Where small spaces have their charm, they have their challenges too. Dealing with low ceilings that make you feel boxed in is one such tricky hurdle to overcome.
High ceilings allow you to enjoy a sense of grandeur. But, even if you have low ceilings, it doesn’t mean you will have to cram your possessions and feel claustrophobic and cramped. With the right decor, you can make your space feel taller than it is.
Here we’ve decoded some of the savvy secrets that experienced interior designers use to make a room appear taller and that can give your roof the much-needed height by tricking the eye.
How to Make a Room Look Taller: Variety Of Lights
Making your space appear visually tall mainly revolves around the idea of varying proportions to train the eye where to go.
For places with low ceilings, relying completely on tiered pendant lights or grand chandeliers to make your space look well-lit is not an option. You need to focus on a carefully drafted lighting design to not only make your space appear well-lit but also to heighten the ceiling visually.
The secret is to use a variety of lighting fixtures aimed at different heights to draw attention away from the ceilings and create a visually wider space. One type of lighting to definitely incorporate is vertical wall sconces. The light cast up and down plays a role in making the space seem higher than it actually is.
Credit: Homary
However, if you can’t let go of your love for pendant lighting, you can sprinkle their use in a few places of your home where you feel that they can adorn the room without making the ceiling look low. An example includes the ceiling over a kitchen island — make sure not to let them hang lower than 75cm from the ceiling or higher than 90cm from the island.
Similarly, if you’re a sucker for beautiful chandeliers as the focal point, you can choose a see-through light fixture hung at least 36 inches above your table to make the ceiling appear farther away.
Low Furniture
Creating the illusion of a higher ceiling is all about playing with proportions to trick the eye.
Furniture that is low and sits close to the floor is an ideal option for low-ceiling rooms. This is because the lower the furniture and the simpler its design, the less distracting it will be and the more wall you will be able to see over it.
Furniture that will be best for such purposes includes:
Low profile sofas
Slipper chairs
Cocktail tables
Couches with low-slung backs
Low profile TV stand
Full-Length Curtains
Vertical elements can create the illusion of a higher space. Therefore, with the right arrangement, curtains can be an excellent way to elongate walls and make your ceilings look taller.
Instead of limiting yourself to the top of the window frame, try installing the curtain rods right below the ceiling. This will carry the eye to the wall's highest point and create the perception of taller windows. Ensuring they pool on the floor will further enhance this effect.
Tall Doors
Credit: Transoms Direct
Tall doors, as opposed to lower passageways, are an incredible way to enhance the height of any space.
If you don’t want to break the bank, try incorporating transoms above the door. They can serve the purpose of adding a sense of height along with allowing more light in your space to make it appear more spacious.
Bookshelves
Credit: Furniture World
Bookshelves offer another way to vertically guide the eye. By adding vertical decorative panels on the length of your walls, your eye continues moving toward the ceiling, which helps create visual height.
Therefore, tall, skinny bookshelves extending up to the ceiling can create an illusion of a higher ceiling and wider space. This innovative storage method also proves to be a replacement for messy piles against walls and allows you to organise important books and papers in a way that gives a roomier impression.
Be sure to style the bookshelf nicely — here are our top tips on how to do so!
Long Windows And Mirrors
Credit: Dunelm
Mirrors — with their reflective properties — make a space look larger. When placed vertically, they can also make a space feel taller.
Similarly, windows extending from the floor to the ceiling are widely incorporated in modern designs since they can easily trick the eye into viewing the ceiling as high. They can work with a wide range of ceilings, from flat to pitched, and can connect you to the outdoors, taking away the cramped feeling of a small space.
Paint
Painting the walls and the ceiling in the same colour can assist in making ceilings look taller. This is because the boundary between the end of the wall and the beginning of the ceiling is blurred.
If the paint on your walls is too bright, you can consider diluting the shade by 50% before applying it to your ceiling.
Our Final Thoughts
Small spaces may be difficult to deal with, but if you plan and implement carefully, your home has the potential to feel like the cosiest place — and a Zen retreat!
Hopefully with the interior design tricks shared above, you will have plenty of ways to visually heighten your ceilings without major reconstructions!
Need help designing your room? Book one of our Interior Design Gurus for a 30-minute video call. Transforming your home into a space you love shouldn't be a daunting task. With HiiGuru you can save time, avoid costly mistakes and bring your goals to life with experts by your side.