Ceilings: the Sequel

Before I get to today's post, let me share some exciting news! We heard back from the appraisal and our house is valued about $4k more than we ended up paying! I was particularly nervous about this step, but I'm so glad it came back with good results. You know I love a great deal!

On to today... I was planning on revealing another room in our house, but my sister commented (on Facebook. Has anyone else had trouble commenting on my blog?) and asked for ideas on what I would do to the entry ceiling that I mentioned in my post yesterday. I gathered some inspiration photos to show her and my small blog following the ideas that I like. 

On a side note, I highly recommend gathering a ton of inspiration photos in advance of any big or small changes to your home. Our generation is catching on to this great tip, which is why Houzz and Pinterest are out there! In my field (Interior Design) that is one of the first things we do when we start a project. It gives you a jumping off point and something to refer back to when you get a little lost in the details.

These first images show doing just a painted ceiling. I love the idea of the black, but it's probably too much with my plans for the black front door. 



I have had an obsession with orange for about a year, and would do this in a heartbeat. However, I feel like orange is such a statement color and I would really have to commit to that edgy design throughout the rest of my house. I like to change things up and keep my house eclectic, and orange is just too much! I do love how they have styled this room though.



I think I would love the orange for about another year and then I would get sick of it. 1970's orange, anyone? Talk about getting sick of a color...eek!



I might have to save this next detail for the front porch, but it could work if I had it continue on to the entry. The porch and entryway are 'cousins', after all. I love a wood ceiling. I think people forget how beautiful wood is and also get scared that it will make the ceiling cave in on you. I just think it's beautiful! I would do this before orange, for sure.



Mmmmm, rustic wood! Even better. How cute is this little nook!?



What about painted wood? I could do stripes or just paint it white or a light color (like a beadboard idea) so the texture and interest is what draws your eye up instead of something eye-popping, like orange! 



Let's segue into my favorite subject: stripes! Love love love this and might have to do it for my future-potential-one-day child's room. I think it would be fun in the entry too! I will have to pick and choose where I do my stripes though. Not only would it be a crazy house with stripes everywhere, but they are super hard to paint!



This is an interesting detail. I'm not convinced this would be great for our house, but I think it's super fun! It's the idea of a ceiling medallion but it's made way more fun with a great pattern and bright, trendy colors. if anyone does this, I'd love to see it! (also fun for a kid's room)



And last, we have wallpapered ceilings. This might shock a few of you traditional people (cough, Angela) but this is such a cool detail! I would have to find the right pattern but I would definitely go for something like this in the entry. You could also get this look with some stencils, but you might sacrifice your neck for it (stenciling+ceiling=ouch)









I want to stress that this might not be your particular cup of tea, and maybe some of these ideas will work better in some places rather than others. The reason I'm considering doing something fun is because: 

1) our entry ceiling is closed off, so there is probably only about 14-16 square feet maximum where we can make a statement, so it won't be overwhelming 

2) most of these ideas are more labor intensive than cost intensive, so you can easily change them if it doesn't end up working out 

and 

3) I live and work as a designer, so I love the uniqueness of this idea, plus my eclectic design style lends itself to going out on a limb and doing something funky! 

If you're considering changing it up in your house, I say go for it! Start out small with a closet or bathroom. Those are great places to really make an area that most people forget about stand out. Also, go into it slow. Don't spend tons of money or hire someone to do the job for you. Jump in and do it yourself, and see what comes out of your DIY experiment. If you hate it, paint over it with builder's white and go on living your boring life. Kidding. Sort of. 

Thanks again to Angela for asking the question that led to this blog! I encourage anyone else to chime in if they want me to explain my ideas further. I love talking about this, it just makes me more excited to get in there and get to work!