Paint ceiling white or match wall color?

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Do you paint your ceiling white or try to match the wall color?

We're slowly purging the old owner's taste from our new house. Next up is the master bedroom. The old owner painted the room and ceiling this pea/puke green. The new color will be a medium gray with slight brown hue (Graceful Gray from Behr, fwiw).

The room is about 13'x18' with vaulted ceilings. Plenty of natural light so I'm not too worried about making the room look dark or cramped. But it's a lot of ceiling and wall space to all be the same color. We planned to paint the ceiling white to break up the expanse. Online suggestions ranged from using the lighter tone of the wall color to something completely different for contrast.

Thoughts?

 

[highland145]

white

 

[Scarpozzi]

Ceilings are typically a flat white paint.

If I had to pick a color and finish, I'd do white/flat.....white/satin would be my second choice. You don't want a glossy finish.

I'd do crown moldings if you have any in a white/semi-gloss or glossy. (I usually do semi-gloss and my wife prefers the glossy finish on molding)

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It doesn't have to be white but, don't paint the ceiling the same color as the walls.

 

[Greenman]

The darker the ceiling, the lower it will appear, that's why they are generally white. Around here, the most popular white is a Kelly More color called "Swiss Coffee".

 

[Scarpozzi]

Also remember that if your ceilings are an off-white or eggshell, they can appear yellowed and/or dirty.

I once bought a gallon of pre-mixed paint off the clearance rack because I'm a guy and I'm cheap and I don't care much about colors....my wife told me to get something else. I ended up keeping it as hobby paint.

 

[highland145]

Also remember that if your ceilings are an off-white or eggshell, they can appear yellowed and/or dirty.

I once bought a gallon of pre-mixed paint off the clearance rack because I'm a guy and I'm cheap and I don't care much about colors....my wife told me to get something else. I ended up keeping it as hobby paint.

Did you already paint the ceiling with it?


Wife picked out a color. I painted the living room, stairwell and landing with it. Then she says that she doesn't like it. I told her to have at it. It's still the same color.

 

[cytoSiN]

Just repainted several rooms with Sherwin-Williams paint, and used their "Eminence" ceiling paint in most of them. It's a flat white, and looks great. In bathrooms/kitchens we used their "Emerald" white paint because it's stain proof / water resistant and we didn't want the ceilings getting messed up from steam. Either way, ceilings look great in white. For a few rooms with eaves, we painted the eaves the same color as the walls instead of white like the ceiling.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

I'll give the S-W Eminence a try. Sounds like white is the way to go.

 

[cytoSiN]

I'll give the S-W Eminence a try. Sounds like white is the way to go.

S-W paint is ALWAYS on sale. Don't pay full price if you can help it. At least once a month they have a 30-40% off sale on all paint. If you have a local store, just go down and sign up there, and you'll get 10% off everything you buy, and you'll start receiving the emails with the larger discounts. Their retail prices are high, but the "normal" sale prices are very good.

 

[edro]

You can get by with painting the ceiling the same color as the walls if it is a light color.
My in laws did that in their living room/kitchen. Light gray everywhere.
It looks fine and they said it was a huge time savings. (no cutting in or touchups)

 

[highland145]

You can get by with painting the ceiling the same color as the walls if it is a light color.
My in laws did that in their living room/kitchen. Light gray everywhere.
It looks fine and they said it was a huge time savings. (no cutting in or touchups)

Invariably, I will bump the wall roller on the ceiling....and cuss.

 

[cytoSiN]

Invariably, I will bump the wall roller on the ceiling....and cuss.

You will not! Because you will have taped the ceiling first, right?

 

[highland145]

You will not! Because you will have taped the ceiling first, right?

Uh, no:$ but I did cut in. I think there are gremlins in the paint.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

You will not! Because you will have taped the ceiling first, right?

I painted the guest room last week. It took longer to tape the trim and ceiling than actually paint. Glad as hell I did though. I don't have a steady hand.

 

[cytoSiN]

I painted the guest room last week. It took longer to tape the trim and ceiling than actually paint. Glad as hell I did though. I don't have a steady hand.

Taping is a pain in the ass, but it's worth it unless you want to touch up twenty times. Paint the ceiling first, wait 24 hours, tape the ceiling with good tape (the kind for newly painted surfaces), then paint the walls. No touch up needed.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I painted the guest room last week. It took longer to tape the trim and ceiling than actually paint. Glad as hell I did though. I don't have a steady hand.

Prep always takes longer than the actual job. Having to redo or touch up is worse than prepping though. I like doing the prep, blasting through several rooms with a rented sprayer and, rolling the walls. Wham, bam, done painting in a day. Sometimes the prep takes a couple days though.

 

[boomerang]

To add to earlier posts, every professional painter I have ever had the opportunity to see work used Sherwin Williams. I figure there's got to be a reason.

 

[Greenman]

I've always been able to cut a clean line (in more ways than one), so I rarely tape anything.

 

[shabby]

To add to earlier posts, every professional painter I have ever had the opportunity to see work used Sherwin Williams. I figure there's got to be a reason.

Because its discounted more than benjamin moore.

 

[Zorba]

Ceiling should be white. Builders (at least around here) have figured out that it is cheaper to paint everything one color, so all new houses around here are all tan, walls and ceiling, some even paint the trim in lessor rooms the same color (like closets and garages). I hate it, and now people think that white ceilings = looks old .

The three year-old house I bought had an "upgraded" paint package, so I have 5 different tans that all look the same until you put the wrong touch up paint on the wall.

You will not! Because you will have taped the ceiling first, right?

I tape and still manage to hit the ceiling with the roller from time to time.

 

[MongGrel]

I'd vote flat white any day, unless you're maybe making a home theater room with a projector in my mind.

My Grandfather used to paint murals all over the area down here, and he would never go with another color on a ceiling, it does make the room look smaller.

And he did like Sherwin Williams, he would pick up even batches of it cheap that people returned and didn't like, as he could just put pigments in himself and change it to whatever he desired.

It was his favorite paint.

You'd be surprised what you can do with Kilz too.

That was his second favorite just for covering things and a base.

You can pigment that too of course.

 

[MongGrel]

Because its discounted more than benjamin moore.

Nope.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Definitely use a ceiling white. IMO.

As for taping the ceiling to paint the walls? Screw that. (I've never actually seen anyone do that, TBH.) If you're that uncoordinated, you should get a neighbor kid to do your painting.

 

[olds]

Unless you are trying to make a long, straight line, taping is a waste of time. I can cut it in as fast as you can tape.