What colors work well on ceilings?

If you’re tired of your plain white ceilings, consider painting them in another color or adding a pattern.

• A faux finish, which begins with a coat of white paint but includes a colored glaze over top, can leave the look of clouds or a subtle wash in a color that complements your walls.
• For a bolder look, paint stripes on the ceiling in a bright color. Use blue painter’s tape and a measuring tape to “draw” the lines before painting. Because stripes make the ceiling the centerpiece of the room, paint the walls a lighter color with no pattern.
• Extend the color of the walls to the ceiling for about a foot all the way around. Then paint the rest of the ceiling white, off-white or the same color as the walls but in a shade two to four times lighter. You can accomplish this with a wallpaper border, too. Paste the border on the edges of the ceiling instead of on the top of the walls.
• Paint the ceiling the same color as the walls and add decorative crown molding all the way around the top edges of the walls. Paint it white. You also can add similar trim around doorways, windows and baseboards, and paint those white, too.
• Choose a metallic paint for the ceiling. Metal tones and shiny paint are popular for ceilings in any room of the home and can be applied with brushes or spray guns, depending on the look you’re going for. Tip: Hire a pro if you want to spray-paint your ceiling; they can make a mess if you’re not an expert!
• Paint the ceiling blue. It’s the color of the sky, so it suits a ceiling. Plus, blue is a color that “feels” calm and cool, a plus in our hot climate.

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