Asked on Jul 23, 2015

Should I paint my cornices and ceiling same color as walls, small room

Claudia Lord
by Claudia Lord

We are painting out little beach cottage, should cornices and ceiling be the same colour and walls, different, or all the same. There are low ceilings to paint and the rooms are small.


  11 answers
  • Lynn Irving Lynn Irving on Jul 23, 2015
    My suggestion would be to paint a lighter color to make the room look bigger.
  • Pat Pat on Jul 23, 2015
    I am thinking if walls, ceiling and cornices are all the same color, with the low ceiling it will look even lower, unless you use white or off white. How about your ceiling and cornices the same and the walls different or at least a little darker shade than the ceiling/cornices.
  • Madeleine Kidson Madeleine Kidson on Jul 23, 2015
    Hi there, we are also renovating our house and have small rooms as well, we opted for painting our ceilings brilliant white, 3 walls a neutral color (beige, cream) and one accentuating wall one or two shades darker. The bright white ceilings and cornices make the rooms look a lot larger. Hope this helps and all of the best, please load photo's of your finished rooms
    • B. Enne B. Enne on Jul 23, 2015
      @Madeleine Kidson , @ and @Pat are all correct. My ceilings are white, and my ceilings are 7 and 8 ft. I would never go darker. The biggest looking room is the one with off-white walls and a bright white ceiling.
  • Katherine W Katherine W on Jul 23, 2015
    Your ceilings will look higher if you match the woodwork to the ceilings and not the walls.
  • I have cornices throughout my house that my husband made...they are all white as are the ceilings, but all of the walls are different colors in each room
  • Diane Blank Diane Blank on Jul 24, 2015
    I have just finished painting dark paneling in a small cottage. We went with a bright white on the walls, ceiling as well as some of the older wood furniture. What a transformation. I would go white on white each room is now so much brighter but looks so much more spacious as well. Good luck!
  • Lori Broderick Lori Broderick on Jul 24, 2015
    I live in a small house. And the best thing for small rooms is to do molding along the ceiling and paint it a slightly darker shade than the wall. NOT DARK, just the next shade up. But stay within the same paint family.
  • Donnaleedesigns52 Donnaleedesigns52 on Jul 24, 2015
    I would paint everything - walls, ceiling & trim in one colour - white or a warm cream. You can then accent with whatever bright colours you choose. Beach cottage with blue and red accents and lots of seashells looks inviting and cool
  • The Redesign Habit The Redesign Habit on Jul 24, 2015
    You can do color on your walls in a small space...just maybe use a lighter color scheme. White walls and ceilings and trim can look very sterile. Beach or cottage colors of soft greens and blues will make your space feel light and airy but not sterile. You can do white cornices and white ceiling if you want and the contrast will help draw your eyes up..also helping to make the room feel bigger.
  • Z Z on Jul 25, 2015
    It's really hard to say without seeing photos of the rooms. Anything else is just guesses.
  • Connie Windes Connie Windes on Aug 17, 2021

    I was told by a professional painter that if you want to make a room look larger paint the whole room ceiling, baseboards, cornices and walls the same color.