Interior decorators typically call the ceiling as a room’s fifth wall. When you really think about it, this makes sense because why limit your design to just the four standard walls in your room when you have an extra one that’s just waiting for you to dress it up right?
When considering jazzing up your ceiling or fifth wall, below are some design tips and tricks you can try:
- Wallpaper it. A great way to incorporate store-bought, custom-made, or designer wallpaper into a space, other than the walls, is on your ceiling. You can tie in all the design elements with the right wallpaper or highlight an existing light fixture.
- Dress it up with tin tiles. Aside from bringing in some retro texture and feel, tin tiles placed on the ceiling will give a space a mirror effect that will effectively reflect light and open up a small space.
- Put some high-end appeal with silver or gold leaf. If you’re looking to glam up a room, you can easily go with the typical chandelier. However, if you desire something more luxurious, pair the chandelier with a coating of silver or gold leaf for a more upscale vibe.
- Stripe it up. Painting stripes on your walls could be striking, but stripes on your ceiling could amp up the wow factor even more.
- Paint it black. Putting some color on your ceiling other than the usual white would easily draw more attention to it, but if you want to push the envelope further, go with black.
- Consider exposing the beams. Doing so will draw the eye up and make the space appear larger than it is. This also adds instant character to a room. If your ceiling doesn’t have beams, just add some in.
- Mold it up. If you want to keep your ceiling white, you could just add in some texture instead of color. For example, you can opt for a geometrical molding in the same color as your ceiling for a more contemporary appeal.
- Mix it up. Who says that you can only decorate your ceiling with only one material? Just like designing a statement wall, opting to decorate a portion of the ceiling in stained wood, wallpaper, or a different material could lend a chic statement to the space without overwhelming it.
- Opt for stencils. You can go with a bold and dramatic stencil pattern or a quaint pattern that you can use to highlight certain architectural elements in your ceiling. For instance, if your ceiling has arches, you can use a stencil pattern for delineating and further highlighting them. You can buy stencils in any home improvement store or have a pattern custom made.
- Dress up the ceiling outside too. Why limit to your design choices to interior ceilings when you can decorate the ceiling on your covered patio or porch as well? If you’re not sure which color to go with, consider a shade of blue. Some say this color wards off mosquitoes and evil spirits.
Regardless of which decorating idea you choose to go with, make sure that it will blend in seamlessly or further highlight the room’s existing aesthetic. That is unless you’re renovating the entire space, in which case — just go for it.