When designing a nursery, it’s important to make use of all four walls as design features. Each wall needs to be incorporated into the overall design in order to create balance and flow. But there is also a fifth wall—the ceiling! I’ve done nurseries in the past that have included painted ceilings, wallpapered ceilings and even ceilings with a full mural design. It’s not something that every client wants, but every now and then, I’ll have a client ask for a ceiling treatment.
Just in the past few weeks, I’ve had at least three clients ask for ceiling treatments, so I’m working on a lot of them right now, and on the lookout for inspiration! Here are some of my favorite ceiling treatments and a few tips on how to make them work.
Keep light in mind. If the room is dark and doesn’t have a lot of natural light, you may want to think twice about doing a bold ceiling treatment. If your ceilings are low, adding a statement ceiling can make it seem a little lower, which can make the room feel smaller. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Just stick with light and bright colors or patterns that are subtle and soft.
This boho toddler room has a very soft ceiling color, which keeps the space light and bright.
Work with the architecture. If you have a soffit, moulding detail or any other type of architectural detail on the ceiling, you may have the perfect spot for an accent. Ceiling treatments don’t have to take up the whole ceiling.
Nursery by Little Crown Interiors | Mural by Wall Art by Allyson
Keep price in mind. Wallpapering a ceiling is, well, a pain. If you hire an installer to do it, they may charge more than they would to wallpaper a regular wall. Just keep that in mind if you’re looking into wallpaper.
Nursery with textured wallpaper by Design Dump
Keep the whole design in mind. If you want to use the ceiling as a fifth wall, make sure it’s cohesive with the rest of the design. For example, in the nursery below, we painted the ceiling a pretty soft pink, but the pink flows with the rest of the design. Even if the room gets changed, and the furniture gets replaced, the ceiling and walls still coordinate with each other, and with the main concept of the room.
Nursery by Little Crown Interiors
Also remember that you’re not bound to paint or wallpaper for your ceiling. A quick search on Google or Pinterest will show you a wealth of ideas—everything from glittering LED lighting to coffering to picture frame moulding. The sky’s the limit (no pun intended).
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