Asked on Jan 20, 2015
Repaint? Should the ceiling be white?
by
Barbara
+41
We just purchased this sweet fisherman's cottage built in 1880. This is the color the previous owner painted the living room. It's a pretty bright blue, but it's kind of growing on me. Still, I'm not sure, maybe a lighter blue? And what about the ceiling??? Thanks in advance for suggestions, I'm stumped.
29 answers
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Such an adorable space! I tend to treat horizontal and vertical surfaces different, especially when working with darker or more saturated colors like this blue. You don't have to paint the ceilings (or horizontal surfaces) white necessarily, but I would lighten them a bit to get rid of the cavernous feel. If the home owner left you the color that he used, you could bring it to the paint shop and have them make you a gallon at 50% or 25% tint, so it will be in the same family but much lighter. I would also switch to a flat or matte paint to get rid of the light reflection. But that's just my personal preference.
Lucid Designs
on Jan 20, 2015
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i love the color! I will keep the color on wall and ceiling the same as the space is a bit small and might feel "chopped off" if the ceiling is different to the wall.
Corne Roux
on Jan 20, 2015
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Thank you. I'm leaning toward keeping it, but may try a lighter shade of the blue on the ceiling as suggested by another reply...thanks for the positive feedback:)
Barbara
on Jan 20, 2015
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It's to dark. You should lighten it up!
Terri
on Jan 20, 2015
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@Barbara ....Love the blue, but I dislike white ceilings ( so does Oprah, lol ) and mine are painted off white/ light beige. I painted the trim the same, using eggshell finish. I feel my rooms are cozier than the stark white my mom used ....
Lela
on Jan 20, 2015
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Thank you, and I too dislike white, white ceilings. I usually don't have a problem picking paint colors for rooms, but this space is making me nuts.
Barbara
on Jan 20, 2015
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I'd use something with gold tones and then paint the ceiling lighter.It would brighten the room.
Terri
on Jan 20, 2015
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@Barbara I agree lightening up the ceiling area would definitely open up the space. If you don't like white, why not look and creams, eggshells and very light taupes. I think the object is to open up the space, which has a lot of character by the way. If you do decide to go with a blue, make sure it is very very pale. Do update us with pics. Thanks for posting.
Gail Salminen
on Jan 20, 2015
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@Barbara if it is the darkness that bothers you you can do a couple of things change out your decor to lighter brighter things mercury glass and mirrors reflect light, paint your coffee table and anything else you can or you of course can paint the room and ceiling i would stick to the same color family i like the blue with your sailboat pics and those gorgeous white shutters and i would paint the ceiling the same because i am lazy and it is so much easier than doing all of that cutting in have fun and enjoy xx
Chris aka monkey
on Jan 20, 2015
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Here's my 2 cents...The middle part of the ceiling I would paint it a golden color. The angled sides I would paint 3-4 shades lighter than the rest of the room or white to match the trim & furniture. As an extra thought, do not remove the plantation shutters, but I would add pale blue curtains w/ white sheers to soften the harsh lines of the windows.
Kayo Frazier
on Jan 20, 2015
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Cute room but I think the room appears small and I think it would look better in a lighter color. Another thing I think would look neat is to put some old ceiling tiles on the flat surface of the ceiling, maybe some distressed white vintage tiles.
Belinda Todd
on Jan 20, 2015
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Cute room too dark lighten the walls paint center of ceiling golden tones angles lighter shades check with a local designer I know it will be beautiful waiting for finish product
Verilea poole
on Jan 20, 2015
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Oh, no curtains windows are to pretty to cover up
Verilea poole
on Jan 20, 2015
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a decorator told once to take white ceiling paint, add two cups of the wall color and use that for ceiling color...works forme.
Pjlea
on Jan 20, 2015
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I would play up the wonderful lines of the ceiling by going pale in the center part (white + part of the wall color as noted by Pjlea above), then do the side portions in something a tone or two darker. It's a great room!
Susan Lightcap
on Jan 21, 2015
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I LOVE the wall color. What is it? I am looking for something similar for my living room. The tray ceiling is a wonderful architectural detail which ideally should be highlighted. You could paint the flat surfaces a lighter blue, or an off-white and keep the angled parts as they are. Have you considered adding molding to the ceiling? That would bring it up a notch too. I would google "tray ceilings" as there are plenty of images like the one below.
Colette Johnston
on Jan 21, 2015
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I love any cottage! The blue is really pretty, but I'm a big fan of white walls and a light shade of blue for the ceilings in cottages...No coverings for the windows.
Gretchen Mercer
on Jan 21, 2015
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blue is a very tiring color, you should paint the bottom half of the wall with a pale cocoa and the top halp with a pale pale yellow with a white chair rail to divide the two colors and the cieling shouls be white
Susan
on Jan 21, 2015
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If you want to make the room look larger, paint it a lighter color and paint the ceiling the same color. Having the ceiling the same color 'erases' the visual lines more and expands the space. If you want to highlight the ceiling because it does have very interesting lines, then you could make the ceiling color either darker or lighter than the wall color but in the same hue. Example: If you pick a wall color half way down the paint strip, you can choose the ceiling color to be one or two colors up (or down) the strip. What color to choose? If you're using some (or all) of the furnishings shown in this room, find a color pulled from them (eg. a color from the sofa's fabric or something from one of your throw pillows.) The more unity you have in colors, the more the room will flow :-)
CK
on Jan 21, 2015
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Paint color is subjective, yes white would look ok as you have white trim but paint it however you will be happy. You must live in it anyone else's opinion is moot.
April E
on Jan 21, 2015
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i prefer a white ceiling(matt) & light coloured walls- dark surfaces absorb the light,while light-coloured surfaces reflect it,thereby giving u a bright well-lit room with a minimum amount of artificial light!!!
Louis Lieberman
on Jan 21, 2015
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I forgot to add......The cottage is lovely! Little rooms are so charming and I love designing them.
CK
on Jan 21, 2015
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Someone painted a room in my house Turquoise. It took a lot of paint and patience to cover it up.Good luck!
Terri
on Jan 21, 2015
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I had white tinted with the wall color, it turned out beautifully. Just a hint of the color.
Carla Ross
on Jan 22, 2015
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after all I used primer and more paint! My eyes went counter clockwise looking at it.LOL
Terri
on Jan 23, 2015
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Guess I don't believe in white ceilings and do everything I can so I don't have to live ith them! I love the dark blue walls. If you want a change for the ceiling you could use a watery blue or green that will immediately catch the eye. Few accents around the room will pull it together...throw pillows, lamps, art, vases, etc...your choice. Lovely room btw.
Suellen Hintz
on May 31, 2016
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My cousin: THE Interior Decorator says that all ceilings should be painted WHITE...for myself, well, I simply procrastinate so I never quite make that decision.
Anna Smith
on Aug 12, 2016
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The ceiling would look great with white bead board.
Kta10945083
on Sep 09, 2016
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That blue is the color of my bedroom. I have white ceilings. It looks okay, but blue would like nice too.
Nancy
on Sep 09, 2016
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