i say go for it. i painted the ceiling in my bedroom a really light pink, with 3 hotter pink walls and an orange one, and the effect was that the ceiling blended much nicer than if it had just been left white. i think it picked up the light better, too.

have fun!

Conventional wisdom says a lot of things but there's no reason to pay attention to it. The best thing to do is just try it out and see what you think. If you're not happy with it, then just repaint it.

We have a really high ceiling in our master bedroom too and have been having the same thoughts on maybe putting some color on it, so even though I don't have any fantastic ideas (I did see a room with huge ceilings painted entirely deep dark purple-black, ceiling included, with really dramatic jewel-toned curtains and high windows pouring light in, and it looked utterly sexy but was definitely not the look for our room), I'll definitely be lurking around to maybe borrow some of the suggestions posted here too!

Go for it. Low ceilings can be cozy (see any Frank Lloyd Wright house). But blue paint will never look like blue sky unless you have a luminous ceiling - which could be cool.

I agree - go for it. The other post is right on the mark...find a colour you like and then choose the next lighter shade. Yes, do 2 test patches - one by the window and one on the other side of the room. I would be most inclined to look at the off-white section of the fan deck for a colour.

LOVE painted ceilings in bedrooms. Go for it.

It will look great!

I painted the ceiling of 2 very,very small rooms and their doors the same color. One turquoise and the other orange. Love it. GO FOR IT.

In Caribbean homes it is common to paint the ceilings and then carry the color down about 6-8" on the wall and it really creates a very open feeling. I tried it in a kids bedroom and it worked very nicely. Good luck, try it, after all it's only paint and you can always change your mind if you don't like it.

I'm interested in these comments because I have one bedroom that's only 8.5 feet by 9 feet, but is 11 feet high. It has one huge, nearly floor to ceiling window. Lying in bed it feels like you are at the bottom of the sea. I have frequently wondered about painting the ceiling and down the wall a shade or two darker than the walls, which are a very light blue green from Farrow and Ball.

It wasn't my question, but all the comments are giving me courage anyway.

Thanks to both questioner and commenters.

My favorite moment in this year's Small Cool contest was the sky-blue ceiling in the teeny-tiny category winner's bedroom space:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/joanns-truly-happy-home-small-cool-contest-2012-168498.
Based on that, I say go for it!

I had ceilings painted a very pale indigo blue and it was beautiful. pale is the key and flat paint. I agree wrapping it down the walls looks lovely too

I would do it! All my ceilings are painted, and my living room ceiling is darker than the walls.

If you are afraid to go to dark there are some ultra matte and metallic finishes you can toy with to slightly make it pop. Lighting comes into play as well. Direct, spot, accent etc.

Apply basic color theory: warm colors advance, cool colors recede; light colors advance, dark colors recede; pure colors advance, muted colors recede. Actually your blue color is already a cool color that is darker than the white which meets one of the rules. Greying it down will make the ceiling seem to recede which will make it appear visually higher..

Sounds like a really cool plan and don't worry, it's just paint! :) For all you people wondering what color can do to a space here's a website of a Dutch paint brand http://www.histor.nl/over-kleur/ruimte-kleur with very clear pictures about the effect. For all of you who don't speak/read Dutch (probably all :P), here's what they say from left to right: (first row) widen - making higher - less deep; (second row) dynamic - link - separate. Have fun with it! :)

We did the exact same thing in our master bedroom with 8' tall ceilings. I searched for the perfect shade of white for the walls and trim, then painted our ceiling a gorgeous shade of pale blue. My husband and I find it so cheerful and inviting. I feel like the ceiling definitely recedes and the blue ceiling just feels like you're looking up at a lovely clear blue sky! :-)

Search on Pinterest and Google images. You will find some lovely inspiration rooms.

Color theory doesn't really seem to hold up with white ceilings, though, does it? Otherwise all those white ceilings would be advancing like crazy and the average room would feel oppressively low.

I second the suggestion of looking closely at the pale end of the paint chips. Especially if your wall will be white, you might be surprised by how effective an extremely delicate color is, even if it seems like it's just "white" on the paint chip. I'd recommend considering a really pale dusty pink or a blue that edges toward celadon.

I love painting in the ceiling,well just use only plain white because I like white.

I have a very small, boxy room with 8'6" ceilings, and I painted it a very pale blue, which expanded the walls, but I wanted to bring down the ceiling to put the room in better scale. I chose a grayish-green - almost a blue-spruce color but very light, and it worked! It feels much larger when the ceiling doesn't seem so high - the rest of the first floor is fine with white ceilings, but those rooms are of normal proportions. I think ANY color would work with white walls, but greens and blues tones are considered the most soothing for bedrooms.