How to disguise a low-ceiling room

By Pocyline Karani

Recently, I walked into a house whose ceiling was within my reach. Such low ceilings can present a challenge in design but do not despair. There are certain tricks you can apply that will ‘add height’ to the ceiling:

Paint your walls bright

Light colours give the impression of increased height while darker colours make a room look small. However, this does not mean that your walls should be painted a conservative white. If your favourite colour is lime green or rusty red for instance, go for a light tint of that shade. The best choices are pale cool colours from the family of greens, blues or purples as they produce a light, airy and open feeling.

Artwork can also be used to heighten a living space. To complement the light colours already painted on your walls, add a large painting to enhance the effect. When tired of the colour on your wall, all you have to do is change the paintings.

Furniture with low lines such as couches and chairs with low backs give the ceiling a feeling of height. Use an open arrangement to organise them. Photos: Maxwell Agwanda/Standard

Retouch your ceiling

Dark ceilings make a room feel oppressive, therefore, give it a fresh touch of crisp white paint to get that open spacious feel. However, if you desire to have a richly painted ceiling, then ensure the colour you chose is the same as that painted on your walls. The objective is to make sure your eyes keep travelling upwards. A darker colour on the ceiling will end that journey before it starts.

On the floor

Use dark flouring to ground your living area. However, if you live in a rented house and cannot change the flooring, consider laying a nice large coloured carpet. Small rugs are known to reduce height.

Pay attention to architectural details

Plain ceilings are getting out of fashion and are being replaced by crown mouldings. However, mouldings reduce the height of a ceiling. Consider using the same colour as that on the walls on the baseboards to make the wall appear like it is stretching downward thus adding height to the room.

Choose vertical wall hangings

Portrait-oriented art is best for a short room because it compels the eyes to travel vertically. Select a painting where the darker values are at the bottom and the lighter values are on top. Again, your eyes will be drawn from the bottom of the painting upwards. Basically, any painting with a vertical composition will work well. Forget about art with a landscape orientation since it makes eyes travel horizontally, which is good if you have a narrow room but bad when you have low ceilings. Another option is to hang few small paintings in a vertical line.

Plant trees

Incorporate tall skinny plants to decorate your room. Try bamboo or tall dried grasses and branches. Plant them in a thin tall vase and stick them in a corner of the room.

Choice of furniture

Minimise the number of furniture in a room to leave a sizeable open pathway that will make your room feel comfortable and roomy. Go for furniture with low lines such as couches and chairs with low backs. Use an open arrangement to organise them.

Splash of lights

In a room with lots of space, less light can add to the ambiance but in a room with a low ceiling, it can be depressing. Be generous with your use of light. Have as much light on your ceiling as possible. Small inset light fixtures on the ceiling work wonders.