A Color-Drenched Bklyn Penthouse in Plum, Pink + Green
I love when homeowners want something more distinctive than another neutral repaint. Our client came to us with a vision - one that demonstrates how thoughtful color placement can completely redefine a space—without changing its underlying architecture.
The goal? Color drenching throughout two-level apartment, using a vibrant, contrasting palette that kind of felt like you were walking through a ripe, juicy watermelon. Blending shades of pink, red, purple with cooler green and chocolate tones sounds tough to do, but thoughtful design choices created a sense of continuity between rooms, with the dark, dramatic staircase making a perfect transition between top and bottom floors.
Project Snapshot
Neighborhood: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Property type: Approximately 1,150-square-foot, two-level penthouse condominium
Layout: Three bedrooms and two bathrooms
Rooms included: Open-concept living room and kitchen, high-ceiling stairwell, two downstairs bedrooms, upstairs primary suite, bathrooms, closets, doors, and kitchen shelving
Services performed: Full interior repaint, color drenching, wall and ceiling preparation, drywall and plaster repairs, anchor and bracket removal, priming, and painting of walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets, and built-in shelving
Recently closing on the 3-bed / 2-bath penthouse of a newly constructed boutique condo building in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, the owner wanted to replace its standard white, gray, and black finishes with something much more expressive. The goal was a brighter, more personalized home that embraced color, matched his personality, and tied in all the natural light entering through the upstairs terrace and multiple downstairs balconies.
We came up with a layered palette of pink, plum, chocolate brown, and mint green. Although these shades might seem contradictory on paper, their carefully planned placement gave the apartment a distinctive identity while maintaining visual continuity across the two floors.
Before
The Challenge
The apartment needed more than a straightforward color change. Numerous holes, screw anchors, window-treatment brackets, and other remnants from the previous residents had been left over. The client wanted a true “clean slate”, so all these elements needed to be removed and the affected surfaces repaired before painting began.
The upstairs primary suite presented an additional challenge. Its walls had previously received a DIY limewash treatment, leaving behind a textured and inconsistent surface that could interfere with the new finish. Simply painting over it would have risked uneven coverage and visible variations in texture.
The apartment’s architecture also required careful planning. The project included a tall stairwell, contrasting ceilings, pocket and hinged doors, closet interiors, and shelving that needed to blend seamlessly into the new color scheme.
Our Approach
We began with detailed preparation throughout the condo. Existing anchors, brackets, and unused hardware were removed before the resulting holes and surface damage were filled, smoothed, and prepared for paint.
In the primary suite, the previous limewash received full priming followed by several coats of paint. This created the smooth, saturated finish necessary for the room’s rich plum color and prevented the previous treatment from showing through.
“I hate gray,” he said.
Rather than treating every surface independently, we approached the apartment as one connected color story. Walls, ceilings, doors, trim, closet interiors, and selected shelving were incorporated into the palette. The two-tier kitchen shelving was matched to the surrounding wall color, allowing it to feel integrated into the room.
The Transformation
The completed interior feels dramatically different from the conventional neutral apartment we started with. Deep berry and rose tones bring warmth and personality to the bedrooms, while mint green gives the open living spaces a fresh, playful quality.
Chocolate-brown ceilings, doors, and stairwell surfaces provide contrast and structure. They also create a strong transition between floors, turning the high-ceiling stairwell into a dramatic design feature.
Color Details
The all-Benjamin Moore palette included:
Carter Plum in one downstairs bedroom
Wythe Rose in the second downstairs bedroom
Carolina Plum throughout the upstairs primary suite
Sherwood Green in the hallway, open living room, and kitchen
Bittersweet Chocolate on downstairs ceilings, interior doors, and throughout the stairwell
Extending these colors beyond the walls was central to the transformation. Painted ceilings, doors, closets, and shelving gave the apartment a custom-designed quality that a standard wall-only repaint would not have achieved.
Design FAQs
What is color drenching?
Color drenching involves carrying a color—or a coordinated family of colors—across more than just the walls. Ceilings, trim, doors, closets, shelving, and other architectural elements may also be painted to create a more immersive and cohesive interior.
Can you paint over limewash?
Yes, but the surface must be evaluated and prepared correctly. Depending on the existing product and condition, painting over limewash may require cleaning, smoothing, full priming, and multiple finish coats to achieve consistent color and texture.
Do dark ceilings make an apartment feel smaller?
Not necessarily. A dark ceiling can create depth, highlight architecture, and make a room feel more intentional. In this penthouse, chocolate-brown ceilings helped ground the brighter wall colors and created a strong visual connection to the stairwell and doors.
How can I make bold paint colors work well together in an apartment?
The trick is bringing in a continuous element to tie the colors together and then placing them strategically (with light in mind). Repeating selected tones on ceilings, doors, hallways, or architectural features helps individual rooms feel connected rather than competing with one another.
How much preparation is needed before repainting a newly purchased condo?
That depends on the previous finishes and installations. Even newer apartments may have holes, anchors, brackets, uneven repairs, or specialty wall treatments that require removal, patching, sanding, and priming. Thorough preparation is what allows the new colors to look smooth and professionally finished.
Going for a Color-Drenched Repaint?
Undertone Interiors provides design-conscious residential painting throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. We help homeowners, apartment owners, realtors, and interior designers translate ambitious color ideas into polished, cohesive interiors.
Whether you are preparing a newly purchased home, transforming a brownstone, or introducing color to a modern condo, we can develop a painting scope that accounts for both the creative vision and the preparation required to execute it properly.
Contact us to discuss your project and schedule an estimate.