Many years ago I fell in love with painting the "fifth wall" -- the ceiling. If you go dark it creates drama and if you go light it makes the room feel more open. Light blue in particular makes a room feel taller.
I really love it against white crown molding as you can see in these rooms from our last house:
Back in the day I would go really dark -- you can see what I did in the old dining room here. 😳 I'm not against a dark ceiling anymore, but chocolate brown is no longer my color of choice. ;)
It's been a few months since I started working on our powder room so I decided it's time to get moving on it again. I've known all along I wanted to paint this ceiling a dark blue to work with the walls. Turns out the color I used in our family room was a close enough match so I just used that.
Painting ceilings isn't the most fun DIY, but smaller rooms aren't too bad. Probably why I lean towards bathrooms for this project. ;) I started by taping off the crown molding and then painting two coats with a brush around the perimeter of the room:
You can see more about the peel and stick wallpaper I used (and how to install it) here.
When I do a color on the ceiling I usually paint the bathroom fan as well. They actually take paint quite well. I did three coats on the fan:
But WHY can't they make cool looking bathroom fans?? The color is called Cyberspace and it's a pretty dark blue with some gray to it. Love this color!
It's not an exact match but it's close enough cause it was FREE. 😂 The bottom part of the walls will be bright white and will tie in nicely with the trim in the room. It took a couple coats to get the dark color done:
It's so hard to get pics of this space!
This color is a satin finish and normally I prefer a flat -- I don't love seeing any shine on a ceiling. I gotta say though, it's not bothering me in here. At least so far. Satin is very low sheen so that helps:
I may change my mind later -- we'll see. But I'm calling this part done for now! Now it's time to get those dang walls done!! The next time you see this room I'll be done with it. :)
The dark ceiling looks good during the day but it's sooooo much better at night! It's just lovely. I want this room to feel like a little jewel box and the painted ceiling makes all the difference!
Here are my tips for painting a ceiling:
- If you can use a thicker nap roller it will make for quicker work. I used a 3/8 inch and it was fine, but the thicker the better (if you have any kind of texture on your ceiling).
- Typically ceilings are painted in a flat paint, but it just depends on your preference. Flat minimizes any imperfections and sheen highlights texture or issues. But some LOVE a shiny ceiling so it's up to you!
- If you're painting a larger room I recommend using a pole on your roller and this roller cover (affiliate) is awesome -- it prevents the paint from getting all over the room.
- I don't always think that a dark ceiling makes a room feel smaller, but it will create much more contrast, which can be jarring. It will definitely become a focal point -- it just depends on what you want for the space!
- Our ceilings are nine feet in this room but I've painted eight foot ceilings in lighter colors.
As always, do what you want! I think a painted ceiling is a lovely little detail that's not always noticed right away, but always registers as something unique about the space.
Have you painted a ceiling in your home? What color did you go with?
