This Over 70-Year-Old Trend Is Quickly Coming Back, and I Can See Why
You’ve heard of color drenching, when you match your wall color to your ceiling and trim color, but have you heard of wood drenching yet? According to the 2025 U.S. Houzz Emerging Trends Summer Report, wood drenching is about to be all the rage, with searches for wood tones being on the rise.
The Summer Trends Report is based on the latest search insights from U.S. homeowners, home design enthusiasts, and home professionals in the Houzz user base. According to those searches, you’re about to see a boom in hardwood on ceilings, walls, and cabinetry — but with a twist on what you might expect.
What Is “Wood-Drenching”?
Searches specifically for white oak are on the rise, according to Houzz. The light, cool, almost ashen look of white oak is perfect for spaces that homeowners want to bring light into and layer with natural texture. On Houzz, searches for living rooms with light hardwood floors surged up to 400%, with searches for white oak kitchen cabinets climbing by 46%.
Many users are searching for wood-paneled office inspiration, woven wood shades, and white oak bathroom vanities. That’s leading to wood drenching, or when a room’s floors, ceilings, and even built-ins are clad in the same wood type, absolutely being on the rise.
Although equating wood paneling and wood cabinetry with mid-century modern spaces is common, the lighter, white oak spin makes the trend feel so much more contemporary. And these oak cabinets aren’t the dark options from the 1950s — they’re fresher, toned down, and read as neutral rather than, well, dark.
In the same vein, color drenching also saw a boom in inquiries on Houzz compared with this time last year, with monochromatic color schemes being a frequently searched phrase. It looks like people are looking for some uniformity in their spaces, and whether it’s color-drenching with bold hues or keeping it laid back and neutral with wood tones, drenching is ticking boxes for homeowners and designers alike.
Check out the full 2025 U.S. Houzz Emerging Trends Summer Report here to gather some inspiration for your upcoming home projects. You may just find that wood drenching is exactly the bold yet calming upgrade you’ve been craving.