It can be effective if the ceiling is over 10' but not with 8' ceilings. It takes a lot of light natural and artificial to make this look good.

I think it depends on the color and size of room. There is one room in the house I I have always thought just looked weird and then the other day someone said "i wished they hadnt of painted the ceiling." And then it clicked in. It was a lilac so there was a lot of purple bouncing around and made everything look "off" somehow.

I agree with what others have said against going too dark on the 8' ceilings. If you are using a dark color on the walls, consider using a 50% reduction of that color for the ceiling (or even less). If you are using a light neutral on the walls, then it is fine to paint the ceiling the same color or one shade lighter.

I agree with Bobbi P. I look at ceilings with a few guidelines in mind. First, what are you trying to accomplish. With 8' walls and no decorative crown, continuing the wall color (medium tones or lighter) onto the ceiling helps remove the horizontal line between the ceiling and the walls, making the ceiling apear taller. Walls 8' with decorative crown also painted meduim tones or lighter, I use the same tone paint in a 50% value on the ceiling to make the crown POP. For 8' walls with vaulted or sloped ceilings, use the wall color onto the ceiling to make the eye travel upward; this makes the most of dramatic ceilings and removes the horizontal line again. For 9' walls and above, the size of the room and the desired effect is important. For 9' walls in a half bath, the tend to look and feel like a telephone booth, paint the ceiling as dark as you want. This brings the ceiling down to a human scale, or makes it recede completely. 1/2 baths can handle drama and you won't be applying makeup in a powder room, so light isn't as important. Keep that same guideline in mind for other rooms, how important is light, a dining room, living room or master bedroom does not have to have tons of light and can handle drama. Whereas, a kitchen, full bath and secondary bedroom need to be well lit for tasks like cooking, homework, and grooming. These rooms can handle colored ceilings, but the tone may need to be lighter to help reflect light. Another trick for super tall flat ceilings 10' and above, to bring them down to human scale.... is to take the ceiling color down onto the wall (use the doorway and window breaks as a guideline) creating that horizontal line to make a room feel more cozy. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I agree a dark ceiling works best with higher floor height.

Seeking advice for a dining room. I’m interested in recommendations on a dining table/chairs as well as what I should put on the back wall. I like the dark farmhouse table with light chairs look - but the chairs cannot be fabric as I have two young children (leather would be fine). Would white leather chairs get lost with the walls? I’m having a hard time putting it all together. Any advice is appreciated- thank you!