Are you living in a home with lower ceilings than you’d prefer? There are several ways to make your room appear taller and stylish simultaneously.
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Our experts have created a list of 15 budget-friendly ideas to help you make the most of your space. Keep reading to see if these tips will work in your living room!
1. Floor To Ceiling Curtains
Installing drapes from the floor up to the ceiling brings the eye up and elongates the wall.
Placing your curtains right over where the window stops will disrupt the room’s visual flow. If your curtains aren’t quite long enough, sew on a piece of fabric to make them longer.
2. Choosing Furniture Carefully
Stay away from bulky and oversized pieces of furniture. Instead, select furniture with a low profile. This allows you to see more of the wall, thus making the ceiling seem taller.
Choose sofas and chairs that sit lower to the ground to create a more open and breezy space.
3. Uplight Your Room
Avoid using overhead lighting. It may not be practical, but it immediately captures the eye and draws attention to the low ceiling.
Don’t be afraid to illuminate your walls. Use wall sconces, table lamps, and floor lamps to create uplighting.
These pools of light will create a cozy feel and atmosphere in your living room while making the space taller.
4. Add A Large Mirror
Hanging a large mirror or resting one on the floor will reflect and bounce the light in the room, making it feel larger.
A window-pane mirror like the one above can create the illusion of more windows and space. Another tip is to hang the mirror higher than usual. Your ceiling will instantly feel taller.
5. Vertical Stripes
Paint or wallpaper your walls with vertical stripes. Whether you choose something bold or subdued, they will immediately pull your eyes upward rather than across.
This design trick will work magic and give you a chance to add a little style to your room.
6. Go Glossy
Believe it or not, the paint’s finish can significantly impact the feel of the space. Glossy paint isn’t often used to paint ceilings in a home.
High-gloss paint is usually used on furniture, but glossy, light-colored paint on the ceiling creates a more reflective surface, making the room extend.
7. One Color Throughout
An easy trick to try on a low ceiling is to paint the wall, molding, trim, and ceiling all the same color. Using the same color throughout the space will create a uniform look and continuous flow.
The corners and seams that break up the wall and ceiling are hidden, and your eye won’t be distracted by any trim or woodwork.
8. Add Some Artwork
When thinking of what to put on your walls, add pieces of art that are tall and vertical. Most of the time, the artwork is hung at eye level.
However, hang the artwork slightly above eye level in a room with low ceilings. Additionally, placing your artwork at different levels will create the perception of height in your space.
9. Floor To Ceiling Windows
This option may be more costly but can greatly impact your living room. Just like the mirror mentioned earlier, a window will reflect everything around it and will create a feeling of more space.
Who doesn’t want to add more natural light to their space? Brighter is better when it comes to low ceilings.
10. Extra Tall Doors
Install doors to the ceiling to make the most of your space. Doors that reach the ceiling will elongate the area as much as possible.
If you have adjoining rooms separated by a door, glass doors from floor to ceiling will lengthen the space and allow more natural light from each room to shine through.
If you don’t want doors from floor to ceiling, adding a glass panel above the door will also trick the eye and make the space appear more spacious, brighter, and lighter.
11. Wall Paneling Or Framing
Wall framing or wall paneling is currently very trendy in design.
Whether you choose shaker wall paneling, board, batten, or just simple rectangular frames, this design element will be the room’s focus and will distract your eye from the low ceilings.
Wood paneling can add both dimension and character to the room. The wood framing used on the walls in the above photo lengthens the walls and stretches the room.
The white frames against the darker gray walls make this feature stand out and make the room look taller.
12. Adding A Bold Rug
One simple way to distract your guests from looking at your ceiling is to move their eyes to the floor. Decorating your room with a bold rug is the perfect way to achieve this.
Choose a rug with a bold pattern or colors to bring the eye to the floor rather than the ceiling.
If, for some reason, you don’t want a rug, choose flooring with an interesting pattern to keep the eye at floor level. People will be so enthralled with your floor that they won’t even notice the low ceiling.
13. Incorporate Tall Accessories
How you decorate and accessorize your living room with low ceilings can impact the space’s feeling. Add flower arrangements with tall branches or flowers.
Place them in a slender vase on a table or even on the floor in the corner of the room. Or use tall candles to draw the eye upward.
Use contrast when accessorizing your space.
Create a focal point in the lower section of your room to keep your eye away from the ceiling. You could also incorporate a tall plant or small faux tree in your space.
14. More Minimalistic
If you have too much going on in your space and too much stuff overall, your face will feel small and more confined. Remove furniture that isn’t being used and go for a minimalistic approach.
Keeping your space clean and bright will help it feel more airy and open. Use storage to your advantage and keep items hidden and tucked away.
When it comes to rooms with low ceilings, the simpler, the better.
15. Extra High Shelves
Another way to make your low ceilings appear taller is by adding high shelves or floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Like the trick with floor-to-ceiling curtains, they will draw your eye upward.
If you don’t have room for floor-to-ceiling shelves, add a simple shelf high in the room.
Whether you decide to place decorative items, books, or pictures on the shelf, this shelf will create the illusion of the wall being taller. It also adds a little decor and style to the living room.
To Wrap It Up
As you can see, there are many ways to make your low ceilings look taller and trick the eye into thinking the space is taller. Low ceilings don’t mean you must feel trapped in a small room.
Simply adding a rug or some vertical wallpaper can drastically change the look of your living room.
More elaborate projects, such as adding floor-to-ceiling windows or wood paneling, can also be done but will require more work.
Ultimately, it’s your choice of what you like best. Hopefully, you can use these tips and tricks and find some inspiration to design your space.
Check out the links below for more ideas on how to spruce up your living room:
11 Second Living Room Ideas [Informal Designs]
15 Gorgeous Living Rooms With Accent Walls
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