Many people treat the fifth wall as an afterthought, but a painted ceiling is one of the easiest ways to elevate any room. You can treat your ceiling like an accent wall with a bold, contrasting color. Paint it the same color as the walls and trim to make the room feel larger. Or add subtle variation by choosing a slightly different color than the rest of the room.
To drive our point home, we gathered our favorite painted ceilings to demonstrate how a couple of coats of paint can take any room in your home to new stylish heights. Check out these painted ceilings that range from understated to bold for ideas and inspiration.
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Accent the Wallpaper
A stately shade of gray makes a lofty impression in this dining room from Martha O’Hara Interiors. The color of the ceiling matches the large scrolling leaf wallpaper by Graham and Brown, while crown molding painted in a creamy white creates definition between the finishes.
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Add Playful Circus Stripes
Add whimsy to a child's room with a circus tent-inspired ceiling. A playful blue-and-white-striped ceiling is the main attraction in this space from Lizette Marie Interior Design.
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Go Black
Any room can be given a bold, luxurious, and modern look when you paint the ceiling black. Pair the hue with light colored walls to keep the ceiling from feeling low and the room feeling small.
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Try a Textured Finish
Lend a little architectural interest to your ceiling with a faux stone paint treatment. The fifth wall in this contemporary dining room from interior design firm RLH Studio has a high-gloss finish that reflects light and highlights the textured effect.
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Add Contrast With Bold Teal
Add vivid contrast with bright white walls by painting the ceiling in a bold shade of teal. This Scandinavian-inspired living room filled with neutral decor and natural textures from New England Design Elements features a striking beadboard ceiling painted in Vardo by Farrow and Ball.
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Choose a Soothing Gray
Combine soothing gray paint with white crown moldings and trim for a classic feel. Martha O'Hara Interiors painted both the walls and ceiling in a fresh shade of gray (Horizon by Benjamin Moore) for a cohesive feel in this spacious primary bedroom.
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Match the Ceiling Beams
Ceiling beams can help move your eye through a space. You can replicate that effect by getting some paint in the same color as your ceiling beams and creating more lines. Erin Williamson Design used a warm golden paint the same shade as the room's exposed beams to help zone out an entryway.
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Go Dark
Here is a trick for making a standard eight-foot ceiling feel a mile high. When remodeling this small living room, the residential interior designers at Chicago-based Mitchell Channon Design paired dark gray paint with lighter silver gray patterned wallpaper to create a high ceiling effect. The winning combination made the room feel much bigger without raising the roof.
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Add Coziness
Make a small twin bedroom feel extra cozy with a bold navy ceiling. Jordan Shields Design paired navy ceiling paint with white walls, carrying the blue-and-white combination onto the window treatments and bedding for a coordinated look.
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Decorate With Decals
Create a temporary ceiling wallpaper effect by embellishing a blank ceiling with inexpensive decals. In the room above, leaf decals are sprayed across the ceiling and the corner walls below, creating the effect of leaves blowing in the wind.
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Add Color to Ceiling Beams
Highlight architectural details like exposed ceiling beams by painting them in a contrasting color. Black Lacquer Design painted the ceiling beams and wood trim in this Arts and Crafts living room in a purple mauve shade to create an unforgettable first impression.
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Paint the Ceiling Sky Blue
Bring the sky indoors with light blue ceiling paint. This choice can work especially well in rooms in slanted ceilings, recreating the feeling of a clear day inside the living room.
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Combine With Color Blocking
Free-spirited decorators may want to copy this unique paint job from Dayka Robinson Designs. The Atlanta, GA-based interior designer turned a narrow hallway into an eye-catching feature by painting a tricolor wavy pattern onto the walls. The dark gray paint on the ceiling creates the illusion of height.
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Go Darker Than the Wallpaper
Choose a color that's a shade or two darker than a dominant color in the wallpaper and put it on the ceiling. It's a choice that doesn't feel bold and risky; you're just continuing to decorate the room, from floor to ceiling.
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Try a Moody Purple
Emphasize an interesting coffered ceiling with paint. In the room above, an earthy green paint draws the eye up to the square coffered ceiling with curved edges in the dining room. The color choice is an excellent addition in a room dominated by browns and natural materials, making the room feel moody and chic.
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Mimic the Sunshine
Take your white kitchen to the next level with this bright idea from Tara Seawright Interior Design based in New York City. The design team warmed things up with a cheerful lemon yellow ceiling that mimics the sun and energizes the white kitchen.
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Add a Starburst Effect
Give your baby something to gaze at with a decorative painted nursery ceiling. The starburst-inspired ceiling in this travel-themed nursery from Red Egg Design Group has neutral gray walls that allow the fifth wall to shine. At the center of the design is a brushed chrome ceiling fan with a retro feel.
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Wash the Ceiling in Blue
A vibrant ceiling paint color called Caribbean Blue Water by Benjamin Moore enlivens this 1970s inspired kitchen from CG Allan Interior Architecture and Design.
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Paint Ceiling Moldings
Add definition to a coffered ceiling with a two-tone paint job. Andrew Howard Interior Design painted the moldings of this white coffered living room ceiling in a soft shade of gray to highlight the architecture. The gray-and-white pairing is carried down onto furniture and decor for a harmonious feel.
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Drench Walls and Ceiling
Drench the ceiling and the walls in the same bold shade to make a striking statement. High-gloss royal blue paint on both the coffered ceiling and the wood-paneled walls of this glamorous living room from Forbes + Masters reflects light from the pair of crystal chandeliers, can lights, and floor lamps in each corner of the room to keep the saturated color from overwhelming.
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Paint Only the Corner
Add a painted edge to a curved ceiling to create a conversation piece. You can create the look above with just painters tape and a some leftover paint. For the color, choose one that appears elsewhere in the room but hasn't necessarily been pulled out, as LA Designer Affair did with the color of the carpet above.
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Paint a Ceiling Mural
Add old world charm to a rustic exposed ceiling with a painted folk art mural. Virge Temme Architecture painstakingly restored this decorative Scandinavian-inspired floral mural in the dining room of a client's weekend retreat to create a colorful, fanciful, one-of-a-kind ceiling.
What does a painted ceiling do to a room?
Painting the ceiling in a bright or bold shade can create a color accent against white walls. You can make a room with extra-tall ceilings feel cozier by painting the ceiling in a dark shade. Or you can paint the ceiling the same color as the walls to create a cohesive feel that will make a room with low ceilings feel loftier by erasing the transition between walls and ceiling.
Is it okay to paint your ceiling the same color as your walls?
Yes, it is okay to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls. Painting the ceiling in the same color as the walls can create a cohesive effect, whether the room is a neutral shade of white, beige, gray, or a bolder shade of blue, green, or any other color. Use the same paint color on window trim for a modern feel.
Should ceiling paint's finish be flat or satin?
Choosing a paint finish for your ceiling depends on the condition of the ceiling, the finish on your walls, and the look you want to achieve. Matte paint will cover imperfections better than satin paint, which will reflect light and highlight inconsistencies. Satin paint will subtly reflect light and cover any minor inconsistencies in the finish. High-gloss paint will show inconsistencies or even brush strokes if not applied with the utmost attention to detail, but will bounce around light and create a glam feel. You can pair matte walls with a satin ceiling that will reflect more light, but using the same finish on both walls and ceilings is a safe bet for a modern space.