Love that 'After' pic!

The best way that I can describe the feeling that I get in my entry hall w/ dark ceiling is being in a small clearing in a forest. I feel enveloped and yet the canopy seems to go on forever above me. I feel wild and free but still warm and protected.

High gloss and/or lacquered-look walls and ceiling are great, but the high sheen is unforgiving of surface flaws.

My painters did a high gloss finish for another client of theirs and prepped by doing *seven* coats of spackle and sanding--and they would've done more but the client got concerned about the mounting cost. For this finish to be most successful the surface should be skating-rink smooth.

I've seen it done on imperfect surfaces and its ok (well sometimes its terrible) but the real effect is seen on super smooth.

Hmmm.
First, the photos in the link.
While he has certainly achieved some drama, I think that the relatively low height and very wide expanse of that ceiling makes the choice of dark glossy paint problematic. Too startling, too omnipresent...instead of modern, I think he has made his entry ominous looking.
It's my opinion that the purpose of entry is welcome, and should be about the people in it, as well as giving a clue as to what's to come. That hallway says, "Look at MEEEE! Ain't I cool!," which I find off-putting.

The second problem I see is lighting. There's hardly any. A space like that needs clear but warm pools of light everywhere, and this space appears to have only those rather depressing burlappy lampshades - in that room, they look more like grocery bags than lamps.

Now. You.
A two-story foyer that is taller than it is wide, with a ceiling that is much farther over your head and much smaller in relation to the rest of the walls could look smashing in dark glossy paint. The gloss is what prevents it from becoming an up-ended train tunnel that goes on endlessly, because the reflectiveness stops your eye there. If you have a good sized carriage lamp or similar hanging fixture that hangs all the way down into the stairwell, it can look even more wonderful reflecting that light. I would not do it, however, unless the walls are also a strong color. Too much contrast would not work so well, I think.

(Ttodd...we know from the post about your beer fest in your pajamas on the porch that you most certainly are wild and free!!!)

I think you really have to be careful with painting a ceiling that dark of a color. It really has to be on a case by case basis. First of all, if it isn't a min of 9' (preferably higher) it will be imposing...that is how I think that foyer ceiling looks. I loved it on the second story but not in the foyer. So in your case, I think it might work well as long as you don't continue it down to the main floor.

I am going to paint the top of my 11' dining room a dark color but with the amount of light in that room and the height it will not be a problem...in fact I think it will make a bold statement. We have a black ceiling in our home theater room that is 8'. That is a circumstance where you can support it because you want that to be a dark intimate space. But we were careful to paint the walls a med-dark theater-looking blue where there was little contrast in tone to the ceiling. If we had done cream walls, that ceiling would look crushing like I feel that foyer looks (to me). Instead it makes the ceiling recede.

I have learned from watching HGTV that it's not a dark color that makes a room or ceiling appear smaller/lower...it is contrast.

Yes, you have to have a fairly perfect ceiling, a lot of patience to get it that way or a really good painter to pull it off, but the rewards are fabulous. If you're standing on the edge, I'll help push you off.
Here is a ceiling in a metallic

Or, you can do a glazing or a texture to help hide the imperfections.

Oh wow, now that green in the foyer is MY color of green...coming from someone who literally can't tolerate green walls! lol.

I personally like the Before picture. It's so light and airy. I wouldn't go dark. The After pictures makes the space much darker and not as feel good.

Can you show a picture of your foyer?

I like the before picture so much better. I don't care for the after at all. Maybe if they had just painted the before ceiling a paler shade of the wall green...that would have looked good.

I like dark ceilings but I like the before picture so much better than the gray gloom of the after.
Some people prefer forests, others, meadows :-)

Meadows! LOL - I love it!

I'm not back peddling here but I feel that I must retract loving the 'After'. I only looked at one pic - the landing pic. Didn't notice the rest until just now. Nope. Don't like the walls the same color as the ceiling and the white trim makes it all look squat.

Hmmmm. Maybe the diameter of a space plays into whether or not a darkly painted ceiling will work. My hall width is less than 1/2 the height of my ceilings. Never thought of the dimensions of a space coming into play like that.

What do you guys think?

My walls are much, much lighter than the ceiling. Sort of like a grove of birch branches :O). Anyone? Anyone? Alright - I'll stop!

Bronwynsmom - would have been better if the better halves hadn't figured out our plan for alone time and circled back! Just kidding!

I really like to ceiling. I would have preferred to see the walls lighter like white dove and the trim the same. Princeton is such a beautiful area.

