Use ceiling colour to give your room a desired feel

A ceiling is every house must-have. It amplifies the decorative colours on it. It occupies more space hence the paint colour could do the little magic in the room. The colour reflects lighting back unto the walls simulating the desired aura in the room.

Patricia Asiimwe, an Interior designer at Kweli shop, admits when decorating a space, homeowners may not consider the ceiling colour as part of their colour scheme, but the ceiling plays a huge role in the overall feel of a room.

Choosing colours in this case whether light or dark affects how large or small a room feels. The trick of course, is figuring out which colours to use and where to put them.

Large rooms with high ceilings often feel unbalanced or cold because furniture and flooring occupy less than half of the room, leaving the rest of the space bare. Paint colour can help bring the ceiling down, fooling the eye into thinking the room is smaller and more intimate.
Medium to dark and rich, deep colours such as chocolate brown on the ceiling warms up space. In a sparsely furnished room, a dark ceiling can become the focal point, taking the eye away from the lack of accessories.”

Small rooms
Small rooms or those with low ceilings can feel cramped and stuffy. Light colours on your ceilings can make these spaces feel bigger. For instance, a dark blue wall with white ceiling may not work to enlarge the space, but pale yellow walls with cream or off white ceiling will feel light, airy and large.

White is another colour widely used on ceilings. It compliments almost every shade on the colour wheel and works well in most color schemes. White colour reflects light, making the room brighter and appear larger.

Rooms that use the same colours for ceiling and walls allow the ceiling to blend with the rest of the room. For example, light ceilings and walls create an open and airy space while a dark or rich colour like red on ceilings and walls bring everything in.

To add some art to a monochromatic color scheme, paint trim and mold a lighter colour. It will add contrast and texture to the room, highlighting architectural features.

Colour types
Asiimwe outlined some colours whose magic can make a difference in the room. Painting the ceiling a bold or light colour, such as turquoise, orange or yellow adds energy and interest to any space. This is good with white walls.

“Brightly coloured ceilings are perfect for fun, happy spaces and also terrific in bathrooms or kitchens where the finishes and furniture are usually monochromatic. For a bathroom for example, choose a subdued colour such as gray or muted blue to feel an intimate and serene space. A shimmering ceiling not only adds a little glitz to any room, but adds depth due to its reflective quality. Muted silver and gold are on trend.”

Black is not the most obvious choice for ceiling colour, but a black or charcoal gray ceiling definitely has its benefits. It’s an inexpensive way to conceal unwanted elements such as pipes or old beams. Black ceiling adds elegant drama to rooms such as dining room or bedroom, she explains.

Asiimwe says, navy ceiling adds depth and drama to a room while giving it a more regal feel.
Yellow ceilings bring bright refreshing punch of colour to any room. It transforms an ordinary space into a happy space and allows your eye to dance around the room.

Factors to consider
Nancy Melly, an interior designer at Chariots Interiors, says, consider the space in your house, height of the ceiling (lower or higher), colour of the tiles and wall paint.

If the room is higher, opt for white as for a spacious room adopt a lighter ton of yellow or green because it makes the room cosier, warmer and lowers the ceiling if it is high.

“Also, the highlighter should be able to connect to the wall paint and skirting along the house.
The colour scheme in different rooms will determine how the ceiling colours. There are no specific colours to use for ceiling in the current trend on the market unless one is conservative about white,” Melly says.

Initially, people would do one colour but times have changed and opted for experiential colours because the people saying in respective rooms are consulted. For instance a children’s room, one can’t decide the colour they want.

The art of consulting opens up for creativity. For so long white used to be domineering others, but with new ideas on the market like gypsum ceiling and textured.

Adapted from homeguides.sfgate.com

Additional reporting by Charlotte Ninsiima