Meet the decorating challenges of high ceilings with a few interior design techniques.
Dramatic and expansive, high ceilings pose decorating dilemmas. A comfortable room relates well to the human figure. Most furniture has a height of 3 to 4 feet, which poses a puzzle when you're deciding where to place art, window treatments and accessories. In order to humanize the expanse of walls in the room with a high ceiling, you must place objects to draw the eye to the lower levels without leaving too much empty space. Window treatments, painting tricks and artwork tie the high ceiling into the lower part of the room to create an inviting space.
Instructions
1. Lower the ceiling optically. Using the entire wall for your décor unites the high ceiling with the lower part of the room. Hanging artwork only in the lower parts of the wall emphasizes the emptiness of the upper portion.
2. Hang custom window treatments to bring the high ceiling closer to the living space by using horizontal and vertical lines. Treatments hung from a high point above the window and draped down toward the sides make an elegant statement.
3. Add molding at the 9-foot height to break up the space, advises interior designer Ragan Corliss. Paint the ceiling and the wall above the molding a deeper hue to visually pull the ceiling down. This look works well in kitchens. You can also use molding to create rectangular frames reminiscent of old Victorian homes.
4. Add an accent color to a single wall such as the one containing the entry to the room or the one featuring the fireplace or another focal point. Corliss suggests adding an accent color to a wall with a large window whose long drapes blend into the rest of the room because they lack a distinguishing hue or texture.
5. Tie the entire room together through accent colors. Accent walls, window treatments, area rugs and throw pillows in the same shade help to bring the high ceilings into scale.
6. Use lighting to emphasize the lower portions of the room. The light directs the eye to the lower levels where furnishings and activities are concentrated.
7. Create a canopy bed in a bedroom with a high ceiling. Your bed doesn't need to be a four-poster bed to accomplish this. A free-hanging canopy that falls from the ceiling can be purchased ready-made, or you can have one made to order for the height of your ceiling. The canopy should reach from ceiling to floor to make this look work.
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