Looking up

Carol O’Callaghan sheds light on that elusive space above your head

Camp it up with padded walls and a low handing, ebony chandelier. Finish with charcoal leather chairs.

Grey brings a fashionable hue to the ceiling and creates the visual effect of lowering an otherwise high stairwell, (grey from Dulux no. 30YY 20/029 RRP €53 for 5 ltr)

When was the last time you looked up at the ceiling? That long, eh? Maybe it’s the legacy of Artex coating, once applied to cover a multitude of sins but now mortally offensive to the eye that keeps the head bowed in contrition as these ceiling treatments have become decorating heresy.

For those of you caught in the purgatory of a ceiling that’s ripe for conversion, there’s the prospect of making it into your own little piece of heaven. Consider the joys of the born-again chandelier now out of its unfashionable limbo, and crystal pendants that hover above like angels, throwing a warm glow around you and your space. Contemplate new features and treatments, or just the vogue for taking mid-century modern styles and re-invigorating them to complete your space and make it as inviting and embracing to others as it will be to you.

Our dear reliable and affordable friend the pot of paint has seen us through all decorating upheavals, but our reliance on white and its safeness has stopped us striking out of convention to discover alternatives that can bring a new dimension to our décor. Consider what was essentially a style of the ‘70s, of ceilings painted in darker hues which have now been revived as we continue to be in thrall to that decade. But remember that introducing colour to the ceiling of a room for the first time can be quite a big step, especially if you’ve been a committed minimalist of the neutrally hued persuasion. To go darker on the ceiling you may need to temper your zeal so you don’t end up with a decorating apocalypse.

So before getting carried away with the excitement of implementing a new idea, remember that a dark ceiling will create the illusion of lowering its height. Err on the side of the more venial pastels, maintaining your neutral, even white, walls and applying the colour paint onto the ceiling. This works especially well in smaller or darker rooms where the paler the walls the better it is for light reflection and to enhance the feeling of space.

This whole business of not looking up may mean there’s still a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling because you never got round to finding the right shade to embrace it. Sometimes a change of light bulb, especially rose tinted versions which provide a beautiful warm light without any hint of pink, and the simple purchase of a new shade can be enough to transform the ceiling.

Tray ceilings are a novel, if rather labour-intensive way of reinventing the space above your head. By creating layers they give the illusion of height by providing one or more rims around the ceiling edge behind which lighting can be concealed. But if that’s a bit too ambitious, a painting job and some new lighting will suit all budgets and can have a miraculous effect on the overall look of your space.

* Next week we look at pastels