When choosing the color to paint your room, it takes hours, days, or even months to decide. This is one of those situations where you can sample dozens of paint colors and still be indecisive. Once a room is painted, you don’t want to put in the effort to redo it! Although this is a huge decision, this post isn’t about your wall colors. One thing plenty of people ignore while painting their walls is the ceiling color– while this may same obscure and fine to leave it whatever it already was, the ceiling color says a lot about the room and can distort it in many ways. To find out what illusions your ceilings are displaying in your home, keep reading!

Before you decide on a color to paint your ceiling, you need to know exactly what function you’d want your ceiling to preform. You could “raise” or “lower” it, or focus on the cosmetic aspect. With every color you’re choosing to do one of these things to your room.

White Ceiling

The classic white ceiling is seen in the majority of homes. Its clean look tends to dominate interior design. White tends to be the best color to use when the desired look is a “raised” ceiling or larger room in general. Against white, or light colored walls, the “open air” look is carried throughout the entire area. The stark white creates a wall-free look that opens things up and reflects light.

For those rooms already painted a darker color, a white ceiling will keep things from looking too closed in. The dark walls will already make the room appear smaller than it is, so leaving a white ceiling will open things up and reflect a little bit of light. The white will also contrast against the darker tones in the walls creating a very crisp look at the seams. With any wall color, white is a great way to go while painting the ceiling!

White ceilings can be chosen in so many different shades that there’s always one to fit your room. With a cooler colored wall, pick a cool toned white. Stark white and blue-er whites will work great against walls that have blue undertones. Warmer whites such as eggshell and cream are great for the warmer colored walls with red undertones.

Dark Ceilings

Deep colored ceilings can look stunning, but they can also look fairly tacky so this is something to be careful about. Make sure your ceiling color is complementary of your wall colors, so use the same rule as white– cool tones with cool tones and warm tones with warm tones. Using a dark ceiling color will make the ceiling feel lower than it really is, but also give the room a cozy, homey feel. This is a great option for larger rooms that don’t want to appear as grand. Dark walls have also been used in modern decor lately. Black or deep gray walls give off the very contemporary feel that’s very popular!

Contrasted Color

Contrasting the color of your walls and ceiling gives a very bold look that can be extremely whimsical, or sophisticated. Depending on your color palette, this is a very dramatic difference. Many younger bedrooms consist of neutrals walls with a popping color for the ceiling, that displays a fun look without overdoing it on bright colors. Different colors with this option will reflect very different moods for the room, so this is something to keep in mind. If the contrast is a deeper sophisticated color, this look can be extremely elegant. With a glossy finished paint on the ceiling, even a dark color could reflect enough light to the point where it wouldn’t be overwhelming.

Same Color

Another ceiling color option would be going with the same color as a wall. This is usually one of those love/hate options that is definitely personal opinion. One one end of the spectrum, this monotoned look could create a gorgeously sophisticated environment. One color may seem soothing or calming in a bedroom or bathroom, and this would be a nice way to go! Personally we think this is a better option with neutral colors, but if you’re one all for bright colors– go for it! This look could also end up closing in a room since there’s no “opening” and the unbroken color doesn’t allow an escape of light. If you wanted a similar colored ceiling but not quite the same, creating a color that’s 80% white and 20% whatever color your walls are, you’d get the same exact color, but a little toned down allowing a break in the walls.

Hopefully this helps you out a bit while you’re repainting your room, and got you to consider the ceiling color a little more! If you have any tips, tricks, or ideas, leave them below because we’d love to hear them!