10 Times When Wallpapering a Ceiling Is a Good Move
Don’t ignore the blank canvas above your head. Wallpaper can transform it into a fabulous feature
It may be called wallpaper, but there’s another place this decorative material can work wonders, and that’s on a ceiling. Papering up there is a little trickier than on a vertical surface, but the effects are well worth the extra effort. Wallpaper on the ceiling can add character, visually improve a room’s proportions or bring pattern into challenging spaces.
2. Pump up vintage character. If you’ve inherited a home that has lost its architectural features along the way, textured wallpaper can put back the detail that ornate cornices and ceiling roses used to provide — just as it does in this Victorian living room. Try a tile-style design like this Anaglypta paper to reproduce the intricacy and geometry the period features would have had.
Brush Up on Paintable Wallpaper for a Posh Look
Brush Up on Paintable Wallpaper for a Posh Look
3. Put on a show. A shower room with tiling all round doesn’t have to be dull. Here, colorful geometric wallpaper up high packs a punch, turning a small space into a real treat. White wall tiles let the paper’s colors do the talking.
Consider using wallpaper on the top of the walls as well as the ceiling if possible in a small space like this, as it will give your choice greater impact than an overhead-only display.
Decorators varnish is often used on paper in bathrooms to protect it from the effects of steam and splashes.
Consider using wallpaper on the top of the walls as well as the ceiling if possible in a small space like this, as it will give your choice greater impact than an overhead-only display.
Decorators varnish is often used on paper in bathrooms to protect it from the effects of steam and splashes.
4. Smooth out the angles. Wallpaper can come to the rescue in an unusually shaped room in which it’s hard to tell what’s wall and what’s ceiling. In this bedroom, instead of breaking up the surfaces with different treatments, the owners finished them all with a single wallpaper. With a recessive white ground and a pale green-and-gray motif, it avoids weighing down the space.
If you face a similar challenge, a small-scale pattern is best. It would be tricky to make a large motif work across the room’s angles.
Find a wallpaper installer to help with your tricky spaces
If you face a similar challenge, a small-scale pattern is best. It would be tricky to make a large motif work across the room’s angles.
Find a wallpaper installer to help with your tricky spaces
5. Hide blemishes. In this home, a ceiling in poor condition was made over with wallpaper. The bonus of choosing a dark paper for a high ceiling is that it can make the room feel more intimate.
Bear in mind that the problems with a ceiling need to be purely cosmetic if you’re going to use wallpaper in this way to improve its looks. Call in a professional if you need to check the structure, and be aware that there’s only so far you can go to disguise uneven surfaces. Sometimes refinishing is required.
Bear in mind that the problems with a ceiling need to be purely cosmetic if you’re going to use wallpaper in this way to improve its looks. Call in a professional if you need to check the structure, and be aware that there’s only so far you can go to disguise uneven surfaces. Sometimes refinishing is required.
6. Work in a big print. A pattern that might overwhelm a room if it were used on the walls can be just the ticket on the single surface of a ceiling.
In this child’s bedroom, a multicolored design adds a burst of brilliance, while the walls are left in a restful blue that ties in with the navy hues on the ceiling.
In this child’s bedroom, a multicolored design adds a burst of brilliance, while the walls are left in a restful blue that ties in with the navy hues on the ceiling.
Here’s another child’s room with a no-holds-barred ceiling pattern, this time set against white walls. The sophisticated design will last through the childhood years — something worth considering if you don’t want to be up a ladder again anytime soon.
7. Play up the light. If you’re finding it hard to create the decorative interest you’d like in a hallway, check out this space. The trellis-patterned wallpaper on the ceiling adds a layer of detail, and its metallic finish glows when illuminated by the pendant light.
The color of the paper coordinates with the paint above the crisp wainscoting, which protects the walls from scuffs in the busy hall.
The color of the paper coordinates with the paint above the crisp wainscoting, which protects the walls from scuffs in the busy hall.
8. Introduce pattern when the walls are taken. Hardworking spaces, such as utility rooms, can benefit from a touch of prettiness, and with the walls often filled up by appliances and cabinetry, the ceiling can be the place to put it.
A bird motif in this room keeps things bright and breezy — a mood that’s just right for a laundry room — and repeats the refreshing aquamarine shade of the cabinets.
A bird motif in this room keeps things bright and breezy — a mood that’s just right for a laundry room — and repeats the refreshing aquamarine shade of the cabinets.
9. Provide something to look up to. Where might you best appreciate a wallpapered ceiling? From the bathtub — and this room lets bathers contemplate a delicate watery-toned print.
A large mirror beside the tub multiplies the view of the wallpaper and visually stretches the boundaries of the room in addition to brightening it. The mirror above the sink, meanwhile, gives the room’s users yet another glimpse of the pattern.
A large mirror beside the tub multiplies the view of the wallpaper and visually stretches the boundaries of the room in addition to brightening it. The mirror above the sink, meanwhile, gives the room’s users yet another glimpse of the pattern.
10. Brighten the view. This retro-style pantry doesn’t miss out on a boost of pattern thanks to the sunny ceiling paper that continues the vibrant palette of the adjacent room. A pendant light with a clear glass shade lets as much of the pattern as possible remain on display.
Tell us: Have you papered a ceiling? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
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Things Are Looking Up: 10 Ideas for Decorating Your Ceiling
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Tell us: Have you papered a ceiling? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
More
Things Are Looking Up: 10 Ideas for Decorating Your Ceiling
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The ornate ceiling structure in this room provides a series of frames that make the butterflies appear as pinned collections. To re-create the look, choose wallpaper featuring regular rows of butterflies rather than a trail.
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