Often times, (dare I say 99 percent of the time) our ceilings are overlooked, ignored and cast aside. Generally painted out ubiquitous white or some other beige haze of blandnessI was thinking recently how odd it is to ignore such a large surface. Ceilings can act as great focal points and will if allowed totally transform a room. The options are endless – you can paper, paint out in an intoxicating hue, drape, tile, fabric fy, plaster with an interesting relief or plank. Exhausted yet?
Personally I am a fan of carrying the wall colour onto the ceiling that way the space tends to feel bigger than it really is– you don’t get that effect of some other colour breaking up or interrupting the momentum– far more sophisticated I say.
Anyways some images to convince and inspire.
Huge fan of big old ceiling tin ceiling tiles saw them everywhere in NY and the repro ones aren’t half bad either.
An interesting plaster effect which has the effect of making the room feel far grandeur than it actually is.
Love wooden ceilings – especially when they get painted out the same colour as the walls.
thanks for very interesting post Abigail. Ive found myself thinking about trying to find a heavily embossed anaglypta for the long and narrow ceilings in my hallway for that extra bit of glamour. Not found anything yet but keeping my eyes open and upwards!
Love the first room…….. and the arched doors, painted blue are superb.
Kathi
Well very to point it was with your viewpoint on ceilings as a continuation of walls (garnered from your book and various other blog posts) that I was inspired to not only paint my tiny bedroom (13ft x 7ft”) a “dark smudgy hue”, but also went for juxtaposition of scale and added a HUGE ceiling medallion with just a bare $2.00 porcelain lamp holder fixture. I have a wall of windows overlooking the mountains of Santa Barbra, California and the result makes me giddy. Lying in bed at night the ceiling blends into the starry night sky and the result is the feeling of camping in the comfort of my own room. The medallion plays with scale adding whimsy and sophistication all at once. Pure Abigail Ahern inspired interior bliss! So thank you for the abundance of inspiration, you rock!
Thank you very much – so glad you love your pad and your view sounds amazing!
If you ever make it to this corner of paradise, you (& the pup) are invited for a glass of wine on the porch!;)
Thank you x
You are right. It is odd that we so often ignore ceilings. It certainly would make painting easier if I didn’t have to worry about getting a sharp line between the wall and ceiling colors. Haha. I think whenever I get around to repainting my home I will definitely consider painting the ceilings the same color as the walls. I love how you consistently push my thinking and get me to consider things I wouldn’t otherwise!
If you recall I commented on a recent post of yours about getting furniture away from the walls and I followed your advice. I LOVE the results. Thank you!
So happy it worked out that’s great news x
earlier this year after reading another post where you mentioned added colour to celings, I made the bold move with my new bedroom. I added a bright powder pink colour to the ceiling and the walls with a ‘brilliant’ white. the comments i got when i mentioned my plan to a few friends before i did it was either NOOO it will look horrible or they just couldn’t get the concept. All i can say now is that i think my bedroom is one best rooms in my flat and my friends who weren’t sure love it! That’s for tips! I’m now scouting for a yellow piece of furniture or object to go in my Teal coloured hall.
Fabulous thanks for letting me know