Ceilings Inspiration
Your ceiling is the fifth wall of your room, presenting a variety of design opportunities to create impact in your space. While many ceilings are simply painted white, consider incorporating your ceiling into your interior planning to achieve a beautiful, cohesive finish.
Explore our gallery of schemes to gain inspiration for decorating your ceiling, from a classic off-white to a statement colour highlight.
Bronze Red Dining Room
![Arras™](data:image/svg+xml;utf8, <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0" y="0" height="355px" width="270px"><rect width="270" height="355" style="fill:%23744442" /></svg>)
![Bronze Red®](data:image/svg+xml;utf8, <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0" y="0" height="355px" width="270px"><rect width="270" height="355" style="fill:%236c2322" /></svg>)
![Mushroom™](data:image/svg+xml;utf8, <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0" y="0" height="355px" width="270px"><rect width="270" height="355" style="fill:%23d3c3ae" /></svg>)
Ceilings are often painted white out of habit, but this has a big impact on the way that the room will feel. There are many ways to treat the ceiling – painting a ceiling the same colour as the walls to achieve a complete, all encompassed look is certainly becoming more popular.Explore our Colour Consultancy service
Classic white ceilings
When selecting a white for your ceiling, consider shades that will harmoniously accompany your chosen wall colour. The lightest shades in each Colour Scales family will appear as white when combined with their related hues. Or contrast a bold paint colour on the walls with a complementary white on the ceiling.
Castell Pink Study
Jewel Beetle Dining
Travertine Living Space
Indian Yellow Dining Room
Silent White Living Room
Puck Living Space
Grey Stone Bathroom
Clay Living Space
Leather Living Space
Middle Buff Living Space
Statement ceilings
Create a strong statement by painting your ceiling in a different colour that complements your walls. Introducing a bold accent shade on the ceiling can draw the eye upwards, allowing you to highlight architectural details like coving or cornicing. Consider a Double Drenching approach, pairing two or more related shades with varying undertones to create impact and wow-factor.
Royal Navy Bedroom
Sir Lutyens' Sage Living Space
Yellow-Pink Kitchen
Blue Verditer Study
Masquerade Living Room
Leather Highlight
Flint Bathroom
French Grey - Pale Living Room
Colour-drenched ceilings
Incorporate your ceiling into a colour-drenched scheme by painting your walls, woodwork and ceiling all in the same shade. By enveloping the entire space in colour, you can transform the mood and atmosphere of the room. Dark, richly coloured shades embraced all-over can feel luxurious and cocooning. Or consider bright, vibrant hues to create a mood-boosting interior.
Wallpaper ceilings
Each of our wallpaper colourways has been paired with a selecting of complementary paint shades. Combine your chosen wallpaper with a coordinating hue on the ceiling for an inviting, all-encompassed space. Alternatively, consider taking your wallpaper onto the ceiling too, enabling you to really showcase your confidence in pattern.
Broadwick Street Hallway
Fern Attic Bedroom
Vine Bathroom
Road Trip Study
Balance Nursery
Nip & Lassie Children's Bedroom
Ditsy Block Hallway
Aderyn Hallway
Spring Flowers Pantry
Briar Rose Living Space
Ditsy Block Kitchen
Lovers' Toile Bedroom
Ceilings FAQs
Can you wallpaper a ceiling?
Wallpapering your ceiling can deliver real impact, giving your scheme a bold, statement finish. For a captivating interior, embrace wallpaper on both your walls and ceiling to create the effect of beautiful, uninterrupted pattern. Small-scale, floral prints like Spring Flowers and Ditsy Block work wonderfully on walls and ceilings, bringing a sense of comfort and intimacy to a space.
Or consider pairing your chosen design with a striped wallpaper in a coordinating colourway on the ceiling. Broad Stripe is offered in six colour variations that complement many of our wallpapers, allowing you to combine stripes and patterns for real visual interest.
How can you make a ceiling look higher?
Colour-drenching is a great way to decorate a room with low ceilings. By painting walls, woodwork and the ceiling all in the same shade, there are no colour contrasts to draw the eye. This approach can create the illusion of height and space, providing a beautiful, all-over backdrop that is simple to scheme with fabrics and furnishings.
If you prefer a white ceiling, avoid using a pure brilliant white as this can create a stark line that draws attention to the height of the ceiling. Instead, choose an off-white or pale neutral that complements the shade of your walls. Slaked Lime is a gentle, mineral white that combines well with most colours, for a softer contrast that doesn’t draw the eye.
Should you paint a ceiling the same colour as the walls?
Painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls is a great way to elevate your colour-drenched scheme. Incorporating the ceiling as well as the walls and woodwork will achieve uncompromising colour for an alluring, cocooning effect.
Muted, mid-tone colours are simple to embrace all-over to provide a beautiful backdrop for your living space. If you are using dark, strong or vibrant hues, you might prefer to paint the ceiling in a paler, coordinating shade or a related neutral. This approach will mean you will benefit from an uplift in tone, creating a more comfortable living environment.
What is the best paint for ceilings?
For painting ceilings, we usually recommend a matt emulsion paint such as Absolute Matt Emulsion or Intelligent Matt Emulsion. With a chalky, 'dead-flat' 1-2% sheen, Absolute Matt Emulsion is ideal for painting ceilings in low-traffic spaces such as bedrooms, snugs or dining rooms.
For areas of the home that experience higher traffic, we recommend our washable alternative, Intelligent Matt Emulsion. With an equally low sheen of 2-3%, Intelligent Matt Emulsion is ideally suited to kitchens, hallways and utility spaces, where it will withstand all the wear and tear of family life.
If you are decorating your bathroom, our Intelligent Eggshell finish combines a subtle sheen with a tough, washable coating. It is perfect for painting ceilings in low-ventilated bathrooms that need to be cleaned regularly.
