20 Arresting Rooms That'll Convince You to Paint Every Ceiling In Your House

When it comes to experimenting with color schemes and playing with paint, I have one question and one question only: Why do walls get all the love? Save some for your ceilings—you'll be happy you did, as it's often that finishing touch that makes an entire space feel so much more polished. From creating faux moldings to rescuing preexisting eyesores and accentuating exposed beams, there are so many ways you can make a ceiling pop and draw the eye up. Ahead, discover twenty rooms straight from interior designers with painted ceilings that prove why walls shouldn't get to have all the fun.

Leanne Ford painted this dining room ceiling black to balance the light and airy features. It makes the room feel a little cozier and more intimate without being too dark.

If your home is blessed with exposed beams, why not accentuate their beauty even further by painting them? In this room by Commune Design, the beams emit warmth and character, and they're given a whimsical touch with custom painted designs.

Artist Rajiv Surendra embellished the black chalkboard paint walls and ceiling in this Montreal writing room to mimic elaborate moldings. It feels fresh, modern, and stylishly cheeky.

Not technically the ceiling, but close it, painting an HVAC duct can truly transform an eyesore into style statement. "In this basement remodel, we would've had to spend a ton of money rerouting the HVAC air duct." designer Max Humphrey says. "Who wouldn't go with ballet slipper pink instead?"

This shower in a bathroom designed by Robert McKinley Studio is an intriguing juxtaposition between warm and edgy. The deep mocha handmade tiles are so much more impactful when the ceiling is painted the same color. The takeaway: Match the tiles to the ceiling paint!

Design firm Toledo Geller traced the ceiling beams with a high gloss cobalt blue paint to accentuate the architectural quirks in this dining room. The speckled wallpaper softens the intensity for a perfect balance.

In this modern and artful living room designed by Leanne Ford, the painted ceiling adds an unexpected pop of whimsy that contrasts with the monochromatic colors and angular, geometric motifs throughout. The tangled look of the pendant light also reflects the swirls nicely.

Out on a Houston terrace designed by Celerie Kemble and Lindsey Herod, the pink and blue accents in the seating area are full of cheer. But the real game-changer is the painted baby blue ceiling, proof that yes, this design idea works outside, too.

This forward-thinking bathroom designed by Leanne Ford Interiors looks super complicated, but you could actually steal the look yourself quite easily. The white painted hexagonal ceiling tiles meet the stained wood shiplap to visually separate the shower and the sink area since there isn't a shower curtain or glass partition.

When her now 12-year-old twins graduated from bunk beds, New York designer Alexa Hampton brought in grown-up furniture and a custom Dean Barger mural inspired by a family trip to Rome. They share a room, "and that can be kind of a drag, so looking out of a fake window onto an Italian square," is some consolation, Hampton says. Then, she painted the flat part of the ceiling a sky blue to extend the scene overhead.

"The dining room was our greatest challenge, but it ended up becoming the most exciting room in the house," says designer Sarah Gilbane of this fun space. The theme was vintage Everglades so decorative artist Brian Leaver painted the palms and flamingos over a grasscloth wallpaper, then created a trompe l'oeil tented ceiling. Painting over texture-rich materials instead of straight onto the wall can add even more depth, as proven here.

Rather than focusing exclusively on the walls in this grand San Francisco living room, designer Catherine Kwong brought the abstract art onto the floors. But she didn't stop there! With broad white brushstrokes on the black stained hardwood, these floors are a gorgeous juxtaposition against the Neoclassical ceiling and antique mirror above the fireplace. The decorative ceiling features are traced in a gold paint to play them up further.

These painted stripes disguise the architectural quirks of the ceiling while also drawing our eye up to the color. Mimicking a circus tent but with a nautical flair, the bold turquoise and white stripes bring the space to life.

Though Cameron Ruppert Interiors kept the walls white, she used a subtle, super pale pink shade for the ceilings as to reflect the curtains and ginger jar lamp bases. While white would certainly work on the ceiling, too, this shade adds a rosy glow.

Designed by Cathy Chapman, this bedroom is beautiful blend of snug, welcoming coziness and openness, partly thanks to the barrel ceiling. The custom blue-pigment plaster statement wall and ceiling complement the natural stones, which are from a nearby quarry.

We're loving the romantic yet surprisingly fresh color combination of fire engine red and violet in this space by Katie Brown. The bohemian embroidered throw pillows tie everything together nicely. That's another great way to approach the living room design process: Start with a fun pair of throw pillows and then pull out your two favorite colors to highlight on the walls and ceiling.

Color stretches all the way up to the high rafters in this living room designed by Thomas Jayne and William Cullum. The room feels both traditional and formal, country chic and casual. To elongate your already tall ceilings, hang a pendant light high above the sitting area and then use a lime wash on the beams to pull everything together.

There was no ceiling molding and no molding around the doors in this apartment, so I add them with paint," says interior decorator Aldous Bertram. Use a stencil while painting the ceiling if you want to create a tight, polished pattern.

Simply paint the whole room one color for a more polished and cohesive look. It had a cocooning effect that a plain ceiling with painted walls simply can't achieve. Here, Chango & Co. used a soft steel blue shade.

A kid's room is the perfect location to experiment with painting your ceiling bright color. Here, the designer chose a vibrant shade of pink/red to correspond with the floral print bedding.