Painted Ceilings

The ceiling is the most neglected surface in any room. The ceiling is rarely thought about and even more rarely changed from the standard white paint. Yet changing the ceiling color, even very subtly has a more dramatic impact than any changes to the walls or flooring.  Afraid of ceiling color? You certainly aren’t alone. This post is full of inspiration to get you thinking about your ceiling with options ranging from subtle to extremely bold.

Starting with the subtle…

In previous posts, I shared my favorite ceiling tip: use the wall color at 50% strength on the ceiling. I use this particularly with bold wall colors and stained-wood built-ins as the bold colors and white ceiling usually clash and draw more attention to the ceiling. The result is subtle and adds a sophistication to rooms. For more on that tip read: To Paint or Not To Paint…The Ceiling.

A subtle option from House Beautiful, This ceiling is such an interesting feature that it absolutely deserves to be highlighted as a focal point. This room would lose so much character if the ceiling were white.

Yes, the room above is obvious because of the interesting architecture of the ceiling, a feature that most of use do not have in our own homes. A paint, wallpaper or other treatment can still have a significant impact in rooms with “plain” ceilings. The bedroom below features a serene blue paint on a plain ceiling, from Apartment Therapy. This small color change adds a lot of interest to the bedroom and could remain if the orange accessories were changed out for another color.

Now let’s step it up a notch with bolder colors featured on the ceilings and rooms where the major color impact is found on the ceiling.

From Apartment Therapy, this work space received a dramatic and uplifting ceiling color. The white walls keep the room feeling light, but the ceiling adds energy and interest to the space.

Another from Apartment Therapy, a bold orange ceiling color to enliven an otherwise traditional and formal living room. Again, the ceiling is the primary color source in the room.

Now let’s go extremely bold with ceiling paint! The next two rooms use the ceiling color and design to literally take the spaces to a whole new level.

From House Beautiful, this pea-green gingham painted ceiling makes a huge statement when coupled with the green kitchen island. The two sources of green create a wonderful balance in the room. The ceilings are also quite high in this kitchen. The paint brings them down, again adding to the sense of balance. What a fun place to be everyday!

From Interior Designer Albert Hadley, featured in House Beautiful, an iridescent ceiling in his personal study. A very bold choice, but it works well in this small space.

I hope these have inspired you to think out-of-the box when it comes to the most neglected surface in a room. Have you painted a ceiling? Have you seen other painted ceilings? Share your photos with us here or on Facebook!