Best Paint Colors for Large Rooms with High Ceilings

Do you love the look of a big, open space? Or do you prefer a cozier room? Even if you have a large room with high ceilings, you can get the look you want, from airy to snuggly. You just need to know which paint colors work best for rooms with high ceilings. Our paint pros share their tips.

Big and Airy

If you love the look of a large, open room with soaring ceilings, there’s no better paint color choice than white. That’s because white reflects light back to you and makes it feel like the walls are receding. And rooms with a large wall and tall ceilings give you the most opportunity to take advantage of the large space’s light-reflective value.

To maximize the space’s size, use the same white color on walls and ceiling. For a slight contrast, paint the ceilings two shades lighter than the walls.

Big, Airy … and Warm

Let’s say you love the look of white, but don’t love its tendency to turn cool. If that’s the case, choose a cream or off-white. You’ll still get the expansive look you love, but your space will have a warmer feel, overall, than if you went with pure white.

A Little Bit Contrast-y

You can dial in the size of the room by using contrasting paint colors. We’re not talking brights here, but pale neutrals, like light gray, light beige or pale greige. To make the room look larger, paint the ceiling lighter than the walls. To shrink the room, paint the ceiling darker. Again, only play a couple of shades up the paint scale, so you don’t have a big contrast here. This is a subtle but effective way to change the way your space appears.

Drama, Drama, Drama

If you love dramatic spaces, but you’re worried that the large room is going to look overwhelming, dark or gloomy if you go too dark, try painting the ceiling, instead. Here, choose dark gray, Charleston green or navy blue. But paint the walls several shades lighter to keep the room balanced. This is the route to go if you like a little excitement in your interior design and want to make the room seem smaller.

What About Vaulted Ceilings?

So, we’ve talked about regular ceilings. But what is the best color to paint vaulted ceilings? As with any other room, painting your vaulted ceilings and walls the same color will tie your room together. And the same color-choice rule of thumb holds true for vaulted ceilings: light walls and dark ceilings = smaller-feeling room; darker walls and light ceilings = larger-feeling room.

Painting tall ceilings requires experience and special tools – two-story tall ladders, in-place scaffolding or rolling scaffold towers. So, when it’s time to repaint, we recommend you pick the best paint colors for your tall ceilings – and let a pro do the painting. Want to learn more about the services Paintzen provides? Get a free quote today. And be sure to learn more about our residential house painting services.