Carpet Colors for Decorating Low Ceilings

Making Low Ceilings Look Taller

• Interior decorators have always had certain tricks to help rooms with low ceilings look taller: Light-colored walls give a feeling of openness and space. White ceilings help to make the ceiling appear to the eye to recede a bit, making it look higher. Light reflective paint helps to bounce light and give a more spacious feeling. Vertical drapes hung from rods close to the ceiling create vertical lines that make walls look taller. Avoiding overhead fans. Ceiling-mount lights also help to keep the ceiling area appear more open. Using the floor area to fool the eye can also help to make low ceilings higher.

Light-Colored Carpeting

• Many decorators advise using light-colored materials to carpet rooms with low ceilings. These colors often repeat the light colors applied to the walls, enlarging the space and allowing the eye to travel over spaces without breaks. Cream, light tan, pale gray and pale green are good colors to open up spaces and allow the furnishings to be the outstanding feature in the room. You can use any neutral shade for this purpose.

Dark-Colored Carpeting

• Decorators offer another option for carpets in low-ceiling rooms: Lay a darker-color carpet to make the floor area recede from view. This technique makes the lighter-color walls and ceiling appear more open and expansive, and makes ceiling areas appear to extend higher. Choose a color that fits in with the overall décor of the room. Dark gray, dark taupe, dusky blue and brown would be good choices for this technique.

Bold Print Carpets

• Another idea for low-ceiling rooms is to use bold patterns on the floor to help to distract the eye from the upper areas of the room. Use bright, repeating patterns; this keeps interest at the floor level and creates more height along walls and ceiling areas. Patterns that pick up the color of the walls are a good idea for this technique. Avoid small, busy patterns that create a crowded look.