Make A Tall Ceiling Room Feel Smaller

Dark colors tend to make a room feel cozier.

Expansive rooms with high ceilings can feel cold and uninviting. Transforming a large, high-ceiling room into a cozy and friendly space is accomplished by implementing a few interior design principles. Darker colors tend to made a room feel small and cozy, while lighter colors create an airy, spacious feel. Painting a high ceiling a darker color than the walls creates the illusion of a lower ceiling and smaller room. A room's lighting, furniture and accessories can also contribute in making a large room feel smaller.

Instructions

1. Remove light switch and outlet covers with a screwdriver. Then take down all wall hangings and pictures.

2. Cover furniture and floors with plastic drop cloths.

3. Patch wall imperfections, such as nail holes and cracks, with a spackling paste and sand lightly after allowing spackling to dry thoroughly. Wipe repaired areas with a damp towel.

4. Apply painter's tape around ceiling light fixtures, baseboards and other areas you don't want painted.

5. Put on plastic gloves and open the paint primer can with the can opener. Mix the primer using a wooden stir stick. After mixing, pour some primer into a paint tray. Dip a paint roller into the loaded primer tray and begin rolling primer over the entire ceiling. Attach an extension pole to the roller if necessary. Use paintbrushes for hard-to-reach areas. Continue rolling primer onto the walls and use paintbrushes for corners and other crevices. Allow the paint primer to dry completely before proceeding to Step 6.

6. Open the ceiling paint can with the can opener. The ceiling paint color is at least one or two shades darker than your wall paint. Stir the paint with the paint stick and pour some paint into one of the clean paint trays. Dip a paint roller into the loaded paint tray and begin rolling paint over the entire ceiling. Use paintbrushes for hard-to-reach areas.

7. Paint the walls in the same way as the ceiling.

8. Remove and dispose of plastic drop cloths and painter's tape after paint is completely dry. Affix outlet and switch plate covers.

9. Install decorative curtain rods and hang floor-length, fabric draperies to bare windows, adding warmth and texture to the room, giving the room a smaller appearance.

10. Arrange furniture into two separate conversation areas, making the room feel smaller and more intimate. Place an area rug in each of the two conversation areas, anchoring each space.

11. Position three-way lamps on end tables to provide task lighting for reading and warm, mood lighting to "cozy-up" the room.

12. Hang a large piece of framed art on a bare wall, visually shrinking the walls and size of the room.

13. Place a soft throw and toss pillows on a sofa and position two or three pots of greenery around the room, creating a friendlier, cozier feel.

Tags: room feel, begin rolling, ceiling paint, colors tend, conversation areas, drop cloths, entire ceiling