Add Character to Your Ceilings
I found that the Red Door Home has some great molding upgrades to add character to you ceilings to a room. I love molding and am in the process now of adding character to my home, so I love the inspiration.
Being a “detail person,” I am always looking for simple and inexpensive ways to add character to my house. I find it is the little things that turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. So I wanted to share two ideas – three projects – that we did in our house to add charm to our ceilings.
#1 PAINT
Bathroom Ceiling
One of the unique things we did in our house is paint the master bathroom ceiling blue.
When we moved into our house, the bedding colors in our master bedroom were white, yellow, and blue. In an effort to make the two spaces – bedroom and bathroom – coordinate we decided to add a touch of blue to the bathroom.
Instead of adding the color to the walls, we painted the ceiling. I love how this keeps the room light and bright but still adds the color we wanted. Although we have recently changed our bedding colors to a more neutral palette, the blue ceiling still remains.
#2 MOLDING
Foyer ceiling
The foyer in my house is fairly small – big enough for a 4’ x 6’ rug but too small for any type of furnishings. To help delineate this space from the hallway and create a sense of separation, we framed our light fixture with simple stock molding and wooden embellishments.
My husband cut four 4’ boards for the outside molding and four 3’ boards for the inside molding to create two frames. After nailing the boards and rosettes in place, the nail holes were filled and the space between the boards was painted the same white semi gloss as the trim. The trickiest part of this project is getting the boards straight and centered exactly even around the light fixture.
I love how this small touch of molding gives the foyer a sense of distinction from the hallway and sets the tone for the rest of the house.
Bedroom ceiling
Because I loved how the foyer ceiling turned out, I convinced my husband to do something very similar in my daughter’s bedroom. She has a pretty crystal chandelier (before shown below) but I wanted to make it stand out even more.
This time we used two different types of molding – a larger width piece for the outside frame and a smaller width piece for the inside.
The process was the same as in the foyer – cut the wood, nail in place, fill holes and paint. Below is the molding in place but unpainted.
Here is it is all finished. You will notice this time we decided to leave the space between the frames blank – no rosettes.
I am very pleased with how all three of these projects turned out. I am hoping our next attempt at embellishing a ceiling will be in the dining room. I am trying to convince my husband we need (and can make) a coffered ceiling! Wish me luck.
What do you think, how would you plan to add character to your ceilings?
Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.
>We're just now getting ready to buy a house, so we've never had the liberty to do things like paint our wall or ceilings any kind of color. I like a lot of light in rooms, so I love the idea of leaving the walls white (or close to white) and adding color in the ceiling. I think the bathroom is the perfect place to try it out too. Thanks for the inspiration!
>What a nice surprise! Thank you for featuring my projects! Can't wait to see what you come up with. Your ideas are always creative 🙂
>I LOVE molding sooooooooooooo much. We still have popcorn ceilings(GASP!). It should of been the first thing we did BEFORE we moved in, but instead I re finished the kitchen cabinets. I love all your ceiling molding, just gorgeous=0)
Have a great night,
xoxo,
Carol
>What a fantastic idea to add molding to the ceiling! Now if only I had a handy husband who enjoyed DIY projects, I'd be in good shape. I really love the shade of blue on the ceiling in the bathroom too. I would never have thought to use the color on the ceiling instead of the walls, but I love the impact it makes.
>I never thought about that, we usually do the opposite.
Thanks!
>Unpainted ceilings are actually a peeve of mine! To me, it just looks like you forgot to paint the ceiling. Thanks for the molding ideas! I'll definitely have to give that a shot.
>Gorgeous colors and wonderful ideas! I'm in the midst of revamping my livingroom with color. I absolutely loved the color you used on the bathroom walls. Would you mind telling me what color and what store you got it? I appreciate it! <3
>I truly adore the blue – what color/brand is it? I'm a new follower and read you via Bloglines.com, and will be saving this idea in mind for our future home (currently home shopping).
-Gabby
I am going to plank the ceiling in master bedroom.cedar planks at home depo.can stain them before you put up.or leave natural
I found your post on pinterest and was wondering what was exactly the wooden pieces you used for the ceiling framework? How many different pieces did you use? I want to do this on the bottom of my walls in the living room and can’t seem to find the proper wood. thanks!
The frame around the light fixture in the small room, is there wood between the outter and inner molding or is that just the ceiling you guys painted the same color?
Hi Scott,
That post is from a guest several years ago, but I believe its just the ceiling painted the same color.
Thanks for the comment!
Great ideas
I really like the idea you have on the ceiling molding. Would it work to use an old picture frame, painted fresh white and use it instead?
I think that could work as well. Great idea! Thanks for commenting!