apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would agree with Maxwell on the ceiling color. I wouldn't do anything stronger unless you maybe wanted to keep your woodwork white and then do maybe a much lighter shade of the same blue on the ceiling. I did that with my house but with chocolate brown on the walls and a lighter mocha color on the ceiling, set off with white crown molding.

Is the trick of adding a little of the wall color to white ceiling paint just too, too suburban?

I wouldn't paint a ceiling dark blue unless it's way too high for the room's proportions *and* you either have a lot of light or want the place dark.

I'd be so tempted to do a slightly yellowish white for the ceiling, as the contrast should both pop the blue and make the room look a little sunnier. But I'm obsessive about sunshine-seeking. And you'd regret this move if you have bright-white accessories.

How high are your ceilings? I haven't had a white ceiling in 6 years, but I've also enjoyed high ceilings and I tend to go nuts on paint colors (walls, ceilings, trim). I put together a lovely, bright blue with Benjamin Moore's Macademia Nut and mahogany wood floors, which made the room nice and warm despite the "cool" blue walls.

Every morning when I look up at the painted ceiling (my ex's idea), I feel like throwing myself out the window. Do not paint your ceiling. You will regret it.

Also, do not paint the inside of your closet "pewter." You will be unable to locate your clothes.

I agree with Maxwell and would go for a white ceiling. With a medium-toned wood and a medium-dark blue wall, a dark ceiling would just make the room seem heavy and a bit claustraphobic. Depending on the color undertones of the wood floor, I'd skip adding a slight color to the white and just have a nice, crisp, bright white ceiling with maybe a slight, slight gloss to it. A blue-ish white might make the room too "cool" and warm colors might subsequently seem awkward in the space, and a yellow-ish white might make the walls seem a little dingy and the space a little tired (jaundiced?). If you keep it simple and neutral, you'll give yourself more options with what to do with the space later.

When we painted our bedroom apple green our friend and interior decorator recommended the trick of adding a bit of the wall colour to white paint for the ceiling. I think she called it a quarter formula (i'm sure you can ask at your paint store what the exact ratio is).

When it first went on (and they did the ceiling first) we were horrified. It looked reeeeally green. But as soon as they put the wall colour on it looked white again compared to the green on the walls. Now i'm really glad we did it. It still looks like a white ceiling but the contrast between the walls and the ceiling is much softer. We kept the trim and the doors white and there is a LOT of contrast there.

so i guess it depends on what kind of look you are going for - do you want the ceiling to really stand out or do you want it to receed softly?

get whimsy - put some louds to your ceilings

Another white is a color called Simply White from BM, it has a drop of ochre and two drops of gray, sort of a cool creamy white.

Hubby and I painted our living room deep, rich red and he convinced me to paint the ceiling a yellowish-cream (Behr's Raffia Cream if you must know).

Ugh. I regret it everyday I see it. It makes the room look dingy and reminds me of urine. If you are going to go with a color other than white GO SUBTLE!

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I really appreciate it! Sheree, I think I'm going to try what you did. THe softness seems nice for a bedroom.

Virginia, your choices sound so pretty....Any chance you'll post a picture??

I once dated someone who painted his bedroom and the ceiling a very light celery type green. I hated it! It looked dingy.

Stay white. My ex once painted my (at that time 'our') ceilings colors that supposedly went with the walls--darker shades, lighter shades, whatever. It was awful. The colors worked fine together--a sophisticated urban palate. Right. the rooms always looked dingy or too dark or like the ceiling was forever in some kinda shadow. Getting rid of the colored ceiling was more unpleasant than getting rid of him. Ceiling painting bites generally. Covering a color with white is even more work. Fortunately Benjamin Moore makes ceiling paint that is less splattery and is thicker than regular paint and can sometimes cover a color in just one coat. Never, ever, ever, never again. My ceilings are staying white.

I love my light blue venetian plaster ceiling in the bedroom and a moodier, greyer/violet blue venetian plaster ceiling in the living room.

Rules are made to be broken.

I am having the same problem! I am doing my walls in 'juniper' and the trim in a light cream. I think after reading all these comments I am going to also do the ceiling in the same color as the trim. Thanks for your help!

Megan

I painted my master suite and bath an icey blue color (very light), living room - sage green, hallway/office white sage, bedroom #2/bathroom/laundry room a buttercup yellow, (baby room) bedroom #3 blueish/turquoise color. I've also painted the ceilings the same color and just love it. As long as you stick with cool lighter tone colors it should reflect very nicely and not cause strain to your eyes. Colors that are soothing are always good. I love the ocean and so the neutral tones of green, blue, & yellow leaves me feeling refreshed.

Good Luck!

I tried the color thing on the ceiling once and it made the room too dark. My wife won't decorate on her own, so she asked an artsy friend, who said the ceiling is just another wall! {No way, I say, that's why it is called a ceiling!}
My wife won't even discuss it now as she wants the ceilings the colors of each room! We have 10' ceilings and they look terrific and open in white. HELP. One day I will come home to non-white ceilings and I too will throw myself out the window with the atomic librarian! Larry

I am going to have a tray ceiling in our bedroom. How would you paint a tray ceiling. My walls are going to be a barley color from Pottery Barn paint swatches. Its a yellow gold beige...

Go to a real estate search engine. click on all the expensive homes. Take a look at the white ceilings. Especially the ones that are flat and not vaulted. Have you ever seen anything so awful? You will see dark red walls, blue walls, green walls.......and dark floors.....and stark, cold, white ceilings. At night they look grey....and dirty.... if you have the new compac flourescent lighting...yuck. If you have incandescent lighting, they look green and sickly. The wall color bounces off, as well as the floor color which reflects on to the ceiling. So, anyway, I think its' really interesting that so many people on here love stark decorator white ceilings. Not me. In my bedroom, my walls are Smokey Taupe, B.M. and the ceilings are painted in Peau de Soie.....B.m. Aura paint....which is a light, very pale blush color, like a pale silk. The trims are white, but not stark. The room is gorgeous !!! My husband calms down the minute he walks in there ! In my kitchen, the walls are a deep tan. The ceilings are a cream. Cabinets and crowns are also a soft white. counters are light golden granite. It is devine to be in my kitchen.....cheery, and soft, soft, soft. Calming. Now I am going to do my dining room ceilings a soft bronze venetian plaster. Nothing like it when you're dining at night and the candles are glowing and so is your ceiling !!! Can't get that with decorator white, my friends.