Go Beyond the White Ceiling
Molding offers a chance to crown your room with color
Pangaea
January 14, 2012
Houses with crown moldings offer especially great opportunities to use an accent color on the ceiling, given their natural dividing line between wall and ceiling. But how to choose the color?
It's an important decision that involves the color of the molding as well as the ceiling itself, and you want to get it right: Painting molding and ceiling is a big job, whether you do it yourself or hire a contractor. Many people opt with white just to play it safe — and sometimes that is the right choice — but they may be missing out on an opportunity to create a spectacular new look.
Browse more crown molding designs | Find an interior designer in your area
It's an important decision that involves the color of the molding as well as the ceiling itself, and you want to get it right: Painting molding and ceiling is a big job, whether you do it yourself or hire a contractor. Many people opt with white just to play it safe — and sometimes that is the right choice — but they may be missing out on an opportunity to create a spectacular new look.
Browse more crown molding designs | Find an interior designer in your area
This room and the next two offer an interesting comparison. All three have white moldings and an accent color of black or deep gray. By applying them in different ways, they achieve very different looks.
This room has mostly white walls, lighter wood floors and a black vaulted ceiling. The black ceiling feels a bit like it just floats up away from you, so you can't readily tell where the ceiling ends. Rather than making the ceiling feel lower, it almost feels like it disappears. It also lets the stunning light fixture stand out like stars agains the night sky.
This room has mostly white walls, lighter wood floors and a black vaulted ceiling. The black ceiling feels a bit like it just floats up away from you, so you can't readily tell where the ceiling ends. Rather than making the ceiling feel lower, it almost feels like it disappears. It also lets the stunning light fixture stand out like stars agains the night sky.
Here the walls and floor are black, and even the furniture is quite dark. The white ceiling reflects light into the room and keeps the black from overwhelming the room.
The deep gray on the walls and ceiling and the dark floor make this room feel quite cozy. The very wide white crown molding separates the wall and ceiling, but just as in the orange room we saw previously, the way the dark color continues above the molding draws the eye up.
The deep gray ceiling in this foyer allows the extra-deep crown moldings to stand out by contrast. Given the high ceilings and the traditional style of the home, the choice to paint the ceiling and antique the moldings created a much warmer look than pure white would have.
Sometimes white is exactly the right choice. Crisp white moldings make a home feel clean, bright and new, and they work very well in this transitional dining room. This room is perfectly balanced between the white and brown. The dark floor and upper half of the wall are nearly the same color. The white wainscoting and ceiling balance the dark and light areas.
Choosing a white ceiling doesn't mean the moldings have to be white too. This dark chocolate brown molding is quite dramatic against the white ceiling and beige wall. It also complements the espresso furnishings and frames around the art.
Rich color above is the perfect choice for this bedroom, with its tray ceiling and double row of wide white crown molding. All that warm brown makes the architecture pop. The decorative detail around the ceiling fan is an extra bonus.
Consider an accent ceiling instead of an accent wall for a bold color that would be too much for the whole room. A strong color like this can actually make a room feel out of balance when used on a single wall, but up above it give the room punch without overwhelming. The white crown molding provides sharp definition.
People often think that a bold color on the ceiling will make the ceiling look lower. Sometimes that's true, but in this room the opposite effect occurs. If the ceiling were white, your eye would be drawn below the molding by the bright orange walls. Instead, the strong color lets your eye continue on up above the molding to actually make the ceiling look higher.
White kitchens are very popular, but they can look antiseptic without a strong dose of color to warm them up. With lots of cabinetry, there isn't always enough wall space to create any impact with wall color. So how about painting the ceiling? A sky blue ceiling adds life to this kitchen and also creates a great backdrop (or would that be topdrop?) to the outlines of the crown molding.
This ceiling's contrasting color accentuates this room's pretty shape, with its bay window at the end. Painting the crown molding white is a natural complement to the white wainscoting and creates a nice outline around the ceiling — much like the welt on a pillow helps to define its shape.
A number of the previous examples have shown ceilings that contrast with the crown molding. But when is it better for the ceiling and crown molding to match?
Contrast highlights shape. In this room there is a narrow strip of ceiling between the molding in the alcove on the left. A contrasting ceiling color would have brought more attention to the narrow strip than to the graceful wide moldings, so matching moldings and ceiling work better here.
Contrast highlights shape. In this room there is a narrow strip of ceiling between the molding in the alcove on the left. A contrasting ceiling color would have brought more attention to the narrow strip than to the graceful wide moldings, so matching moldings and ceiling work better here.
We often see white moldings and a white ceiling with the walls painted the accent color. This room does the reverse with a warm taupe on the moldings and ceiling and white walls. It's a very attractive look.
When should the crown molding match the wall instead of the ceiling? In this bathroom, matching the crown molding to the color of the walls continues the color around the top of the shower area, highlighting it. Whenever you are deciding whether to match or contrast colors, think about what will be highlighted and made more noticeable by your choices.
Stained wood crown molding looks best matched to the other wood cabinetry in the home. You can use high contrast in your color choices for the walls and ceiling, such as the white walls and pale metallic gold ceiling here.
Or you could go for minimal contrast. The deep, rich wood color next to black walls creates a soothing and warm space that works well for this bedroom. It also could be used to great effect in a library or study.
In this room, the molding itself is painted in a vivid accent color to become the strongest accent.
In all of the above examples, the crown molding matched the other molding in the room. But crown molding doesn't always have to match the other molding. In this room, the crown molding is painted white to match the walls, ceiling and baseboards, while the window and door moldings are painted black. This combination makes the windows and doors stand out against the pure white background.
So, as you can see, there are lots of ways to go when painting your ceilings and crown molding. Have you come up with a combination you'd like to share? Let's see those photos!
More: How to Find the Right White
How to Find the Right Gray
Is Crown Molding for You?
So, as you can see, there are lots of ways to go when painting your ceilings and crown molding. Have you come up with a combination you'd like to share? Let's see those photos!
More: How to Find the Right White
How to Find the Right Gray
Is Crown Molding for You?
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