# Your opinion on ceiling color for visually raising or lowering effect



## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Does a light or dark colored ceiling make it look higher or lower ?


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

Light raises it up, dark brings it down.


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

Mike Finley said:


> Does a light or dark colored ceiling make it look higher or lower ?


It depends




...sorry


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## Brushslingers (Jul 28, 2006)

a two inch stripe of color at the top of the wall will make the ceiling appear higher... colored ceilings really don't look all that high on thier own. For the most part, ceilings are painted white for light reflection.


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

Technically speaking white ceilings make it seem higher, the side effect is that it also shrinks the room down.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

I have seen ceilings painted light shades but white is predominate by a long shot.

Some of the new 'Tuscan' homes are painting the ceilings the same as the walls and using trim to frame it. I guess it's great if you happen to be from Tuscany.


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## ProWallGuy (Oct 17, 2003)

Danahy said:


> Light raises it up, dark brings it down.


I agree.


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

I will colour a ceiling typically if the room has no windows in it, the ceilings are lower than usual, or if the corners along the ceilings are crap. Nothing worse than bringing even more attention to that.


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## Exroadog (Feb 11, 2005)

Did some jobs for a designer in her home and had the ceilings all tinted (usually 1/4 tint of wall color) and the reason she gave was to "lower" the ceilings.


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## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

Danahy said:


> I will colour a ceiling typically if the room has no windows in it, the ceilings are lower than usual, or if the corners along the ceilings are crap. Nothing worse than bringing even more attention to that.


A border 2" down from the ceiling with the top 2" of the wall and ceiling being white will fix the crappy corner tape/float job (or at least make it less obvious)... or the old fix of crown molding which covers the crappy corners and adds value. And it's something else to have to paint so it increases the job value this time and on future re-paints for yourself or another painter.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Here are some details. Doing this kitchen remodel and the ceiling that leads into it is already connected to other ceilings in the house and is off white, (sort of, kind of a bit darker than off white). The walls leading into the kitchen are a dark tan.

Figured I would wrap the dark tan around into the kitchen walls...

question is - I need to bring the current ceiling color into the new kitchen, I could just bring the off white celing through out the entire ceiling of the kitchen (up to the soffit and the soffit itself), or I could just bring the off white color up to the soffit (soffit is only about 4"), then do the soffit ceiling in another color to maybe make a statement with it, probably just use the wall color up onto the ceiling soffit portion.

What do you think? Good, bad, ideas?


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## ProWallGuy (Oct 17, 2003)

Mike Finley said:


> What do you think? Good, bad, ideas?


Ask her. :laughing:


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

IMO the new ceiling and soffit should be the same color as the connected (connecting?) part of the ceiling
Dark/light/white...don't matter
A line like that will look bad


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

slickshift said:


> IMO the new ceiling and soffit should be the same color as the connected (connecting?) part of the ceiling
> Dark/light/white...don't matter
> A line like that will look bad


What line?


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

I think the soffit & the ceiling directly over the cupboards part would look good as the wall colour. The ceiling that connects to the main ceiling keep the same colour as the rest. Carrying the dark tan through the kitchen as well.

You could also paint all of the ceilings the same colour, which will hide the soffit alltogether. Personally, I think it would be neat bringing attention to it though...

imo.


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## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

Mike Finley said:


> What line?


Where the off-white ceiling and the soffit ceiling meet

Perhaps I'm picturing it wrong, but I would think that would create a visual line that IMO would be undesirable


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## Joewho (Sep 20, 2006)

I think the main ceiling and kitchen ceiling should be the same.

The 4" drop should be the wall color. It draws attention to it, but not too much. If a wall or two in the kitchen is going to be the darker color, having the 4" face the same color will help the visual transition. It's vertical, like a wall. 

Drawing attention this way will balance both rooms instead of making just the kitchen stand out. At least that's my humble opinion.


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

Mike, is it possible that you repost that same picture, coloured in with your different choices? Then perhaps a vote on which one wins...?

I'll try to post 3 versions... Perhaps someone more techie than I would make it look better...


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

I apologize in advance for my colouring skills... honestly I can paint.


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

Option 2


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

Option 3 "with stripe"

I suck sooooo bad at using MS Paint... but you get the idea...


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## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

I like number 3.


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## Rich Wozny (Aug 18, 2005)

numero tace...


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## Joewho (Sep 20, 2006)

3 of course.

Sherwin/williams has a paint program, but it's expensive and I haven't seen a crack for it.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Number 3 does look intriguing. Wouldn't of thought of that one.


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## realpurty2 (Aug 18, 2005)

Of course it's the homeowner's preference of colors so this could be done using many other choices, I just happen to like merlot against tan.


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

good job realpurty, someone who can actually colour. Your picture is sooooooooooooo much better than mine...


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## Brushslingers (Jul 28, 2006)

4 is great, cept it looks like a diner, maybe an orange... burnt umber. Slight brighter than the tan, and I like the WHITE offset.


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## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

I like the accent wall. Option 4 does seem intrigueing. I also think option 4 represents the line as too how many colours to have with an eye shot. 1 more colour might be one too much...


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## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

The base cabinets and appliances are going to change the looks quite a bit too.


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