I think my biggest fear (besides the bold move of dark paint on the ceiling) is the gloss paint. We once moved in to a house where the previous owner painted every surface gloss white. Not for decorative purposes, just for cheap purposes. So it is that memory that I fear.

But I love the photos above.

I broke the news to my dh last night. And I did it at just the right moment....he had one of those teeth whitening things in his mouth--he couldn't talk back!

I don't want to do the walls the same dark color. I'm thinking of a lighter color and then the shocking dark/gloss ceiling.

Now then, what do I do with all the junk up on the ceiling in the upper hallway....smoke alarms, whole house fan (this I know I can prime and paint to match the ceiling). If I can't get the smoke detectors to be dark, then won't they look like pimples up there? I don't understand why I can't take them down and just paint the cover, if all the vents are still open. Anybody know why?

ttodd, I think you are right about the dimensions of the space playing an important role. My foyer is definately taller than wider.

But, what do I do with the bit of ceiling space that is 8' that leads back to the family rm/kitchen/and dining room area? I wouldn't want that to be a "white" of some sort, maybe the wall color should just continue there?

Here is a photo, pre-whole house fan, which is located at the top of the photo to the left (where that odd light is/was-it is now gone, but a little further to the left). In this picture you can see the lower ceiling just peeking out:

{{!gwi}}

More of the lower ceiling:
{{!gwi}}

View from under the lower ceiling part looking towards the door.

{{!gwi}}

So when the tooth whitening starts again tonight, I'll discuss more of the plan with dh. ;-)

Paint all the ceilings in the foyer the same which includes the 8' one. I think I posted my GBR on one of your threads. The ceiling in that room is 8'. Because I kept the walls and trim light, BM White Dove, the ceiling does not lower the height of the room and the room is warm. I painted the interior doors the same color as the ceiling.

paintergirl - Are those pictures that you have collected or are they rooms that you painted? Just wondering if you know what the beautiful color on the walls in picture #2 is.

Laurie

I think that the reason you should not paint the smoke alarm covers (and you should check with the manufacturer) is that they are sensitive to chemicals off-gassing as well.

Having seen your halls, I think you can use a soft deep neutral warm gray, and gain some real energy and style, but not the glossy ones we have seen. The downstairs ceiling doesn't have the height to prevent a glossy finish from pressing down over your otherwise warm, hospitable entry. Your scheme is lovely and traditional without being stodgy, but it is traditional nevertheless, and I think the addition of glossy dark ceilings will feel out of sync. But a rich foggy color in a velvet or eggshell finish could look wonderful.

I love those inspiration photos. I especially love the first set from the blog where they make the accents a bright white and use a window treatment that pops.
The gloss on the ceiling looks so high end to me. I love how reflective it is.
The silver metallic ceiling is also fabulous.
I say go for it. The worst that happens is you don't love it after one coat and choose a toned down second coat. I love seeing some panache and not the same look as PB, Ballards or RH is pushing.

Well everything you do seems to turn out fab so I say go for it.

"So when the tooth whitening starts again tonight, I'll discuss more of the plan with dh. ;-)"

Too funny!!!

You cannot paint the smoke alarm covers -- it is printed right on them "do not paint".

Laurie, I can't say for sure what color is on the walls but it may be SW restrained gold. It is definately a SW color, tho. I did paint those and the one with the color you like is an interior designer's bedroom.

And Beekeeper, have you narrowed down any color choices?

bronwynsmom-that foyer color is history.....I'm changing it, which leads me to paintergirl's question...

until the paint is on the wall, I cannot say that I have decided anything! (Since I'm so into the gray/yellow combo lately, I thought maybe a nice yellow--dh nearly died, he said "Too Tuscan", so that is out, and I agree)

My last thought process has been, everyone who comes into my home says to "forget changing the kitchen/family room", they don't see green. So, I've told dh that if we mount the TV on the wall a few inches up from where it is now resting (as originally planned), it will help cover up some of the wall space. Which leads to planning on using some of the colors from the same paint chip to do the foyer, but lighter. If I find that this is way too much wall space painted in that color for my eyes, I will tell my dh what a great woodworker he is and squeeze him for some great molding for the wall going up the stairs. And if there is still a problem, I will resort to my observations at a beautiful hotel from this past weekend's trip to take our son to college, I will hang 3 matching large framed rectangular mirrors horizontally on that big wall space over stairs.

We are preparing to leave for our "Empty Nest Cruise" next week, so I really can't concentrate any more on details of the paint color choice right now. (I am leaning towards using that really dark color from my fireplace wall as the ceiling color, in the gloss of course).

Oh, and I know the smoke detector says "do not paint", but except for the off-gassing idea, I can't imagine why not. Why can't they make them in other colors????