How to Paint a Wide Ceiling

Select a paint color with the width of your ceiling in mind. If you want to extenuate your wide ceiling, use a light color that will make the ceiling appear higher and larger. On the other hand, if you want to make the room cozier and the ceiling seem less wide, use a darker shade.

Protect the top 12 inches of your walls with butcher paper. Tape the paper to the walls using blue painter's tape, which is designed to easily peel away later without damaging painted walls.

Dip a 2- to 2 1/2-inch brush into your paint color and begin to paint the perimeter of the ceiling. This process is called cutting in, and it ensures that your paint color will reach all the way to the edge of the ceiling. A paint roller is unable to get into the corner where the wall meets the ceiling. Apply the paint in thin, even strokes; two thin coats are always better than one thick coat for getting smooth, uniform coverage.

Pour paint into a paint tray and saturate your paint roller. Remove some of the excess paint from the roller using the grate on the tray. Begin painting the ceiling in one corner of the room. The Behr paint company recommends working in small sections, no larger than 3 feet by 3 feet. Apply the paint in a "W" formation, overlapping each "W" until the section is filled in.

Blend the edges of each section together to reduce the appearance of roller marks. Allow the paint to dry per the directions on the paint can before you apply a second coat.