We did our coffered ceiling dark to match bookcases and it is darker than the wall. Lots of contrast. I love it although I know going this dark is very taste-specific. It makes the room feel very cozy though and really draws attention to the trim.

We're having a great room in our build. The kitchen is open to the breakfast area which is open to the living area. We're having beams of some sort to separate the three areas. I think we'll coffer the living room. My thoughts have been to do something like BM Revere Pewter on the walls and possibly doing a warm green blue on the ceiling between the trim. I LOVE that look in the photos I've saved. If we don't end up doing that, then I plan to tint the ceiling at about 75% of the paint color we use. In the other rooms that are non-coffered, we'll probably do the ceilings at 50% of the paint color that goes in that room. I just don't want white ceilings when they can be something more. I definitely thing that with a coffer, you should have contrast of some sort. Photos for you...

Painted a color or a tint:

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This is similar to what we're planning to do...a coffer in the living (but a looser one than this) and not do one in the dining/breakfast area):
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White:

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A few more, I just looooooooooooooove looking at the ones
above.
~boxer

Thank you. You have confirmed what I was already feeling. So, now I just have to get the color right!

Like I said, I'm down to SW Universal Khaki or the color right above it, SW Relaxed Khaki. I have used Universal Khaki and I really like it but I'm not sure if it will be too dark. The back of our house faces east. We have large windows on the east wall but it still won't be a very bright room. I keep going back and forth between thinking the darker shade will be too dark and the lighter shade won't show enough contrast against my SW Creamy trim. Thoughts???

A ceiling painted the same color as the walls will appear a shade or two lighter than the wall. If you want them to look like they're the same, paint the walls Relaxed Khaki and the ceiling Universal. Without seeing the space, it'll be hard to say if one color or the other will be too dark or too light. That said, my personal preference is for a blue-green-gray in those spaces. Kind of like the "haint blue" you find on porch ceilings in the South. Again, that's just a personal preference, born out of a love of the deep South and a distaste for all-beige houses.

anenemiity- Thank you for opinion and advice on painting the ceiling the darker color. I had never heard that before. I giggled at your personal preference because I actually have a personal distaste for blue in a house, except in a bedroom. It evokes some negative childhood memory about a zoo for some reason????

We're planning on coffered ceilings in our new kitchen. Here's our living room. I can't take credit for the colors as I certainly would have chickened out and used something bland. We LOVE our living room colors. It's hard to tell but the ceiling is a pumpkin color. The adjoining dining room has the same color on the ceiling and a darker orange on the walls. People are always "wowed" when they see our living room for the first time.

Go as dark as you dare for the ceiling. I'd go darker than your choices if it were my ceiling. It pops against the coffers and will look great at night. I'd also go with a sheen if you have new sheetrock in great condition. We have a dark ceiling in our master and I just love it. I wish I had the beams to play it up even more. Think of it as an accent wall....

If you're going to "beige out" on the walls, then for goodness sake use an actual COLOR on the ceiling. And NOT a pastel! COLOR! Maybe a dark pumpkin, or barn red, or an olive green or eggplant. You need something that will match the character that the coffer gives the home.

Thanks for all the advice. Although I appreciate the bold colors on some of those ceilings, it's not really the look I want for this space. But, I feel confident that all white is not the way to go! I may do two shades darker on the ceiling though. Crazy, I know :-) I'll be sure to post pictures when it's done.