Are you looking at techniques to optically enhance the height of your low ceilings, such as in a basement? Or perhaps your ceilings are of standard height but you want them to look taller? High ceilings provide numerous advantages, including lighter, brighter interiors and cooler rooms during the summer. While you may not be able to take advantage of some of these benefits if you live in a home with eight-foot ceilings, don’t worry: you can still make your home appear to have taller ceilings with a few simple tips.
Making your low ceilings seem higher than they actually depend on how well you can use the elements in your room to draw the eye upwards. Creating an illusion of height demands creativity and effort. Various methods can aid this illusion, and if you continue reading while keeping your particular space in mind, we believe you’ll be able to come up with a few ideas that will work for you.
Interior designers use numerous unique tricks to make ceilings look higher. Here are a few to start:
1. Use a lighter color for the ceiling
If you’re looking for a simple way to make your ceilings appear higher, this is it. Paint your ceiling a lighter shade of the same color as your walls, preferably white. Some people believe that high-gloss paint is best because it reflects light and makes the room seem overall lighter, brighter, and larger.
Another optical trick is to paint the first two or three inches of the perimeter ceiling the same color as the walls to clever blend the edges and create an illusion of taller, higher walls.
2. Hang curtains from floor to ceiling
Window treatments should be hung as high as feasible. Opt for custom curtains that go all the way to the ceiling, forcing the eye to travel upwards, thereby lengthening a room optically. Our eyes immediately associate the size and position of curtains with the size and position of the window. Hanging your window treatments at ceiling height draws the eye upward and tricks the brain into thinking the window is larger than it is. This is a fantastic technique to amplify and brighten.
3. Match the crown molding and trim to the color of the walls
If you want to add crown molding and trim to the top and bottom of the wall, make sure they match the color of the walls. If you’re looking for a way to make your ceilings appear higher, this is another time-tested trick. Painting the trims and molding the same color as the rest of your wall, will help you avoid creating visual breaks in the wall and blend the edges seamlessly into ceilings, thereby making the walls look taller.
4. Use mirrors
Decorating a small room can get tricky and mounting mirrors often proves an excellent way of enhancing both light and the perceived square footage of a room. Adding these elements that are luminous or that reflect light will also take the decor of the room to higher levels of style. For maximum impact, use tall, narrow mirrors and hang them on the wall or lean them against it.
5. Apply decorative paneling
Cover the lower two-thirds of your walls with beadboard or stylish paneling. Then, using the same color as the upper walls, paint the ceiling. Consider painting the upper portion of the walls and the ceiling the same light color, with a darker color below the chair rail, in rooms with a chair rail. By painting the upper part of your wall and ceiling the same color, you will be optically blending the wall into the ceiling, thereby making the walls seem taller.
6. Use stripes and patterns that run vertically
Vertical stripes, rather than horizontal stripes, are preferred in fashion because vertical stripes give an impression of added height. This rule applies to more than just garments. When choosing wallpaper, curtains, or custom roman shades, choose patterns that have vertical stripes and columns that draw the eye upwards.
7. Don’t use overhead lighting/fans
Fans and overhead or ceiling lights should be avoided since they bring attention to the low height of the ceiling. Instead, mount light fixtures on the walls and opt for long slim profiles that throw light vertically. Also, consider clear or see-through fixtures to reduce visual clutter.
8. Place art high
Hang artwork at a slightly higher level than usual. Also, small frames hung above doorways and windows provide the impression that the room has taller ceilings. Pick vertical layout art over horizontal to help draw the eye upwards.
9. Raised interior door openings
If you’re ready to make some structural alterations, consider raising the inside door openings to the ceiling or as near to it as possible.
10. Choose low-profile furniture
To highlight the gap between the furniture and the ceiling, use lower profile furniture with fewer horizontal features (armrests, for example). When the horizontal lines of your seating furniture are lower than standard height, the eye gets fooled into thinking the room is higher than it is.
Conclusion
Aside from choosing the right curtains, light fixtures, and furniture, there are a variety of other furnishings that can help a room appear higher. Vertical-format elements that take up a large portion of the wall and optically heighten low ceilings are the best options. Even with works of art and photo frames, sophisticated effects can be achieved. However, make sure to hang such wall items a bit higher than usual, since the observer will be forced to divert his gaze upwards, capturing the full vertical span of the room.