Why you should paint or wallpaper your ceiling
Whether it’s ceiling paint or ceiling wallpaper that takes your fancy, you’re 100% guaranteed to add character and can even adjust your room’s proportions for the better.
Discover the benefits of painting or wallpapering your ceiling. It’s time to pay attention to the often-overlooked ‘fifth wall’...
What is the 5th wall?
If you’re finding it hard to get your head around the idea of decorating your ceiling in anything other than white, then let language be the first thing to ease you into it. Add to your decorator’s dictionary the term ‘the fifth wall’ AKA the ceiling. It’s a way of referring to the ceiling because it’s a reminder that it’s not a non-entity to neglect, but another space to colour, to add pattern, to introduce texture just as you would on the other walls in your room.
Love the idea of wallpapering but fear it’s going to take away from your prized collection of decorative antiques – cabriole legs and Rococo shell carvings and all? Or that it could become far too fussy in close confines with your heavily patterned three-seater sofa? Then take it to the ceiling like our Colour Consultant Sam suggests: “When a room has beautiful features and stunning furniture, wallpapering can sometimes be too much, a distraction overload. Wallpapering the ceiling can bring balance without taking anything away.”
When a room has beautiful features and stunning furniture, wallpapering the ceiling can bring balance without taking anything away.
SAM BRAMLEY
Naturally, what you choose to put on your fifth wall needs to be in harmony with the whole colour palette, but you can absolutely start with your ceiling and work downwards. We suggest that if you pick the ceiling wallpaper route, pull out a hue or two from it to form the rest of your room’s palette. If the wallpaper is busy, favouring neutral paint colours for your remaining walls will help to achieve balance.
Why you should paint or wallpaper your ceiling
If you’re not already tempted to take paint or paper to your room’s crowning glory, there are plenty of benefits to mull over that’ll have you reaching for the step ladder and embracing neck ache like there’s no tomorrow. From enhancing period features (ceiling roses, that’s you) to helping your room feel larger, here are eight reasons why you should paint or wallpaper your ceiling:
1. It can make a room feel larger
It’s no secret that paint and pattern are ingenious tools when it comes to playing with your room’s proportions. Use cool-toned light hues like White 02 or Grey 01 and you’ll help your space feel that bit taller and loftier, especially if your ceiling colour is lighter than what you’ve put on your walls. That’s why bright white is the go-to option, but remember it’s not your only avenue. Lightly tinted colours will give the illusion of receding walls too so don’t rule out contenders like Pink 01 and Blue 01.
2. It can make a room feel cosier
On the other hand, not everyone wants to inch their ceiling higher and bring in the breeze. The good news is then that your ceiling can do the exact opposite and enhance the hunker-down vibe you’re going for. Create a cosy, cocoon-like effect with darker, warmer colours like inky Blue 07 and deep and blanket-like Green 03 and you’ll bring the ceiling height lower. Sam suggests both wallpapering and paint add prettiness and intimacy. Try designs like Electric Poppies 02 by designer Natasha Coverdale (and tick off 2021's maximalist interior design and maximalist wallpaper trend at the same time).
Learn about maximalism.
3. It allows you to show off elegant ceiling details
Have you got a lovely Victorian ceiling rose to show off? Or beam after beam in a low-ceiling cottage? Better get painting then. Go for a light but bright paint colour here that contrasts with what’s going down on your walls. That way, your eye is drawn upwards without colour being the main talking point.
4. It can allow you to be creative
You can be imaginative on every surface in your space, but your fifth wall is a proper playground, because it’s not the main focal point so even the pattern-shy can really unleash their inner-creative. You could keep the walls serene and neutral, painted in tones like creamy White 05 and caramel-tinted Beige 01 and then add a pop of red or orange, or wallpaper your ceiling in the dense forest leaf print and no way will it feel overbearing – just creative, calming and a clear-as-day reflection of you and your personality.
5. It can give a playful feel to a room
Children’s bedrooms and playrooms are two rooms ripe for giving a playful ceiling. From storytelling patterns to animal scenes, playful wallpapers work wonderfully in a nursery and offer a magical backdrop to bedtime stories. But it’s not just kids’ rooms that get to be playful. A palm leaf print wallpaper like Belinda Bayley’s Jungle 02 wallpaper would raise a smile in a downstairs loo for sure (psst, read on to find out what type of paint you need for a bathroom ceiling here.
6. It can be immersive
Staying in the jungle for a moment longer, pick out a wallpaper like any in Belinda Bayley’s Jungle series and you can create an incredibly immersive Amazonian vibe by wallpapering walls and ceiling in the same design. Go for Jungle leaf wallpaper Jungle 03 to make the experience as close to nature as possible.
7. It allows you to be creative in rooms with little wall space
Not got much wall space to spare? Kitchens are a classic room where that’s the case because of cabinets and appliances getting in the way. Chances are though, your ceiling is cupboard and coffee machine free, granting you free rein to get creative and make that your feature 'wall'. We love the idea of Stripes 03 in a crisp setting that’s very New England vibe.
8. It allows you to disguise awkward angles or structural mishaps
And finally, if yours is a ceiling that’s got awkward angles to boot (hello attic rooms with your slanted ceilings) or instalment misalignments crying out to be disguised, then decorate your ceiling with a small-scale pattern to cover things up like a pro. For something playful, consider Animal 02’s elephant parade.
Want to know more about all things ceilings, wallpapers and paint? If you need some help deciding whether to paint or wallpaper, discover our easy to follow ceiling painting advice and guide on how to hang wallpaper (and a low down of all the wallpapering tools you'll need).