7 Simple Tricks To Make a Low Ceiling Look Taller

Do you look with envy at homes with gorgeous high ceilings? Unfortunately, not every home is blessed with high ceilings that make the room feel bigger and lighter, especially older homes often have lower ceilings that make a room feel cramped and dark. But there are simple and effective tricks to make a low ceiling look higher.

In this article, I will give you simple decorating tips that will optically make your ceiling look higher. It’s not the real deal, but with these tips, your room will feel more spacious and lighter.

Decorating the entire room in a light color scheme will make the room feel larger, but if you prefer darker tones (and you definitely can go dark in a smaller space), you can choose a lighter color on the ceiling to make it look higher.

Shades of white, light gray, or pastel tones work well on a ceiling because they reflect light and create a bright and airy ambiance. To make a ceiling look higher, avoid dark and bold colors, which tend to make the ceiling feel closer.

This charming English cottage has very low ceilings, and the exposed brick wall and orange walls are pretty busy. Contrasting these elements, the owners painted the wood beam ceiling white to make the room slightly higher visually.

That doesn’t mean you can’t put anything high in a room with a low ceiling. But make sure that it is narrow or thin. While clean, uncluttered walls are preferred, you can decorate them without making them feel cramped and low, which you will read more about later in the article.

This basement kitchen by deVOL only has lower cabinets and carefully placed wall sconces to avoid getting a cramped-looking kitchen. The only exception is the open storage cabinet on the side.

Instead, choose sleek and flush-mounted lighting that doesn’t take up much vertical space. If you want a hanging pendant anyway, you can opt for a pendant that almost seems to float in the space like a glazed or transparent pendant.

You can also apply a vertical line design to your curtains, but make sure the curtain has a calm design; otherwise, it will still look cluttered and confined. Another curtain tip is to make sure you hang them from the ceiling to maximize your ceiling height.

Do you love wall paneling? Add vertical shiplap, beadboard, or wainscotting to the walls. These design elements create a sense of upward motion and elongate the walls visually.

This cottage kitchen with a low ceiling feels more spacious thanks to the vertical cream-colored butt-and-bead paneling, light color scheme, and skylights.

Hamilton Weston’s “Brown Paper Stripe” wallpaper draws the eye upward in this magical cottage dining room. In the bathroom, they used tongue and groove paneling for the same effect.

Paint the top 10 centimeters of your walls in the same light color as the ceiling. This subtle paint trick creates a seamless transition and tricks the eye into perceiving more vertical space.