Incorporating bold, bright colors in your home is one of the top home design trends of the 2020s.
While many homeowners are adding pops of color through furnishing, funky wallpaper, bold murals or painted accent walls, painting your ceilings is another way to add personality and depth to your space.
“A lot of designers refer to the ceiling as the fifth wall because it really is an opportunity to do something interesting and different,” says Annie Elliott, principal designer and CEO at Annie Elliott Design in Washington, D.C.
From black ceilings in basement game rooms to painted porches and powder rooms — painting your ceiling can elevate your home, adding character, color and depth, but it’s not right for every space.
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A Time-Tested Trend
From Egyptian temples to churches and palaces in Europe, “painting ceilings has been a part of the design world forever,” says Tracy Morris, owner of Tracy Morris Design in McLean, Virginia. She feels the resurgence is largely driven by a new appetite for color and the ease of sharing home decor ideas on social media.
“People have a lot more interest in home decor after the pandemic, since everyone was looking at their home all the time,” says Janet Lorusso, principal of JRL Interiors in Acton, Massachusetts.
Which Rooms Are Best for Painted Ceilings?
“Painted ceilings go with any style home, from traditional all the way to modern,” says Morris. Still, there are a few guidelines.
“Doing anything to your ceilings, whether painting or putting wallpaper on it, you need an enclosed space. It’s not a strategy for open floor plans,” says Elliot.
If your space is too large and open, painting it all one color can be overwhelming to the eye. Also avoid painting your ceiling if it’s textured, such as a popcorn ceiling, because it will accentuate the ceiling’s texture and imperfections.
Victorian and Craftsman-style homes with traditional crown molding and heavy door and trim moldings are a great fit for painting the ceiling because they are usually in defined rooms with tidy squares or rectangular ceilings. Lorusso says coffered ceilings are great for painting between the molding, which is popular in Southern states.
It’s less about the architectural design of your home and more about the look you want to achieve, your overall decor and the room’s layout. Lorusso has done it in every style of room, including spaces with vaulted ceilings.
Some of the most popular areas for a painted or wallpapered ceiling are:
— Powder room
— Office
— Dining room
— Porch ceilings, especially in the South
— Kids’ room
Lorusso says powder rooms are an easy space to paint your ceiling because they’re small and you don’t spend a huge amount of time in there, “so you can go for drama.” Kids’ rooms are also an easy place to experiment without huge risks.
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How To Paint Your Ceiling, Step by Step
The first step to painting your ceiling is assessing the space. “Whatever you put on the ceiling, it’s going to reflect back and affect the rest of the room,” says Lorusso. You want to pick a color that blends with the decor and complements the space without closing it in.
Choose Your Color
No color is off limits when it comes to painting your ceiling. However, consider your ceiling height before selecting the color.
Putting color or patterns on your ceilings can create two effects, explains Elliot. “If it’s a lighter color or scenic pattern with a white background, it draws the eye up and can make a room feel more spacious, whereas if you put a dark color, like a chocolate brown or a dark aubergine, you’ve brought the ceiling down and created a cozier space,” she says.
If you have low ceilings under 10 feet, you’ll want to go with a lighter color or even white. In spaces with ceilings that are 20 feet or taller, you can go with a bolder or darker color, Morris says. If you have lower ceilings, keep the crown molding trim white or off-white to make the ceilings feel higher.
Most people paint their ceilings a solid color — light blue is one of the most popular choices because it makes it feel like the sky coming through. However, you can get creative by adding a patterned wallpaper or a mural, especially in experimental spaces like a kids’ room. For example, try stripes that look like a sunbeam or clouds that resemble the sky.
“A lot of times in dining rooms or powder rooms, people want to envelop the whole room, so we take the wall color and paint it on the ceiling and trim too, to create a cozier and warmer space,” says Morris. “This can be everything from a warm neutral to a deep blue.”
She says a good rule of thumb is to take the wall or ceiling color base and lower the tone by 25% increments for the other areas. This breaks up the single color while still making it cohesive.
If your room has wallpaper, an easy way to choose a ceiling color is to pull one from the wallpaper. “Picking up one of the colors in the wallpaper in the room can really complete the look, especially if the wallpaper has a colorful pattern or dark background,” says Elliot.
Select the Finish
The finish of the ceiling paint determines the final look and feel of the painted ceiling. A flat color has less depth, while a shinier finish — like a lacquered ceiling, high gloss or metallic paint — will create a glow and reflection.
Another option is to add wallpaper to the ceiling. You can carry the wallpaper pattern on the wall or make it a statement piece by painting the walls a solid color. Morris recently used a wood veneer wallpaper on the ceiling during a home remodeling project. “We then painted the walls a deep blue. The wood ceiling added so much character and texture to the space,” she says.
If you’re going to do color drenching — where you paint the ceiling, walls and trim the same color — play with different finishes. Morris sometimes lowers the color tone by 25% to break up the monotony, but also sometimes uses different paint finishes. “We paint the trim in satin, the walls in matte and the ceiling flat,” says Morris.
Apply Paint
From there, you want to apply the paint the same way you would walls: tape off any crown molding, light fixtures or areas you don’t want to paint, repair cracks or holes with spackle or caulk, and remove ceiling fixtures. Prime the ceiling and cut in the corners first, then paint in sections with a paint roller. If you’re painting the whole room, paint the ceiling first.
Usually, you will need two coats of paint for the color to come through without cracks or imperfections, but it’s not a hard-and-fast rule. Always cover your flooring and furniture with a drop cloth or plastic covering.
Depending on the room height, you may need professional equipment like a rafter to reach the ceiling. In this case, hire professional painters who have the required equipment and skills.
[Related:The Best Paint Colors for Every Room in Your Home]
Is Adding Color to the Ceiling a Good Idea?
“As long as it’s a contained room without texture, don’t be afraid of painting your ceiling a different color,” says Morris. It can feel like a bold move, but you can always repaint it with a more neutral tone if you hate it.
Look online for inspiration and to find spaces that are similar to your layout, ceiling height and design preferences. Painting your ceiling can create a new look and add warmth and character to a room. Some designers say it can make the room look bigger and create an ambiance or a mood.
Painting is a cheap and simple experiment that can easily be redone if you don’t like the result or grow tired of it quickly.
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How to Paint Your Ceiling to Elevate Your Space originally appeared on usnews.com
