I am painting my house. What color should the ceiling be? Should I leave it white or paint the walls the same?

Question

color

Answer 1

Ceilings do not have to be white and, in fact, if all of your walls have color, your ceiling shouldn't be white. It will look like you gave up because you didn't know what else to do. Interior spaces can be any color you like. It is a personal preference. To be honest, if you really like it, the room can be black! It's your room. But, from a professional standpoint, the only rule is that the ceiling be at least one value lighter in color than the walls. There is less light on the ceiling and the color will look darker, even if you used the same color as the walls. Also, a lighter ceiling won't make you feel like the room is coming down on your head. Darker colors close in a space. Lighter colors expand a space. Also take into consideration your light sources when choosing the value of the color you finally select. What looks the right value in the store may very well look an entirely different color in your home.

Answer 2

I tend to look at ceilings as the 5th wall. You won't leave any of the other walls undecorated; why should you leave the ceiling? My kitchen overall is ivory with oak wainscoting and oak colored counters. I do have wall paper on the back splash and above the cabinets. The ceiling is a bit low so I painted the crown molding and the ceiling a very light blue as blue is in the wallpaper. It's still light colored but the molding and the ceiling being the same color visually make the ceiling appear higher. In my bathrooms, I used a lighter shade of the same color as the walls and accented it with different color moldings. One is white and the other oak. The bathrooms are in the original part of the house and have higher ceilings than the kitchen which was an addition. If you ceilings are low or the room is dark, you'll want to use a lighter color. Semi gloss is a pain on the ceiling because it can end up looking splotchy so try the egg shell finish. Don't do flat, it sucks up light because it has no reflective properties and is a total pain to try to clean. It might take you two coats but having a bit of sheen to the paint will help reflect light around.

Answer 3

Flat white is used 99% of the time.

But consider using a lighter color in the same palette as your walls. Most paint sample cards offer a selection of 3 or 4 colors - a primary color and 1 or 2 accent and trim colors. We did this with our living and dining rooms and used the lightest color in the palette for the ceiling - it looks great. Much better than plain old white.

Answer 4

depends mostly on the function of the room. in my bathroom i have a semi-gloss white paint on the ceiling. in my bedroom the color is the same as the walls, in my living room, i put up textured, vinyl wallpaper and painted it with metallic copper so it looks exactly like a copper tile ceiling. i have very high ceilings in my old house, so i can use darker colors on the ceiling without it feeling like it is closing in on my head. unless its a space where you feel you need a lot of reflected light or youre worried about the room feeling claustrophobic, then use any color you want--white is over-rated and over-used.

Answer 5

White seems to work with everything. It will make the ceiling seem a little higher. If it's already a really high ceiling, painting it a dark color will lower it. : )

Answer 6

There are like 200 different "whites". I used the computer at Home Depot and typed in my wall color. It recommended the correct white for my trim and ceiling.

Answer 7

I agree with one of the previous answers--you don't have to use white. I used light colors on the ceilings of my new home, and I love the effect. I used a light gold color in the dining room, and a light shell color on other ceilings.

Now, if you want to go white, I would strongly advise you to stay away from pure white. Go with shades of off-white. If you use pure white, everything else will appear dingy by comparison.

Answer 8

Flat-white

Answer 9

Have you done a color chart at all to determine what color could be used with the wall choice you have made.?

Answer 10

ceiling should be white