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“A white ceiling hates to see me coming.”
If you’ve never wondered whether a ceiling could be any color besides white, you’re not alone. There’s a reason why there’s actually a color called ‘ceiling white’ that’s sold in bulk at home improvement stores. It’s the default color for contractors and homeowners alike.
But the designers would like a word with whoever decided all ceilings should be white, no questions asked. “A white ceiling hates to see me coming!,” says Monica Claerbout Guarnaschelli, owner of Indigo Mavens. “A ‘ceiling moment’ is one of the most underrated opportunities to bring a little color and charm to an otherwise often overlooked plane.”
From pretty pinks to moody blues and anything-but-white neutrals, these are seven of the painted ceiling colors that will make you put down the white paint forever.
Haint Blue
Haint blue has traditionally been a porch ceiling color, but it’s also a lovely option for a room where you want a hint of color on the ceiling, but you don’t want to venture too far into bold hues. It’s classic, light, and adds an airy feeling to a living room, dining room, entry, or even a bedroom.
“True to our bluegrass roots, we love to deploy a traditional ‘haint blue’ ceiling in spaces where we want soft contrast and the illusion of lofty height,” says Monica Claerbout Guarnaschelli, the owner of Indigo Mavens in Louisville, Kentucky. Her go-to haint blue shades are Sherwin-Williams Niebla Azul and Sherwin-Williams Tradewind.
Pretty Pink
One of Guarnaschelli’s favorite tricks for choosing a ceiling paint is to look to the walls. In spaces where there’s wallpaper, she picks one color from the pattern and repeats it on the ceiling and any trim. It can work in any room, but it’s particularly impactful in this tiny space where Benjamin Moore Mauve Mist drapes the room in rich color.
She explains, “In rooms with wallpaper, we love bringing a hue pulled from the paper up to the ceiling for that ultimate immersive feeling. This is especially effective in powder rooms, where it can feel like truly stepping into a jewel box.”
Moody Blue
If you pick a gorgeous moody jewel, don’t ruin it by painting the ceiling white. The contrast between the dark color on the walls and the white ceiling feels like the room is half-dressed...like a major detail was forgotten. Instead, Guarnaschelli recommends color drenching the ceiling in darker rooms, either with the same color or a slightly lightened shade.
“In moodier rooms, we love drenching ceilings with the wall color to build cozy vibes that would otherwise fall flat with a white ceiling,” says Guarnaschelli. “This library in a historic Kentucky home features Sherwin-Williams Raging Sea.”
Contrasting Cream And Blue
Color can also be used as an accent on the ceilings, as Guarnaschelli did in this cozy living room. A cream base is contrasted with a blue-green coffered ceiling detail, giving this space a homey, warm look. While most paint tricks are designed to make the ceiling look higher, this both lifts it up and brings it down. The contrast of the light and dark makes the light sections pull away, giving those sections the illusion of being taller, but the darker details bring the ceiling down, creating a cozy feel.
Misty Green
A misty green ceiling gives a room a calming look that sits right between moody and serene. It envelopes a space in the feeling of a cloudy morning in the mountains, when everything is still and quiet. In this room, Danielle Flax, principal at Danielle Flax Interiors in Annapolis, Maryland, not only painted the ceiling, but every bit of trim as well.
“One of my favorite low-lift, high-impact design tricks is painting the walls, trim, and even the ceiling the same color. It’s a relatively inexpensive change, but it completely transforms how a room feels,” says Flax.
Soft Blue-Green
In a space that gets flooded with light, like this Florida home, a cool color can help temper the heat, especially when it contrasts with a neutral on the walls. The cool tones above create a canopy that feels light, airy, and soothing. “We selected Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue for the ceiling because its soft blue-green character and subtle gray undertones bring a relaxed, coastal elegance to the space without overwhelming it.”says Tracy Morris, principal at Tracy Morris Design in McLean, Virginia.
Plus, as Morris explains, the color helps blur the line between the indoors and out.
Warm Beige
If you are intrigued by the idea of color on the ceiling, but not quite sure you can totally dive in, a non-white neutral is a pretty and welcoming look. In this home, Michelle Woolley Sauter, principal designer and owner of One Coast Design in Charleston, South Carolina, used the same color on the walls as the ceiling, enveloping the space in a cozy warm beige. She says, “The shade is Sherwin-Williams Oyster Bar, used at 50% strength. The ceiling retains the exact character of the walls but softens and recedes rather than pressing down.”
Read the original article on Southern Living
