Low(ish) Ceiling Color—white, or dark?
TLynn
5 years ago
Ok. I know that the general belief if that lighter ceilings open the room whereas darker make them look smaller. However, I have read quite a few places now that a dark ceiling can create an optical illusions of sorts and actually make the ceiling look higher. Plus, we really did the idea of a dramatic dark ceiling somewhere (maybe we should save it for our vaulted ceiling?...ah, that’s for a separate post).
The room is the family room, aka the “TV room.” We spend most of our time there( bright sun during the day) and prefer it not so bright when watching TV due to glare on the screen. We’re also installing recessed lights in the next few weeks. I guess most importantly, we kind of like that room to feel cozy.
It’s a long room with only 8-foot high ceilings. Walls throughout the main level of the house will be a mid-tone greige with a dark accent wall (a muted navy blue or dark teal or gray) on the far short wall.
Please ignore the mess. Everything is shoved in this room for the folks who’ve been working on the rest of the main level.
So, what say y’all? Stick to white, or go dark and dramatic? I’d also love to see pics of your own rooms with dark ceilings (I’ve seen enough stock photos of beautiful designer rooms w/ dark ceilings on the internet and Houzz). ;-)
The room is the family room, aka the “TV room.” We spend most of our time there( bright sun during the day) and prefer it not so bright when watching TV due to glare on the screen. We’re also installing recessed lights in the next few weeks. I guess most importantly, we kind of like that room to feel cozy.
It’s a long room with only 8-foot high ceilings. Walls throughout the main level of the house will be a mid-tone greige with a dark accent wall (a muted navy blue or dark teal or gray) on the far short wall.
Please ignore the mess. Everything is shoved in this room for the folks who’ve been working on the rest of the main level.
So, what say y’all? Stick to white, or go dark and dramatic? I’d also love to see pics of your own rooms with dark ceilings (I’ve seen enough stock photos of beautiful designer rooms w/ dark ceilings on the internet and Houzz). ;-)
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PROBeth H. :
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agowhat will your furniture look like? the sofa thats there? and the dark cabinets are staying? do you have any inspo pics of the type of room you like?
don't know if this helps, but low ceiling in one of our master closets, I did a dark blue and gray walls
you could also do wood on the ceiling. I've done bamboo in one bedroom and in my large room I did herringbone reclaimed wood. you could something like that, or a simple tongue and groove and paint it.
housegal200
5 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (42)I went to the Central Velley last summer for the first time (Fresno area) and I too was blown away by the incredible Crape's growing all over the place. The entire region is irrigated, even the strip of land between the local interstate lanes! It was all very lush and yards were filled with everything from palms to paper birch trees! Yes..paper birch in Fresno. But, in those areas that no longer received irrigation...forget about it...not a green thing in sight...totally dead. I guess unlimited sun + unlimited irrigation + great soil = grow anything you want....See MoreDid you paint your (low) kitchen ceiling white or a color?
Comments (12)I think there are myriad schools of thought: some say by painting it the same color (or similar) it heightens the feel of the ceiling; others swear against that. Some say a low ceiling should be in the flattest finish possible (so as to help the ceiling "disappear"); others say the ceiling should be in a glass so as to reflect the light. Blah blah blah. There are no real rules. Now having said that (!), we did a variation of what my sympathetic friend laxsupermom suggested: our (9' ceiling) is painted a 50% version of our walls (which is similar to your goal color). With all the white we have going on in our kitchen I couldn't take another white surface. I was right. It doesn't read as COLOR but it also doesn't read as WHITE. To quote Goldilocks, it's "just right." (Our substantial crown is bright white [matching the cabs], and it doesn't appear odd to have the white bifurcating the blue.) In our penultimate house we had an enormous living room (something like 25' x 15'), with an 8' ceiling. Because of the size of that room the ceiling felt low. The walls were dark and paper bag brown in there (again with white trim), but that ceiling I painted the sheerest blue I could find (a DKC shade). I loved it, but it didn't help the ceiling feel taller! It was just a soft, easy-on-the-eye take on a pale ceiling. (Li'l Bit is "helping" me type and I am tired of fighting with him [he has pneumonia, so I am trying to not bark at him], so I know there are heaps of typos, etc. in here. Happens!)...See MoreColor choices for a very low ceiling
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Comments (32)Trees! That would be fun. I had been thinking of a spot to stick up that Cole & Son "Woods" paper, but a smaller pattern might work better with so many doors. And grasscloth. I had looked into it for my entry hall and living room and elsewhere (perfect cover for 50s paneling, right?) and was under the impression that it just wasn't durable enough. I'd love to be wrong. Or find a good faux grasscloth. WHERE does one go to look at wallpaper in person these days? Seriously, are there any more wallpaper stores? You all have not made this easier at all by giving me so many options I hadn't considered! So thanks! :) Do we all agree that the can lights must go, or is replacing them with ones that actually illuminate good enough? With the furnace intake and an attic access panel and four of the recessed lights, I think that the ceiling is sort of busy and making the light fixtures more substantial might help distract from that. Really, this hall isn't awful. I'm putting off the rest of the house because this is actually manageable. Actually I was planning on doing the entry hall which is well-lit and also brown and thought I needed to carry the treatment into this hall which branches off from it but there is a door. I don't have to match! Gee. I need to focus. :)...See MoreTLynn
5 years agosuezbell
5 years agoTLynn
5 years agoSuezbell,
In the first half of the day there’s actually a good amount of light, we just block much of it out. It’s not a basement room, it’s directly off our kitchen (2 steps down). We are set on painting the entire main level greige so that’s not changing. The accent wall will be a *dark* blue, teal, or green (dark as the in LRV of 20) so I if we do the ceiling dark we’d probably just extend that to the ceiling.
The flooring will be a LV rigid plank from Flooret (stock photo attached for color).
TLynn
5 years agoHeres another photo of the room taken by the previous owner that gives a better idea of the space.
- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years ago 
PRO- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years ago tatts
5 years agoTLynn
5 years agoTLynn
5 years ago
Judy Mishkin
5 years agoditching popcorn is reason enough for a celebration.
i would keep the colors light with black out window treatments applied only when needed.
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