What Color Should You Paint Your Ceiling?

White is by far the color most often selected by homeowners for their ceilings, and it’s usually a safe choice. However, if you’re looking for a way to spice up your indoor décor or transform the ambiance of a room, you may want to stray from the norm and opt for a different shade.

Guidelines for Selecting Ceiling Paint Colors

Many of the same considerations you’d make when choosing a paint color for the walls also hold true for the ceiling. For example, you’ll want to view any color you’re thinking of for the ceiling during the daytime—both in the morning and afternoon—to see how it looks when bathed in the natural light that enters through your windows. You’ll also want to observe how it looks in the artificial lighting you use at night.

It’s also important to remember how color can affect the perception of room size. For instance, a ceiling that is a lighter color than the walls will appear to be higher, while a darker-colored ceiling will seem lower.

With these basic principles in mind, here are a few of the many ways that ceiling paint color can play a starring role in your interior design scheme:

When Opposites Attract

Contrasting colors create a sense of drama. Painting the ceiling a completely different color from the walls can inject energy into the décor of an otherwise drab room.

One Color, Two Solutions

Painting the ceiling and walls the same color is often the favored approach for homes with vaulted ceilings and rooms where the walls angle into the ceiling space, making it difficult to determine where one color should stop and another should begin.

Lighten Up Just a Little

Often the perfect color to paint your ceiling is one that’s a few shades lighter than your wall color. This solution adds a touch of visual interest to the room while creating the same feeling of ample space that a white ceiling does.

If you’re planning an interior home painting project in the Southern United States, make sure you look to see whether Southern Painting has local painters serving your community. We offer color consultations with design experts who can help you use paint color to get exactly the look you want for your home. Contact us today to get started.