Most ceilings are painted white. New build houses usually paint the ceilings white as standard and many traditional color schemes and designs are also built around white ceilings.
However, there’s no reason why you need to keep your ceiling white. If you’re looking to build your own house or remodel and renovate an already built house, then you have the opportunity to paint your ceiling in any color that you want.
In this article, we will look at how to choose the right color of paint for your ceiling.
Should You Choose The Same Color For Your Walls And Your Ceiling?
There is no definite answer to this question as it all depends on what look you are aiming for in your room. If you want a dramatic effect then painting your walls and ceilings in the same color can achieve this.
You’ll often find offices and bedrooms decorated in this way and it looks great in those situations.
However, in most circumstances, you will want your ceiling to be a different color from your walls. Typically, it looks best if the color of your ceiling is brighter than the color of your walls and this is especially the case if you’re using a shade of white.
Which Shade Of White Ceiling Paint Is Best For You?
Before we look at colors other than white, let’s begin by looking at white paint in closer detail. This is still the most commonly used color for ceilings and you shouldn’t dismiss it just because you want to do something different.
To get the best shade of white for your ceiling, you need to look at the colors of your walls. Even if your walls are white, getting the right shade of white for the shade of white your walls is essential.
There should be some difference between the shades of paint used on your walls and your ceiling. The contrast between the shades will look better and help finish the look of your room.
You might find that if you use the same shade of paint on both your walls and your ceiling, your ceiling will actually look like it is darker than it is.
True White Walls
Many white walls aren’t truly white. They often have tones and shades to them that make them still white, but not pure white. When we speak of truly white walls, we mean paint shades such as High Reflective White, Oxford White, or Chantilly Lace.
If you have a pure white paint on your walls, then the best shade of white for your ceiling is one that has a blue hue to it. We would recommend blue-white paints such as Sherwin Williams Ceiling Bright White or Benjamin Moore White Diamond.
Off-White Walls
If your walls are painted in an off-white color such as White Dove, then you need to choose a different shade than the ones used for truly white walls. In this case, we would recommend that you opt for a true white for your ceiling.
Off-white walls look great with a true white ceiling so get a can of Chantilly Lace for your ceiling.
Cream-Colored Walls
Cream-colored walls are a very popular color for walls in many rooms around the country. If you’ve picked a cream color such as Sherwin Williams Creamy for your walls, then you should choose the next brightest shade of white for your ceilings.
This will be an off-white color and these shades look great with cream-colored walls.
What Should The Sheen Of Your Ceiling Paint Be?
Paints are available in several different sheens, with two of the most popular being matte or gloss. The sheen of your paint will make a great difference to how it looks when it’s used so getting the right sheen is important.
Ideally, your ceiling should have a flat finish. If you have matte paint on your walls, use a paint that has more sheen than this for your trims. So, for example, you will have matte walls, satin trims, and a flat paint for your ceiling.
Should Your Ceiling Be A Darker Shade Than Your Walls?
Although we mentioned earlier that ceiling paint should be lighter than your walls, there are circumstances where choosing a darker shade for your ceiling is the better option. It all depends on your room and the effect that you’re looking for.
If you want to highlight ceiling features and details such as moulding, then a darker shade for your ceiling will achieve this. We would only really recommend this if you have high ceilings, however, as a darker ceiling can make your room look smaller.
If your ceiling is lower than eight or nine foot high, you should avoid this effect. If they’re taller than this, then go dark!
With walls that are painted a color other than white, you can use the same color on the ceilings for a very dramatic effect.
With neutral colors (such as taupe, gray, or beige) then you should look for a shade of white that is one shade lighter than the color you’ve chosen for your trim.
What Color Should I Choose For My Ceiling If My Walls Aren’t White?
When it comes to matching a ceiling color with a colored wall, many homeowners opt to simply cut the color of their wall paint.
This means that instead of choosing another shade of paint, they instead take their wall color and mix (or cut) this with some white paint to get a lighter shade.
We would not recommend that you do this. Cutting colors isn’t an exact science and just adding white paint to your wall color does not guarantee that the resulting paint will be of the same hue and tone.
The undertones can be changed completely and you will be left with two shades that do not match and complement each other.
If you want to paint your ceiling in a lighter shade of your wall color, then the best option is to choose a lighter colored paint from the same color family.
This way, your ceiling paint will have the same undertones as your wall color. You may need to consult with a designer or paint color consultant to get the best match, but it will look far better than just cutting your wall color will.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we looked at how to choose the right color of paint for your ceilings. We hope that the information and hints and tips in this article will help you choose the right color of paint for your ceiling.
Hi, my name is Joel Adams and I like to think of myself as a professional DIYer. Whatever odd jobs a person needs to be done around the house, I’m their guy.
I’m talking shelves, making sideboards and tables, painting feature walls… the list is neverending!
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