Painting Ceilings
to Change Their Height

The height of a ceiling greatly affects the overall feel of any room, and by painting ceilings creatively, you can visually change their perceived height without the need for a major remodeling project.

The following tips will show you how to paint a ceiling and make it appear higher or lower than it really is.

Painting Ceilings For a Higher Effect

When painting a ceiling for a higher effect, the goal is to create an illusion of uninterrupted flow, without sharp horizontal lines or contrasts, and eliminate anything that draws attention to the low ceiling.

• Remove popcorn ceiling texture



• If you have crown moldings, paint them the same color as the walls

• When choosing interior paint colors, avoid big contrast between walls and ceiling. If your walls have color, a pure white ceiling will seem even lower. So instead, paint your ceiling the same color as the walls, but a couple of shades lighter (or add some wall color right into the ceiling paint) to create a vertically elongated, flowing look

• In rooms with a chair-rail, paint both the upper part of the walls and the ceiling the same color - a shade of white or any other very light color



• If you paint a ceiling with a light cool color (ex: pale sky blue), it will make the ceiling seem more distant and will create a feeling of space and outdoors in the room

• By painting stripes on walls you can visually raise a low ceiling - narrow, tone-on-tone vertical stripes work best for this purpose

Painting Ceilings For a Lower Effect

If your problem is dis-proportionally high ceilings, you can create a cozier, more intimate environment and improve the shape of the room with these room painting tricks:

• Paint a ceiling a considerately darker color than the walls - the deeper the color, the closer it will appear

• For an even greater effect, you can "drop down" the ceiling line by dragging the ceiling color up to 1 foot down the walls. For the best results, use highly contrasting colors between the ceiling and the walls. You can also accentuate this new, lower ceiling line with a contrasting color wallpaper border or crown molding



• Painting wide bands in a contrasting color on the top and bottom of the walls will produce a similar effect

• Finally, painting clouds on the ceiling or using other decorative painting techniques are additional great ways to draw attention to the ceiling and make it seem closer to you

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