White!

Only on rare occasions/situations, is the ceiling painted the same as the walls.

This is a controversial question and you can find it in the Houzz threads.

Some people think it's cheap looking to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls.

Some people think you should paint the ceiling, considered a 5th wall, lighter than your walls and in matte/flat so as not to reflect a lot of light.

Some people are adamant the only color you should have on your ceiling is white.

Bottom line: it's all up to you.

I painted my Fort Worth home entirely in SW Softer Tan. I chose an eggshell sheen for the wall and flat on the ceiling, all the same color. I felt that the way the sun hit my primary living spaces in the afternoon made it feel like a warm cozy space.

I hate the juxtaposition between a painted wall and a white ceiling. I'm in a rental right now and it confirms how much I hate white ceilings. And if you don't have a great painter you'll see the lines (if you don't have molding) and for me that's annoying. In the house I'm building, I have to get Bright White on the ceilings; it's annoying but it'll lose prominence with good decor and in a couple years when I'm ready to paint again that ceiling will be painted.

I almost always do the ceiling the same as the walls if using a very light paint but cut the wall colr for ceilings if the wall color is a bit darker . I do not think walls and ceilings the same is acheap look at all. BTW I do agree that the ceiling should be a matte finish but then so should your walls.

This is my ceiling in the living room and dining room. Walls are BM Cream Fleece and the ceilings are BM Patriotic White, a very pale blue with just a hint of green. I LOVE it. I have painted ceilings in previous homes this way before and people at first don’t notice that they aren’t white. When they do finally realize it’s blue, they almost all compliment it.

I painted mine white. White is the standard.

There is not rule that says you have to do one or the other and in my mind it really depends on the style of the home and furnishings, the color palette and what you want the room to feel like.

Do you prefer this

or this

I love the gray ceiling in this bedroom

but I think white was the right choice in this room

Ceilings can also be used as bold or subtle accents

Trim also does not have to match the walls or be all white or all wood.

In my last home I had taupe walls and ceilings in the main living areas and painted the bedrooms and bathroom various shades of blue green. Since the flooring and wall color were different in the bedrooms and bathrooms I carried the taupe ceiling color throughout to add harmony.

I think Jennifer’s comments confirm....THERE ARE NO RULES....but unless it is called for ...i think white ceilings can be too basic/ boring

You can do it either way. Its all your peferene. There are some rooms, I like white ceilings, and some I dont. I prefer bedroom ceilings and bathroom ceilings and laundry ceilings to be the same as the walls. For kitchen, living and dining, I like them white. There is no wrong and no right, as to what to paint the ceilings, and I dont think it looks cheap at all, to paint walls and ceilings the same. On the other hand, many like their trim painted the same color as the walls. Unless those walls are white, and trim is the same white (different sheen), I think the wall color does look cheap on trim. Its all personal preference.

One reason to match the trim to the walls is to relegate the trims to a more architectural feature...rather than have them stand out as a separate statement...to avoid the sort of “outline the box” feel.. which is less needed in rooms with lots of distinctive furniture ,art ,details