How to Visually Enlarge Ceilings

How to Visually Enlarge Ceilings

• When you feel comfortable at home, you probably feel more comfortable in general. But when there is a space problem, like a low ceiling, you can feel cramped and out-of-whack instead. Just trick your eye into thinking your ceiling is much higher and larger than it is.

Colors

• We've all heard that painting a wall or ceiling a light color makes it look bigger. There's a reason that this advice has stuck around for so long: it works. Lighter colors visually recede, meaning that our eyes see them as being farther away. Cool colors, or colors in the blue, green and violet family, have the same effect. That means that a lighter ceiling in a cool tone looks bigger and farther away, even if it's small and low. You can go with any color as long as it is cool and light, but of course white is always a good standard. 

Transitions

• A light ceiling will only get you so far. If you have dark walls and a light ceiling, the abrupt transition between one color to the next makes the size of the ceiling stand out in the same way that a frame creates a defined edge around a picture. Avoid this effect by painting the walls a semi-light color and painting the ceiling a lighter version of that color. For example, paint the walls grass green and the ceiling light chartreuse. Or, take it one step further and paint the walls and ceiling the same light color.

Illusions

• For some ceilings, the light paint trick just isn't enough. That's when it is time to pull out the big guns. Paint the ceiling a light color and the top third of your walls the same color. You can paint the bottom two-thirds of the walls a different color, or you can install wood paneling, like wainscoting, in that space. This method creates the illusion of a much larger ceiling because the point of transition exists beyond the actual ceiling line.

Tips

• Stick to matte or eggshell paint on the ceiling because semi-glossy or glossy sheens tend to reflect light, which makes the ceiling look closer. Avoid using overhead lights or fans because they draw attention upward -- and you never want to draw attention to a problem area. Use table and floor lamps to illuminate the room instead.

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