walls and ceiling in ‘Plaster V’ contrast with cabinets in ‘Kigali’, both shades from Paint & Paper Library. The rug is from Tate & Darby.
Michael Sinclair2/19‘I wanted it to feel warm and restful up here,’ says Thea Speake of this tiny bedroom in her house in Wiltshire. Paint & Paper Library’s archive green paint ‘Both Barrels’ makes for a comforting and sophisticated backdrop to curtains in a green check from Merchant & Mills.
Dean Hearne3/19The main bedroom in a Putney house by Field Day Studio has walls in the pale pink ‘Temple’ by Paint & Paper Library, and a quilt from Toast adorns the bed. It provides a place to retreat for the young owner of the house.
Sarah Griggs4/19In the sitting room of this Notting Hill flat by Natasha Quick, ‘Stone White 40%’ by Edward Bulmer provides a serene backdrop to an array of furniture, much of which the clients already owned and Natasha had reupholstered to pick up the colours of the existing Soane curtains and artwork, including a Robert Kime sofa in Lee Jofa’s ‘Entoto Stripe’ and an armchair in a dark green corduroy from Rose Uniacke.
Paul Massey5/19This Berkshire house decorated by Nicola Harding uses unexpected colour combinations to knock out any stuffiness. In the dining room, ‘Stone Blue’ paint by Farrow & Ball on the ceiling and built-in bookshelves creates a vibrant background for brass accents.
Paul Massey6/19In the same Berkshire house, an abstract painting by the Brighton-based artist John Goodison hangs over a green painted cabinet bought from an antique dealer in Somerset. Here, Nicola has stretched Farrow & Ball's ‘Stone Blue’ across the walls and ceiling, creating a larger backdrop for the painting.
Michael Sinclair7/19In this London house designed by Rachel Chudley, walls in a stormy grey created by paint specialist Donald Kaufman create an atmospheric backdrop for artworks. Ceiling, walls and skirting boards are all in the same colour.
Michael Sinclair8/19In the same London house, Rachel Chudley has drenched the living room in floor to ceiling colour. Here, she has used the same paint for the woodwork, windows and ceiling, but broken it up with an attractive wallpaper.
9/19In a dramatic and luxurious bedroom at Audrey Carden's London house, blue, paper-backed, suede-effect fabric lines the walls of the bedroom and dressing area, and a tray ceiling in the bedroom painted in the same shade. A perfect example of colour drenching with fabric, not paint.
Christopher Horwood10/19In Lucy Williams' house, the hallway is a study in pink, with Myland's ‘Soho House’ on the walls and reclaimed quarry tiles on the floor. In a complementary tone, the stairs are painted in Paper & Paints Porphyry Red.
Christopher Horwood11/19In the sitting room of the same house, Lucy has saturated her sitting room in archive Farrow & Ball colour ‘Yonder’. The result is a cosy and cocooning space. Lucy has broken up the monochromatic scheme with a cheerful Maker & Son sofa and a Suzzy Casalet for Pinch rug.
Jake Curtis12/19In her basement flat in west London, interior designer Thea Speke has used colour-drenching to masterful effect. Using a warm neutral paint, she has lightened and brightened what might have felt like a gloomy space.
Paul Massey13/19In the small downstairs bathroom in a Norfolk country house, Carlos Garcia has cleverly saturated the walls in a rich pink to make the space feel larger. The colour, which is Edward Bulmer's ‘Nicaragua’, covers the panelling and window woodwork.
Paul Massey14/19In the same Nicola Harding Riverside house, Pure & Original’s ‘Calm’ was chosen for the walls, establishing a restful mood and showcasing the headboard in ‘Charlton’ charcoal blue corduroy from Tissus d’Hélène. Interestingly, Nicola has chosen to break up the colour with cornicing in a complementary colour.
Paul Massey15/19This Jacobean house by Nicola Harding needed some life breathed into it when the designer first saw it. As such, Nicola embarked on a whirlwind revamp, transforming rooms with an artful palette and creating beguiling contrasts of dark and light. In the entrance hall, Farrow & Ball’s ‘Bancha’ on the walls and ceiling sets off the antique suzani wall hanging and the rug from Gallery Yacou.
Owen Gale16/19Colour drenching works particularly well in small rooms, as evidenced on the top floor of Charlotte and Angus Buchanan's house. In this tiny spare bedroom, panelled walls painted in Atelier Ellis' ‘Bell Pink’ create a cocooning effect.
Simon Brown17/19The effect lends itself well to pitched ceilings too. In Victoria Gray's Cotswold farmhouse, the attic bedroom walls have been painted in Farrow and Ball's ‘Bancha’.
Rachel Whiting18/19This built-in niche bed with shelves and a curtain was designed by Beata Heuman, who was asked to create a spare bedroom that was dark and cosseting. To achieve this, Beata designed a built-in bed, painted in 'Drummond' by Little Greene.
Martin Morrell19/19In the bedroom of Adam Bentley’s Yorkshire cottage, walls in Little Greene’s ‘Celestial Blue’, inspired by an old paint fragment, make for the backdrop to a 20th-century copy of a 17th-century bed.
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