Step Aside, Color-Drenching: Yelp Has Called Out The Next Biggest Color Trend

It seems like the last few years were drenched in color. People were done with their millennial gray and all-beige homes and instead wanted to infuse every inch of them with bold hues. As an answer to this, the trend of color-drenching swept the scene. Everything — from the ceiling to the walls, baseboards, and trim — shared the same hue, cocooning you when you stepped into the space. Some even took it a step further and even matched their curtains, rug, and couch to the designated color, only giving contrast through the paint finishes and textile textures they chose. However, color drenching has been on the scene since 2023, so three years later, it's starting to feel a little tired. So what's the next big trend that will replace it? According to Yelp, the answer is "color-maxxing."

Yelp conducted a 2026 Summer Home Trends Report in which it tapped into insights from its data analytics team, trend experts, and designer Hema Persad to predict what the biggest trends will be for the season. According to that report, people are taking color-drenching one step further and embracing a wider variety of hues. Rather than having one monochromatic color cocooning the entire room, color-maxxing pulls colors from existing elements in the space (like furniture and decor) and uses those hues to cover the walls, ceiling, and trim. And it's not limited to just paint — you can add wallpaper into the mix, too.

Yelp first gleaned that color-maxxing was beginning to trend when analyzing its Request a Quote submissions. It noticed that requests for painting the entire room had skyrocketed 72%. On top of this, searches for ceiling painters specifically went up by an astounding 16,884%, and searches for door and trim painters or stainers went up by a wild 187,073%. To Yelp, this indicated a clear need for more color and updated hues.

If you want to jump on the trend but aren't sure how to mix and match more saturated hues, designer Hema Persad has tons of tips on how to pull off the color-maxxing trend. She shared with Yelp that when deciding on door colors, you should focus on the accents already in the room's decor, like patterned rugs, curtains, or art pieces. She also advises designers to pay attention to their home's architecture when pulling those shades. You'll want to keep everything in-line with the style of your home so it all feels cohesive. Persad also recommended incorporating wallpaper with the same colors into the mix, noting that it would be especially great on the ceiling. (However, there are some things you need to know before adding wallpaper to your ceiling.)

While pulling colors from existing decor is a great tip, it can still be tricky to figure out how to make a cohesive palette. First, you should only choose three different colors to keep things from feeling too chaotic. And when arranging those colors, it's best to follow the timeless 60-30-10 rule. In other words, make sure your main color will take up 60% of the room. The secondary complementing color should drench 30%, and an accent color is best kept within only 10% of the space.

To help you visualize your color palette before you start choosing paints, use a color palette generator like Coolors to see your chosen shades next to each other. This can act as your guiding light when choosing paint colors. Then, to see how certain paint shades will look in your particular room, use apps like Benjamin Moore Personal Color Viewer or Sherwin-Williams' ColorSnap Visualizer so you can get an idea of the final look without having to buy expensive paint samples.