How Low (or High) Can You Go?

We have a ceiling in our master bedroom (duh, most bedrooms have ceilings), but I don't like our bedroom ceiling. Looking at the picture here you can see it's a great big white blob hovering over our heads. It's in desperate need of a paint job. There's no crown molding. And the ceilings upstairs are low (like 7.5 feet) and so you can really see all the imperfections.


Here are some white "spots" where a little patching was done prior to painting the walls. They stand out currently since the ceiling hasn't been painted.


The ceiling fan in the bedroom has been hanging out there for a while. I gave it a good cleaning when we moved in (the blades were covered in about 2 inches of dust). But it just doesn't do anything for me as is (other than provide light and air movement). The bronze metal base doesn't match the polished nickle metal finish used in the rest of the room. The brown blades are boring. And the tassel hanging down? Well, it's not appealing.


So, right now the ceiling is all function, no form. Blah.

I keep thinking about the day (in the far away future) that we might sell this place, and what might make potential buyers go "oooh, I like that"! Something to make our place stand out - even if it's just a simple detail that doesn't cost much. Our ceiling is an area that has potentional for a wow-factor.

And since we've been working on sprucing up the bedroom the last few weeks (i.e. closet makeover and new shades), it brought my attention back to this ceiling and started my brain pumping with ideas on how to improve the look.


So, I googled some ceiling images that had ideas we could implement on the cheap-and-easy side of things, especially ideas that wouldn't make the ceiling feel even lower then it already is.

Many of the pictures I came across used boards and trim to create a coffered ceiling look without actually bringing beams down into the space. The wall color of this room is pretty close to our bedroom wall color too...


Here is a similar ceiling to the picture above, but no crown molding. It appears as though the home owners just layered 2 boards on top of each other (one wider, one narrower) to give it a trimmed-out look...


This next room did use actual beams on the ceiling - even with the ceiling being low - but it makes the space feel cozy and intimate (or maybe that's the green paint?) without being claustrophobic.


I love the ceiling of this last picture. The beadboard is very similar to what we used on the walls in our 1/2 bath remodel. The bright white paint makes it look open and airy.



So, those are some of the "low ceiling" options, BUT... there's always another option...

Prior to moving into the house last year, Joey and I schemed up some ideas of ways to improve the Master bedroom in order to make it feel more "masterful".

Looking at the front of the house from the outside, and seeing those 3 windows up top (those are our bedroom windows), what do you notice?


Notice the roof line? It has a high peak at the very top - right above our bedroom.

And guess what's up there? Nothing. Just dead, empty attic space (and some old insulation).

Are you thinking what we're thinking? *grin*

Let's raise the ceiling!!!

Yes, our original plan for this ceiling was to completely blow it out and take it up to the rafters. How would that be for an unexpected surprise (!) to future-home-buyers? And of course, we would love to enjoy it ourselves in the meantime.

Here a few "high ceiling" options...

1. Drywall the raised ceiling and add some trim boards for detail.


2. Do the drywall and trim boards but also add a fun factor - like a different paint color or wallpaper or stencil to the ceiling...


3. Wrap the ceiling in horizontal boards - painted white - and then add trim.


4. Line the ceiling with horizontal boards - painted white - and add rafter-beams that are also painted white.

And then, of course, we'd get a lovely new light fixture to bling out the space!

So, what do ya think? Should we put in the grunt work and go high? Or take the easy route and stay low?

Y'all know we love to hear your thoughts! So, speak up! :)