Should I paint this ceiling the same color as the walls?

last year

Hello folks. i'm in the process of painting this home office (the parts that are still brown wood are going to be enclosed inside cabinet doors (currently being built).

I'm trying to figure out if I should paint the ceiling the same color as the walls and just drench the room. Or leave it white? Or paint a diff color?

Featured Answer

Kendrah

last year

Looks like you are going to have a really nice office.

I worked with a fantastic color consultant who always painted ceilings the same color as the walls but cut the paint with 50% white. When a dark color wall throws light up on the ceiling, it darkens the intensity of the ceiling color. If you paint your ceiling the same color and saturation as your walls, it will actually look darker than your walls. By painting the ceiling the same color but cutting it by 50% white, the ceiling will actually end up looking the same color as the walls.

But why paint it your wall color at all instead of painting it white? Your room is small, not so much square footage wise, but the ceiling is not high. So, the white ceiling feels a bit like a lid on the room and is making it feel even more squat. When you paint the walls and ceiling same color (but cut 50%!) it helps blur where the walls ends and the ceiling starts. And it makes the room actually feel bigger and the ceiling higher. For this reason, I would not wallpaper the ceiling in here nor paint it white.

Regarding light, that is an issue of lighting more so than color. Draw a pic of the entire room and note where you have overhead lighting currently and where you intend to add task lighting. Folks on here will give you great feedback as to where and how to add more lighting.

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Comments (16)

latifolia
last year
It doesn't look like you get a lot of natural light, and you've chosen a very dark paint color. If you spend a lot of time in your office, especially during the day, you'll need very good lighting. Painting the ceiling darker will exacerbate the situation, so I would keep it white.
gillian910 thanked latifolia
Lyn Nielson
last year
I would.

I would also paint the trim the same color... no stark contrast with the white trim.
gillian910 thanked Lyn Nielson
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houssaon
last year
I like it all one color!
gillian910 thanked houssaon
arcy_gw
last year
You are going for dark and moody I take it. The white window frame needs to be dark. I would not paint the ceiling as dark. You aren't keeping any wood tones ? I might go with a taupe for the ceiling. If the trim out were dark wood that would work better to mix it up a but. Too much is TOO MUCH.
gillian910 thanked arcy_gw
gillian910
Original Author
last year
the room is W / NW facing

And no, not leaving any of the natural wood
gillian910
Original Author
last year
yes, going for moody (though will brighten it with a fun / bright rug and art on the back wall
Debbie Downer
last year
Same color overhead will look darker than it does vertically on the walls - something about how light from windows and overhead light hits it. Cut wall color with white - can be quite a bit of white actually- and the eye will read it as the same color. Or if quite a bit of white is added it will look lighter but not be the jarring contrast that straight white is giving you. Will you have wood floors/ furnishings at least? Needs some warmth.
gillian910 thanked Debbie Downer
AnnKH
last year
In our last house, most of the rooms had non-white ceilings, in a lighter shade than the walls. The only room where the walls were rather dark was a bathroom, and the ceiling was much lighter than the walls.
gillian910 thanked AnnKH
ptreckel
last year
It is an office, so…a work space with equipment of some kind? Or books and a laptop? What kind of functional light do you need? Just curious as it might inform answers.
gillian910 thanked ptreckel
gillian910
Original Author
last year
Great questions and idea, thanks everyone.

Another idea (which may be great or stupid!) is putting a fun wallpaper design on the ceiling OR in the backs of the shelves.....Thoughts?

@Debbie downer A wood floor would be awesome, but i can't invest in that at the moment. I am hoping to find a rug that has a similar effect (tips?)

These are my idea so far to add warmth

--brass hardware on pulls/doors

--new warm rug

--brightening art on back wall (prob gallery wall)

-plants

-natural-colored roman shades (or something similar)

-fun wall--paper on the backs of shelves

***would adding sconces to the sides of the windows help?

@ptreckel it's a home office for me, so the shelves mostly have books / memorabilia and random ephemera / some natural-colored storage boxes. The room currently has recessed lights (plenty enough for functionality, but that's not to say more targeted lights wouldn't add interest)
Jilly
last year
I’d paint it …

Or a lighter color in the same family, not white …

Or wallpaper …

Maybe a fun chandelier, too?
gillian910 thanked Jilly
AnnKH
last year
My Mom had a wallpaper business in the 80s. I watched her work (she did a couple of rooms in my house), and I can't imagine how difficult it would be to wallpaper a ceiling (and make it perfect).
gillian910 thanked AnnKH
woodrose
last year
I agree with latifolia, stay with a white or light ceiling. I know if I was in a room with walls and ceiling the same color, I would feel like I was inside of a box. Dark and moody may be fine in the daytime, but you may regret having such a dark room at night.
gillian910 thanked woodrose
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
last year
Go for it. I love that you're making a bold choice. I like the idea of wallpaper on the ceiling, too, like the examples above. Or you could go for a metallic gold or bronze paint for the ceiling, like this:
gillian910 thanked Sabrina Alfin Interiors
HU-570180435
last year
Kendrah nailed it