I just met with a painter to discuss painting inside my house

[CatWoman]

Question: how do you feel about a room one solid color (i.e., walls and ceiling)?

Or should all ceilings be painted white?

[matcom]

1. WHAT??

traitor x( :cry:

[CatWoman]

2. you've done enough damage, young man!!!!!!!

[matcom]

3. what if they told that to PICASSO?

DA VINCI??

MICHELANGELO????

x(

[CatWoman]

4. those guys didn't go around painting houses obcene colors

such as "pistachio pink"!!!!

[matcom]

5. oh noooooo

just tits, asses and women you aren't really sure ARE women! :eyes:

i am an

ARTIST!

[CatWoman]

6. LOLOLOLOL

You're a fucking crackpot!!!

:loveya:

[matcom]

8. that is 'fucking crackpot.....

ARTIST!

[AtomicKitten]

7. I lived in a house with rounded walls and ceilings

that had to be painted the same color because there was no demarcation of a celing, and it really was lovely, just as long as it isn't a color you have to wear sunglasses to view.

[skygazer]

9. Depends on the color I suppose

But I like to get creative and do things differently. It can be very appealing visually. I once had a stepmother who wallpapered out kitchen ceiling. When she suggested it, my dad and I were very skeptical but it looked great - she painted the walls a pale yellow and papered the ceiling between the exposed beams with a yellow print paper. It was different and looked really nice.

I've never been much of a one for rules anyway.

[tjdee]

10. White walls disgust me, at this point.

Which is kind of funny, as 99% of the walls in my house are white now.

As Nathan Lane so ably points out in "Birdcage", one does want a hint of color, LOL. Doesn't have to be all dark and intrusive that you feel like you're in a crayola box, but colors can really add a lot to a room in terms of mood and style.

Blame it on Christopher Lowell. I watched his home show for a few weeks and now I'd never have all white walls by choice.

To answer your question directly--all ceilings don't have to be white, but they should be lighter (Christopher Lowell says two shades lighter at least).

[tuvor]

11. Give it a shot. You can always repaint it if it really sucks.

But if it works, you'll seem especially brilliant.

[miss_kitty]

12. Actually, I'd go with colour on the ceiling

not white. That scheme can make a room look smaller.

Edit: 'I' before 'E' except after 'C', dammit!

[Ellipsis]

13. Agreed! ...and ceiling height plays a role.

...and lighting too of course.

[CatWoman]

14. a woman I work with, who was previously an interior designer

said that white ceilings make the room look larger :shrug:

but i've been doing internet searches, and I must say, solid colored rooms look nice.

[miss_kitty]

15. I got my tidbit from the woman who is the interior designer for

This Old House, and who works with the Keno Brothers on 'Find!'

She was in an exsquisite Manhattan apartment owned by another interior designer and pointed that out-said that the white ceiling thing was a fallacy-in a nice diplomatic way. The painted ceiling room (A dark terra cotta) looked great. And she has pointed out that dark colours make a room look BIGGER because the corners fade out into the distance. I think that's what she's said...

Her name is Alexa Hampton http://www.find-tv.com/find-tv/about/bios_hampton.html

[Ellipsis]

17. Redoing an old farmhouse with a 6' '8' foot ceiling

white just didn't work... the same color on the walls made it feel like being in a void. I ended up using a grayer shade of the wall color on the ceiling ... seemed to work well

That was a dumb thing to say. You are right... white makes it look more open on a normal eight foot ceiling...Also the higher the ceiling the easier it is to feel comfortable with one color.

ceiling molding ...with the same color as the ceiling can help open it up as well.

You have to play with it.

[Gormy Cuss]

20. Go for it.

I've painted the ceilings the same color as the walls in two rooms. One was a small galley kitchen and I painted the cabinets, walls and ceiling all the same light color. It felt twice as big. The other was a small room with medium dark shade. Initially I planned to leave the ceiling white but it looks much better with the same color carried through to the ceiling.

I like the white ceilings in the other rooms that I've painted but there's no harm in trying something different. It's only paint and it can be changed back if you don't like it. :)

[DancingBear]

16. It really depends on the color

Lighter colors and off-white/tinted rooms can be done walls/ceilings and look very nice. Also, if you happen to have crown moldings at the ceiling you can put your trim color on them for a little more contrast, if you'd like.

Darker walls, however, need the contrasting white ceilings, in order to "allow" the room to keep its dimensions - dark ceilings not only make the room seem much smaller, but they can (and do) make 8' ceilings seem like 7' ceilings.

Unless you have a small enclosed room fetish stay away from dark on top.

Boy, THAT came out wrong..... :) :)

[Ellipsis]

19. ...yeah what he said.

:hi:

[bigwillq]

18. There are no rules that ceilings

have to be white. Give it a shot and see how it looks.
What color are you planning on paiting the ceiling?

[CatWoman]

21. the living room is done in black, white and silver

has vaunted ceilings/skylights. I propose to paint the entire room a very pale silver. Nothing strong. And trim in off-white or eggshell.

The den I want to paint foam green. No ceiling color yet.

My bedroom is done in a dark powder blue. I plan to keep the wall color, but don't know about the ceiling yet.

The dining room -- I may experiment with a darker color in there. The color theme in there is burgundy, mauve and cream.