FIFTH WALLS…

Hi everyone, I thought I’d jump on the blog to talk fifth walls…..ceilings basically.

Many people don’t even think of the ceilings when decorating, they just think it’s law that it’s painted white and that’s that. We all tend to just concentrate on the other four walls within the scheme. Well…I say why can’t ceilings be the showstopper? the stand out feature to make people look up and think WOW.

Stand out ceilings work perfectly in period properties, but can work just as well in new builds and open plan living spaces. Painting steel beams for instance in a bright colour can really draw the eye to a space and also zone certain areas of larger open plan spaces.

Ceilings are very often overlooked in schemes but the ceiling is just as important as all the other walls within a room and should never be unaccounted for. Teamed together with stunning lighting (which is also one of the most important elements within designing a scheme) could really make the ceiling the best part of a design.

Above images are a perfect example of zoning, the colour just brought over the ceiling a little to frame the dining table.

Even wallpapering your fifth wall can add heaps of character. I feel this works better within period , quirky properties, cottages or holiday homes. Adding a feeling of cozy opulence.

A word of warning though before you go painting your ceilings all different colours. A white ceiling is favoured because white reflects light and a white ceiling will reflect light the same as or in some cases more than other walls in a room.
So changing the colour of your ceiling will greatly affect the amount of light within a room.
If you opt for a darker colour on your ceiling, go for lighter tones on the rest of the walls.

Higher ceilings benefit more with a change of colour, it really helps emphasise the height in a space drawing your eyes to the ceiling making it feel larger. With high ceilings It also works to drop the ceiling colour down to any picture railings or create your own boarder.

Here’s one we designed to update a living room scheme which boasted lovely high ceilings, the wallpaper on the ceiling wasn’t to be removed so we added beading to keep in touch with the ceiling rose and stunning coving. We could get away with a darker shade due to the height in the room and we applied an off white to the walls to still bounce light into the space. This added a stunning focal point and added heaps of character to the room.

So I really hope this has helped to inspire you to consider your ceilings when decorating, think how it could look if you painted it or how it might look to zone a certain area with just a little bit of colour on any beams or over dining tables and beds as a head board focal point. It might surprise you how great it could be. If in doubt, contact a lovely designer “cough, cough…” to help you choose colours and discuss what will work better in your space or just be brave and go for it, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t regret it.

Bye for now and mind those necks from all the looking up you’re going to be doing at your new ceilings.

Happy Decorating.

Stacy x

Images used are from Envi, Pinterest, Dulux, MyDomaine, Architectural Digest