High ceilings can be a beautiful feature, but they can also prove tricky when it comes to home decorating. A high ceiling means longer walls, possibly taller windows and more space to tackle. They can create problems such as….

• Making a room feel cold and empty

• Difficult lighting choices

• Having a larger wall area to fill

There are so many ways for high ceilings to work seamlessly in interior design. If you are facing the dilemma of what to do with your high ceilings, read on for some tips and inspiration that will surely solve the problem…

Add full, Long Length curtains

Fit curtains as near as you can to the height of your ceiling, even if the windows are not as high. A curtain rail or pole, can be higher than the window top, this is fine to do, and can transform how your window looks. Also, ensure that the curtains are full and plentiful in fabric. This will make your window area look much more purposeful in terms of height and filling the wall space above. Good curtains will instantly make the room feel well decorated and more in proportion with the ceiling height.

include the ceiling in your wall decor scheme

Dont forget about your ceilings when you decorate. It is the fifth wall in the room after all, and too often, left out of the overall look. For example, do not paint the ceiling white for the sake of following tradition, or for ease. If it doesn’t make sense to have your ceiling white, consider a better colour option, or even wallpaper it. Whatever works to make the room scheme feel whole. Making the ceiling part of your room decoration plan will have a huge impact on how the height effects the space. Consider the role it has to play in bringing the room together. A ceiling of any height, needs to belong within the room, not to look lonely and forgotten about.

Make the best of any ceiling details

High ceilings often belong in older, or period homes, and this usually means lots of nice detail like cornices or ceiling roses. If this is the case, and you have beautiful mouldings to consider, again make the most of them. I would suggest highlighting these features, possibly painting them in a contrasting colour or a slightly different shade to the walls and ceilings. The more decoration a room visibly has, the more complete and fulfilled it feels. The focus on the ceiling height will be replaced by the attention to detail.

Elongate furniture and wall decoration

Make sure that the furniture you use, does not feel too short in comparison to your ceiling height. If too small, this will make creating an effective interior, an awkward task and you will have your work cut out to fill the gaps in-between. Instead, choose taller piece to suit the longer length of the walls. This will suit the height of the room much better. Even if you have some shorter furniture pieces within the layout, such as a sideboard or chest, use these in front of a window perhaps, which will already be dressed and complete. Pieces that do not cover a good proportion of the wall, can be accentuated with tall mirrors, gallery wall sections or wall lamps above, to fill the extra space up to the ceiling.

Use suitable lighting

Ceiling lights will be especially important on a high ceiling, as you don’t want anything too small. A light that isn’t large enough, will look lost, so don’t make this mistake. Depending on the room function, and overall size, different lighting styles will need to be considered. It may be that a lower hanging light is better over a dining table or bed for example. Then, something higher in a hallway, so not to get in the way of standing people. In a larger room, that has a high ceiling as well, look at options that are more elaborate and eye catching for the main light. Wall lamps and tall floor lamps are also great space fillers. These will compliment the room height too, and will make a tall room feel much warmer and planned out, in terms of an overall lighting scheme.

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Jen x