To Match or Not to Match: Ceiling Paint Color
When most people decide to repaint a room, there is usually an unforeseen consideration that throws a monkey wrench in the works: what color do we paint the ceilings? The go-to color choice for most ceilings is white. But white is rather plain, boring and in with some wall colors, it simply doesn’t work.
So this begs the question: should I paint my ceiling the same color as my walls? The answer is not so simple. Sometimes, yes, it does make aesthetic sense to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls. But in some scenarios, you should avoid it. Here are some tips on when to match ceiling and wall paint, and when to avoid it.
Smaller Rooms Match Well
When you see ceiling and wall paint matching, it is usually in smaller rooms. That’s because painting both the walls and the ceiling a uniform color can make the room seem larger. It’s sort of an optical illusion. The paint seems to have no border and therefore the room looks larger.
However, when choosing a uniform color for the ceilings and walls in a small room, you should go with a light color. Something like a light coral, soft marine colors and light greys would work best if your aim is to make the room appear larger.
When Matching Doesn’t Work
Of course, not all rooms will benefit from paint matching the ceilings and walls. For example, if you have very tall ceilings, painting them the same color as your wall can look awkward since there is no contrast between the long walls and where they end.
In the case of high ceilings, you may actually want to paint them a darker hue than the walls to give the appearance of structure and make the room more intimate.
If you have crown molding installed, you should avoid matching the ceiling and wall paint. When the walls and ceilings are the same color but different from the color of your crown molding, it makes the crown molding appear out of place. It breaks the uniformity which detracts from the beauty of crown molding in the first place.
Again, you should try to pick a ceiling paint color that is a bit darker than your wall paint if you have crown molding. The darker color will accentuate the molding instead of making it seem like it doesn’t belong. Contact our painting company in Charlotte for help.
White can Work
White isn’t always boring. The reason white is the de-facto choice in the first place is because white ceilings are ideal when you have bright colors adorning your walls. The high reflective of white hues will play natural and unnatural light off of the bright colors and give them more life.
White can also hide a multitude of sins. White paint is often selected for ceilings with flawed texturing and other blemishes because it is good at hiding these imperfections.
If you have any questions about ceiling or wall painting, please feel free to call us here at Century Painting and we will be glad to help out in any way we can! (704) 245-9409!