It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a......Painted Ceiling!

image: house beautiful

The February 2011 issue of House Beautiful featured this Painted Ceiling in a house designed by Gideon Mendelson. SO FAB.
I love painted ceilings (and floors) as a design element, and I believe they are a  fantastic opportunity to inject interest and individuality - yet they are all too often overlooked. We are forever looking for interesting ways to make our homes unique, and ceilings are  a wonderful place to do just that.
I paint the ceilings in client's homes as often as I can, which is to say I do it when I can convince them to let me. It is sometimes a difficult concept for people to accept ~ and I do admit it is an idea that lives decidedly "outside the box". Of course, it does not have to make as powerful a statement as this green and white check does. It can be as simple as painting the ceiling the same color as the walls, which is especially successful in bedrooms or libraries or dens, rooms in which we cocoon and unwind. It creates a calm, unbroken envelope around us and signals rest.
A darker color can also be a surprising and distinctive choice, raising a beautifully designed room a notch higher in style and panache. I do not subscribe to the notion that darker colors make a room feel smaller; on the contrary, a deep rich tone on walls or ceiling blurs the edges and creates beautiful depth.
Pale blue is a nice choice, particularly in the Northeast where glimpses of real blue sky can be few and far between.
And then there are the real statement choices, like the plaid and a few more shown below. OK, the last two are papered, but the FAB still applies.
Gutsy, unique, and so beautiful. Try it!

Image: unknown

image: unknown

image: country Home

Image: domino 

image: martha stewart living