A lot of people dream of having high ceilings in their home. But think about this: Rooms with high ceilings are a pain to heat and also to circulate air through; they also create barriers for light and sound control and often double the expense of painting, covering windows and adding art. Low and moderately substantial ceilings can be warmer, more intimate and much more in proportion with human scale. Not to mention that changing a lightbulb is as simple as pulling a step stool. Try that with a vaulted ceiling.
Frank Lloyd Wright often incorporated low ceilings in his Prairie-style houses. To compensate, he often made the rooms extra wide and deeply connected to the outdoor spaces. Using these notions, and with the ideal decor and furnishings, you can create any ceiling sense just a tad taller.
Domb architects
1. Pick low, horizontal furniture. Keep everything hunkered down low. If you’re fortunate enough to have a stunning view similar to this, it will amplify the impact dramatically. If you do not have a great view, low furniture will still optimize the perceived height of your room.
2. Use wide expanses of glass and maintain window coverings easy. Notice how attached this space feels to the backyard? Seeing the voluminous outdoor area makes this low-slung living room sense both spacious. This trick works especially well if you’re right at floor level.
Resolution: 4 Architecture
3. Keep lighting flush. At a contemporary house with a small ceiling height, utilize flush-mounted lighting to maintain the look clean. This approach will produce the appearance of more headroom.
4. Elongate with vertical stripes. Everybody knows that vertical stripes can be very slimming and give the illusion of height. The effective use of stripes within this narrow bathroom makes it look even taller.
Carolyn Woods Design Inc..
5. Use patterned curtains. They lead the eye up to give a sense of increased height. Why is this strategy successful here is the lack of competing patterns. While you’re at it, maintain crown molding proportional. Don’t go to get a deep profile, which could shorten the wall expanse.
Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs
A detail at the summit of curtains also provides precisely the exact same effect.
Griffin Enright Architects
6. Use a vertical display. This group has an uplifting effect. By taking even just a couple pieces all the way to the ceiling, you can increase the appearance of height.
Red Element Style Studio
Even a group of frames arranged will lead the eye upwards and produce more visual headroom.
FORMA Design
7. Contain uplighting. Notice how the ceiling appears to float in this picture. Bouncing light off the ceiling creates visual height. Sconces, cove lighting as well as very affordable torchieres can deliver this result. This is a great technique for basements.
High Tech Ceiling
8. Offer your ceiling high gloss. This createsan illusion of endlessness. If a ceiling like the one here is overly dramatic for your tastes, utilize a semigloss paint rather.
Lisa Petrole Photography
9. Expose your structure. If it will give you more headroom, then think about carrying your ceiling to its bare bones. Basement renovations are great candidates for exposed structures. Some main-floor spaces in older houses have floating ceilings left over in the day when lower ceilings were desired. Eliminate these and your area will instantly feel taller.
Jessica Helgerson Interior Design
10. Publish a diagonal. Perhaps you have noticed the way the staircase railing invites your eye to wander upward, giving lift to a room? A painted a decor element that makes a diagonal line will supply the exact same effect.
Regan Baker Design Inc..
11. Run paneling vertically. Like stripes, vertically oriented paneling strengthens height in a space.