6 tricks to make low ceilings look higher

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Luxus Interior Licht Design, Design by Torsten Müller Design by Torsten Müller Living room
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We all love large, spacious rooms with plenty of space, light and air around us, but our home reality is often very different. If you are not lucky enough to live in an expansive old building or a modern villa, designed by a lofty-proportions loving architect, you often have to settle for low ceilings that make each room look narrower and smaller, but this does not mean that you have to feel crushed! With the right tricks and ideas, you can make a low ceiling appear higher, thus contributing to a freer, more friendly and generous aesthetic. With that in mind, we have six helpful tips to give you today, which will allow you to make more of low ceiling heights. Let's take a look!

1. Use the right colors.

Your color selections play a large role in rooms with low ceilings. In order to not have an oppressive effect, it is advisable to paint them in light shades, such as brilliant white, soft cream or even delicate pastel shades, as they open the room visually, reflect the light better and keep the ceiling feeling farther away. 

If you want to bring a little color into the game, cool tones, such as  light blue or lilac work exceptionally well, as they give the impression of vastness, which makes the ceiling look to recede. In general, experts recommend that the ceiling should always be brighter than the walls and to make sure that low ceilings appear higher, it is important to make the walls as bright and fresh as possible. Dark tones would make the room seem small, even despite a bright ceiling. In terms of flooring, however, the situation is very different, as here, you can work with a darker color, which makes the ceiling and walls look lighter and brighter in contrast.

2. Be clever with lighting.

The right lighting has a stretching effect on rooms with low ceilings. It is best to refrain from lamps that emanate from the ceiling, such as grandiose chandeliers or large pendulum lights, while embracing wall lights instead, as these allow the light to be blasted over the entire ceiling, giving the illusion of a low ceiling appearing higher. If you do not want to do without light on the ceiling at all, spotlights are a great option, as they offer a mix of focused and scattered light, which will make the room appear higher.

3. Think about your furniture.

With the right choice of the furniture, low ceilings can look so much higher. It is important not to overfill the room, because every additional piece of furniture will simply strengthen the feeling of claustrophobia that we are trying to avoid. Experts recommend that you detract from a low ceiling with simple, airy pieces of furniture in bright colors, while striving to leave as much space between your pieces and the ceiling as possible. Slim, low sideboards, low seating and long tables are perfect for this, but be prepared to need something a little more custom than standard purchases!

4. Optimize your wall designs.

We've already touched on the importance of wall colors, when trying to make a low ceiling appear higher, but paint is not the only way to stretch the space! One of the most popular tips from the world of fashion can also be applied in the interior design world, that being that vertical stripes will naturally draw the eye up, giving an impression of height. If you're going to use wallpaper to garner this effect, always make sure that your paper meets the ceiling directly, or the effect won't quite work!

5. Use windows to your advantage.

Large glass surfaces always help to make small and low spaces feel far more generous and open, as they bring a lot of lightness into play. and let a lot of light into it. Of course, you are unlikely to want to replace your windows with larger varieties, just to make a low ceiling appear higher, but you can still make an impact, through the dressings that you select. For example, to enhance the feeling of height, you should hang floor-length curtains, as high up on the wall as possible. In addition, transparent curtains also allow the room to appear more airy and light, which really detracts from a claustrophobic ceiling.

6. Amplify the effect with accessories.

In addition to curtains, there are many other accessories that can help to make rooms with low ceilings appear far more generous. Similar to windows, mirrors have a brightening effect, so the bigger the better and even works of art and picture frames can have a dramatic effect as well. Narrow, high frames will definitely emphasize the vertical aspect of a room and if you place a few works on the wall, a little higher than usual, the altered eye-line will give the impression of more height.

For other handy tips for the home, take a look at this article: 26 DIY Tips to improve your home.

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