A red accent wall is a dynamic decor enhance and more adaptable to several colour schemes than you might think. Play with a larger palette than default white to get ceiling paint over red’s warmth and intensity. White might work, but so can a whole paintbox of colours, from parchment to sky-blue to mint to peony-pink. The size and aim of this room, the ceiling height, the available light and the remainder of your decor must ascertain the ceiling shade that goes best with your paint wall paint.
Why Not White
Paint one or walls crimson in a room and also maintain the ceiling white to bounce light around the warmer hues. White ceilings against red are clean and smooth and won’t gamble visually “lowering” the ceiling and developing a claustrophobic vibe in the room. But check the other colours and tones in the room before defaulting to bright white. The soft, worn shades in the antique oriental rug and the richer tip of shade in the ivory or ecru silk drapes blend better with a linen, antique white or white-with-the-merest-hint-of-red-pigment paint on the ceiling.
Red Overhead
Expand a red wall above the ceiling to generate an open, jarring room appear cozier and more enveloping. Darker ceilings appear as though they’re closer to you, but that is not always something; a too-tall ceiling or even a room which gets plenty of light are great candidates for an extreme ceiling shade. A contemporary dining room with a glass table includes all of the sparkle of a sharply cut stone with enameled red walls which stretch across the ceiling. A more traditional room with matte or low-gloss paint — red on one or more walls and the ceiling — looks like a pastoral retreat. Red over red in a shiny kitchen with a red accent wall and ceiling and shiny white on the rest of the walls functions with white or brushed stainless appliances and a daring white-and-black harlequin tile flooring.
A Jewel Box
The living room walls are decorated shiny ruby or cinnabar tooth; a wealthy oriental carpet covers the hardwood flooring; the furniture is Oriental antique, and the drapes are floor-length silk taffeta. Painting the coffered ceiling white is a completely missed opportunity within this formal area. Rather, have the ceiling decorated deep jade or teal with gilded oriental patterns or themes centered in each panel. The ornamental ceiling complements the walls in both design and colour. It finishes off a room worthy of a museum; the lush comfort of this decor and upholstered furnishings makes it home.
A Light Tint
The red wall in the sitting room, foyer, guest room or powder room is exciting and design-forward, but a white ceiling overhead appears to be choppy and dull. That impression is just right, but it is possible to resolve the problem with paint. Add a light tint of the wall colour to the white ceiling paint to get a smooth melding of ceiling and wall. Experiment to ascertain the exact number of red to your ceiling paint — no more than half-strength but as little as a blush-like fraction, based on the light within the room and your comfort level with pink on your own decor scheme. The rosy light in the room is flattering. The related colours open up a small room instead of chop it off at the peak of the wall, so the space appears boxy and cramped.