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Trying a black painted ceiling in your home may sound like a move your confidence can’t handle. However, with the right sheen and some smart design choices, a black top can make a room feel incredibly luxurious and chic. Although black has a rather negative reputation, homeowners and interior designers are embracing the colour gleefully. This bold choice is an easy way of creating a unique, dramatic space that guarantees making the interesting architectural elements of your home pop with little effort. So, let’s take a look at the best ways to style a black ceiling and why you should give it a shot.
Why Should You Try A Black Painted Ceiling?
Of course, painting your ceiling black can be a bit daunting. So, if you’re still in two minds about trying a black painted ceiling, consider these reasons behind making the bold decision:
- You Like Black! – If your wardrobe is full of chic black clothes, you don’t have to leave one of your favourite aesthetics behind your wardrobe doors. If you love black, then experimenting with a black ceiling is absolutely something you should try.
- It Changes The Visual Size of A Room – Depending on how you style a black ceiling, it can make a room look bigger or smaller. For example, if the room’s décor leads the eye upwards, it can illude that the room is bigger than it actually is. However, if you paint the walls a bright shade, it will make the ceiling seem closer.
- It Enhances Your Decorations – Painting your ceiling black draws attention to any decorations or furniture focal points of the room and enhances them, particularly if they have
- It Gives Contrast To Neutrals – A black ceiling will provide some excitement and contrast if your home is full of calming, neutral colours. Plus, it won’t take away from the cohesiveness of your home design; only add to it.
- You Can Always Change It Again – If you dare try a black ceiling and find that it doesn’t work for you, it’s not the end of the world. It’s only a ceiling, and you can change it easily with a tin of paint and a free afternoon.
What Effect Does A Black Ceiling Have?
If you’ve decided to push on with the decision of designing a room with a black painted ceiling, you may be wondering about the effect your choice will have. After all, a black ceiling is a unique, bold choice and not something you can design without a plan.
Here’s how a black ceiling will affect the atmosphere of your room:
- Luxurious – Black is an elegant colour, and the addition of it to the ceiling of your room will ooze luxury.
- Sophisticated – Black is the colour of many formal, sophisticated clothes, like the classic suit. A black ceiling will exude the same air of sophistication in your room.
- Dramatic – A black ceiling creates the perfect amount of drama and interest in a room, particularly when you pair it with neutrals and soft colours.
- Power – A black ceiling suggests strength and confidence since, much like the air of sophistication it provokes, many people associate those in power or of high-ranking status with the colour.[i]
Choosing The Right Sheen For A Black Painted Ceiling
Choosing the right sheen for a black painted ceiling is vital. A higher gloss paint will provide too much of a reflection, creating a very unforgiving finish. Instead, opt for a low paint sheen. A lower, flat paint sheen, such as matte or eggshell, will cover up any imperfections in your ceiling and give a smooth finish.
However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule. For example, if you are painting over a material that isn’t drywall, such as wooden planks, you may want to try a satin finish. This will make the material look smoother and still work to cover up visible flaws.
For the best results in your home, we’d recommend getting several test pots to try on your ceiling before taking the plunge.
How To Style A Black Ceiling
Now you’re sure of your decision, and you’ve got the right sheen of paint all lined up, it’s time to decide how you’ll style that black ceiling. Contrary to popular belief, black is a reasonably versatile colour, and you can do a lot with it in an interior design sense. So take a look at some of our ideas for styling a black ceiling to get your creative juices flowing.
Painting The Walls Black
If you’re feeling particularly daring, you could paint your walls the same colour as your new black painted ceiling. Although this might sound risky, matching your walls with your ceiling creates a polished, cohesive finish.
Of course, to set off the dark shades of your room, you’ll want to focus on furniture and decoration.
Bright, comfortable accent chairs, tasteful paintings, some patterned décor pieces and a roaring fire will ideally bring together a black ceiling and matching walls.
Paint With Opposite Colours
We all know that black and white go together like the moon and the stars. Since they work so well together, why not try pairing these opposite colours in your interior design scheme? A black ceiling with white walls is a bold, creative choice and adds plenty of personality to a room.
Painting your walls white is the perfect way to offset the darkness of a black ceiling in a striking way. Of course, with such plain contrasting colours, you’re going to have to be selective with your furniture. Red, brown, grey, yellow, gold and green all make perfect accent colours to a black and white room; just make sure to balance them well[ii].
Use A Lighter Shade On The Walls
On the other hand, you could contrast the black with a lighter shade for your walls. Matching light-coloured walls with a black ceiling is perfect for making the room look bigger, ensuring that you don’t feel closed in.
A black ceiling matches well with many lighter colours. With lighter coloured walls, you can have freer rein when it comes to decoration. Unlike having both the walls and ceiling black, many shades will work with a mixed and matched colour palette.
Some great lighter colours you might like to style with a black painted ceiling are:
- Red
- Purple
- Light grey
- Light brown
- Gold
- Pink
- Blue
Partition Your Ceiling
If your home has an open floor plan, it may seem tricky to style it out. However, you can use black paint like a master to fix that! Fortunately, open floor plans allow plenty of light to flow freely around the home, so a black ceiling will fit perfectly here since it won’t make the space feel too small or cramped.
An excellent idea for an open floor plan is to define the partitions of the rooms with black paint. You can divide your space by painting the sections of your ceiling with a nice matte black to separate your open floor plan without having to lose any openness.
Create A Starry Sky
You don’t have to restrict a black ceiling to your main rooms. A black ceiling can look great in a child’s bedroom or nursery, especially since it has so many possibilities. You’ve probably already thought about creating a starry sky if you’re considering painting your child’s ceiling black! Glow in the dark stars looks fantastic against a proper midnight sky ceiling.
However, there are many more options for a black ceiling in your child’s room. For example, with some light-coloured walls and bright decorations, your child’s playroom can be just as fun as the games they use it to play. Or you could create a creative nursery by pairing a black ceiling with a chalkboard wall – your children can draw on the walls to their hearts content!
Trying A Black Ceiling In Your Home
Although black may have a bit of a dark reputation, interior designers are working to change that in our homes. You can be at the forefront of this movement by trying a black ceiling in your own house. With the right sheen and style accompaniments, you’ll be able to style a black ceiling like a pro.
Do you have any tips for styling a black ceiling? Let us know your advice in the comments below.
[i] https://certapro.com/blog/color-trends-blog/take-your-ceiling-to-new-heights-with-black-paint/
[ii] https://www.livspace.com/in/magazine/4-best-accent-colors-black-white-rooms
Office and marketing manager for Sloane & Sons Stylish Chairs, who sell a range of high-quality tub chairs, accent chairs and more.
