kentucky Archives – Painters of Louisville Painters of Louisville
Ceilings represent one-sixth of a room’s space but are often ignored or get nothing more than a coat of white paint. White has traditionally been the choice for ceilings, yet if you’re willing to step out of the box, using color on the ceiling can add drama and excitement to your home’s interior.
1. Make the Ceiling Lighter
A ceiling lighter than the walls typically makes a room feel brighter and more spacious. A white ceiling tends to disappear, calling attention to the room’s furnishings and walls, and offsetting highly saturated wall color, making the walls look crisp.
2. Make the Ceiling Tinted
Tinted ceilings can dramatically change a room’s appearance. Pure, non-tinted white can look stark and clinical. Instead, select a white with the warm or cool undertones you’d like to bring into your room. For a fail-safe way to get the perfect ceiling white that coordinates with the walls, dilute the wall paint with non-tinted white in a ratio of 80 percent white to 20 percent wall color.
3. Make the Ceiling Match
Painting the walls and ceilings the same color makes your job easier; you won’t have to tape the molding at the ceiling line.
4. Make the Ceiling Darker
Darker ceilings visually lower the space, evoking a cozy, intimate interior.
5. Make the Ceiling Glossy
Most ceilings are painted with flat finish. Choose a glossier finish for good light reflection only if the ceiling is in flawless condition.
6. Make the Ceiling Coordinate
Like the walls and trim, the ceiling color should coordinate with other influencing interior finishes such as cabinetry, carpet, window coverings, and furniture.
7. Make the Ceiling Just Right
Test ceiling colors by purchasing a quart of paint or by taping a few paint chips together.
Live with the test colors for a few days, viewing them in different lighting and with proposed wall colors.
Denise Turner, ASID, CID, CMG is an award winning international colorist and speaker, color and design trend forecaster, Color Therapy specialist, marketing expert, author, and president of the Color Turners. She is an authority on cultural colors for the US and international market Denise regularly appears in the press, as a media spokesperson for ASID National and CMG Expert Speaker’s Bureau. She is an ASID professional member, former ASID chapter president, Certified Interior Designer, CMG Chair Holder CCIDC (California Council for Interior Design Certification) Board Member, ASID Designated Seat and UCLA graduate. http://www.colorturners.com/ denise@colorturners.com
