I'd still encourage you to give consideration to completely cocooning yourself in your one calm color with ceiling lines like yours:
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I agree with the pp, anything above the straight walls is ceiling.

The prior owners of our current house did not get that memo!

If you really can't stand non-white ceilings then, I would strongly consider making a tray of the top side of the hexagon-like shape. See Barnhart Gallery's postings of the Wetmore and the Seligman. You can use crown to outline the very top plane and paint that ceiling white - it'll add depth to the room and won't push you outside of your comfort zone. Looks like the makings of a beautiful home. Good luck!

I don't know about your ceiling but, a stained glass panel would look magnificent in that window.

Agree with painting the entire room one color. Will actually make the room feel bigger. Like the idea of a calm color, these types of rooms can be very cozy.

I totally agree with Barnhart Gallery. All the same color as the walls. The space will feel larger and smoother. If you want it to be a bit cozier, you can paint the areas above the wall height 1-2 shades darker. Will not darken the room.

Thanks everyone! I think some of the calm colors I have planned will work with the "all in" approach, but I will have to rethink some of the others (there four rooms in all with this ceiling challenge) because they may be too dark for the ceilings to be painted the same color. I'll try to figure out how to post the BM colors...

Coconuts...do you have a picture of what the prior owners did not get right?

Here is a picture with the prior owners furniture, etc. I'm talking about the paint right behind the ceiling fan. Maybe it's the faux finish that was more of an objection. ;)

P.S. I think all one color could look great, I love all the pictures Barnhart posted.

Coconuts...tend to agree that it is the faux finish that may be the problem. You have enough straight vertical wall surface that the sloped wall would look fine either white, or in a color.

I have lived with these spaces and all one color is the way to go. Even in the picture with sofas if the ceiling was the same color it would look better but lose the faux finish, yuck.

When I looked at the picture then walked into the room this morning, it didn't seem as bad (faux finish is long gone!). The wall opposite the fireplace is sloped too and the sheer volume of the room helps. The prior owners did the same thing in the LR; it looks worse in there because it is the entire length of the room and no other sloped walls.

Good luck with your space, post pictures for us when it's finished!

Here is a picture with painted accent wall and white 'ceiling' where the slope begins.

That looks lovely...I think the beadboard helps break up all of the white. The other thing the room in this last picture has going for it is that the ceiling comes to a point, which helps draw the eye up.

...more of a point, that is!

I agree to paint the ceilings, would do it in all rooms, you can go 75% of wall color if you want it lightened up a bit, color from walls will reflect up.

by chance is that a Toll Brothers house plan? :) we have the exact room considered the study as part of the master bedroom suite. I did not consider the walls just above the straight wall as a ceiling. I painted them the same color as the lower section of the wall. It made the whole room feel higher and larger.

I house-sit in a wonderful 1930s bungalow where the woman and her partner did the renovation themselves. One thing I love about the house is it's simplicity of color. Each room is "dipped" in its color: walls, ceiling, switch plates, trim, doors, cabinets, windows all painted one color. Their palette has one thing in common from room-to-room, they are muted tones that appear mixed down by half with "milk" -- they aren't, but the results are muted and faded. The result is calming and expanding: since there is no interruption to the eye (white trim), it makes the spaces feel bigger.

If the previous owners had fauxed the ceiling with the pot lights, I think you would have felt better about the color extending to the ceiling. It would have looked less chopped.

Sorry LB, nothing could have made me feel good about the faux (that ceiling extends through 80% of the first floor, PTL they stopped on the sloped wall!). ;) They made lots of interesting choices, do you see the teal on the wall on the right edge of the picture? You also can't see the navy room behind me or the Wizard of Oz *decor* plastered all over the house. It's all gone now, the house is finally starting to feel like home (bought it in July).

Sorry to hijack your thread juudean! :)

LOL. I understand.
'juudean'. Your home will be beautiful. You are making some great choices!

I'm back! Thanks for the additional posts! diyher: no, this is not a Toll Brothers plan...a custom design. Are these colors calm enough to go whole hog (without a white ceiling)? BM's Aganthus (green), London Fog, and Yarmouth Blue?

Sorry...thought I attached the colors. I'm struggling with attaching Houzz photos...

In a room this shape, your lighting scheme matters a LOT. Plan on lamps with light colored shades, even groupings of lamps with shades in a plug strip so you can turn all on at once, uplights behind objects, underlights below sofas/dressers/chests. illuminate the corners so the unique shape of the space takes precedence. Use overhead light for utility only.

We have painted them both ways. I personally like do them in one color. Best of luck:)

Thanks for the additional comments! Here are the colors...calm enough for all in? Steve: although we do have some recessed lights planned for these spaces, I am a table lamp kind of gal!

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/aganthusgreen
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/yarmouthblue
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/londonfog

London fog is elegant. If you lean toward the blue or green. They work too.

Thanks...I have 4 bedrooms in this upper level that have the breaking wall issue...so plenty of space to try all of these colors!

I like the green :) somewhat similar to my master bedroom suite, and the same color I painted my study/office on the first floor off the foyer, and same color I painted my smaller bedroom/print office on my second floor :))
The London fog is a pretty color, similar to my family room. All nice relaxing colors. I used to work 9-5 in a corporate office a hour from home every day. So glad I recently painted my house calming colors, because now I work from home in my own biz and I sit in calming colors all day long :D Looking forward to more when you post

Lucky you, diyher! This house is our retirement home...several hours from the rat race, better known as Washington DC. I will be leaving too many years of corporate life for good at the end of this year; my husband has already retired...lucky dog. Here is an exterior shot of our new house, and the view out the front. Talk about calming!

Stunning view!

Congratulations on your impending retirement juudean!

Update!! Drywall installed and first coat of color applied. Granted the window trim is not finished, but I'm not so sure about this look. I'm also thinking that the blue might be too much if we painted the vertical and horizontal surfaces the same color. Thoughts?

I think it is beautiful ... could leave it, or go w/ same color super light, 50% or less. Love the color!

I like the light soft color you chose. I would paint the remainder a shade lighter. I personally would like to see a continuous visual all the way to the ceiling. Not breaking the perimeter flow with contrast color. It will force your eye to the height of the room.

LB...do you mean the diagonals should also be blue, and the horizontal white?

All that is not painted blue. The diagonals and the ceiling center.

. . . . LB is saying take the color to the white as well . . . . she is saying a shade lighter, you may want it to be a bit lighter than that....take some of the leftover paint and get a portion of it lightened, put it up, see what you think.....when you are in bed the white ceiling is going to feel like it is coming down on you. I have a vaulted ceiling like yours and really like the encapsulated feel of the color with the light, the floor, and the furnishings.

Thanks very much for the clarification! I Googled "Yarmouth Blue images" and came across one that had the lighter color above and it looked great. I'll probably do this for all the upstairs rooms...

Update! I went with the 50% color on the ceiling in the blue room and love it. The second room is the same strength color up and down. This worked well for the tamer color, London Fog.

I like it very much too!

Paint it all the same color.

Love the place! paint the ceiling and walls all one color... white ceilings are passe...unless you have white walls.

Beautiful, perfect with flooring!

Wow! That turned out beautifully! We always paint our ceilings one shade lighter than the walls and we think it makes the space look more expansive, and the eye does not stop at a big expanse of white.

Both rooms look great! I like the colors on the diagonals and ceilings.

It looks great, you must be very excited!

With less than 3 weeks before moving day I am beyond excited, although there is still much to be done! This has been quite a journey. Thanks to all of the Houzzers for weighing in on this particular dilemma!

Beautiful Home. Love your choices!!!