When repainting a room, it makes sense to paint the ceiling at the same time as the walls, since the room is already masked off for the painting project. Most often, the ceiling gets painted a white or off-white color. The theory behind this approach to ceiling color selection is that a darker color has a tendency to make the ceiling appear lower and make the room smaller.

In many cases, the principle stated above has some validity, especially for light-colored walls. However, depending on the mood you want to create in the room, a color, even a darker color may be the right choice in order to create a warm and enveloping feeling. In other cases, when the room has high ceilings and abundant sunlight, a dark ceiling color can bring a room to life and add panache to a space.

Dark Paint Color on a High Tray Ceiling

In the past week, for a client in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, we repainted a twenty-foot high tray ceiling, dressed with abundant crowns and moldings. The room was large and had five sets of two-story windows. The size of the room, combined with its height, made it appear somewhat cold and uninviting. Additionally, a light color on the ceiling caused the beautiful crowns and moldings to overly blend in. We painted the ceiling dark brown. The whole room came to life!

Making such a bold color choice can be made easier with the guiding eye of a color consultant. When doing interior painting, clients often hold themselves back in their color choices, for fear of making a mistake. A little color consultation goes a long way to embolden clients in making color selections that express their personality and create a nurturing environment for them.

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We just completed the interior painting of two condos at the Aqua building on Chicago’s lakefront. For many reasons, it was a real pleasure working on this project, one of which was being able to work in such beautiful, air-conditioned surroundings, while Chicago was going through a spell of 90-degree days!

Aqua Building on Chicago's Lakefront

One of the Condo's Many Views of Chicago

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a good client: “We just purchased two condos in Chicago. Please help us with color selection and the interior painting.” They purchased a 3-bedroom unit on the 69th floor and a 1-bedroom on the 73d floor. The condos’ floors are stained

Color Scheme for 73d Floor Condo

Color Scheme for 69th Floor Condo

a dark brownish/blackish color and the bedroom carpeting is a sandy color. The smaller unit is to be occupied by the grown son and the other by the parents and their guests.

In contrast to the traditional décor of their suburban residence, our clients wanted an “urban” look to their condos. This is where the paint color consultation came into the picture. After four hours of consultation with the owners and the son, two different color schemes were arrived at. The son’s painting of John Lennon inspired a “Retro” look for his color scheme, as shown in the picture, with chartreuse, gold and gray as some of his colors. The parent’s condo took on a more “Urban Chique” look, with a rich brown to match the leather couch, taupe tones and gray shades.

Painting in Partnership, a house painting contractor located in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, stands ready to meet the sophisticated needs of its clients in the both the color selection process and the impeccability of the craftsmanship of its interior painting.

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Since the caveman, humans have used interior painting to personalize the surfaces of their dwellings. Through their use of paints and color, people seek to express themselves and have their environment be nurturing to them. For more information on how color selection can affect the mood of the people living in a house, check out this article I wrote on “Four Questions to Consider Before Selecting Colors for your House”.

Next week, we are starting work on a house painting project where color is playing a major role. The owners have lived in their house for thirteen years. All along, they have been dreaming of COLOR! However, with three kids they home-schooled, these clients had many other priorities; until now!

Because of the home–schooling and a dad who works from home, the family spends considerable time in the house. At this point, the whole family was craving color for their environment and the parents felt that color could really add to the quality of their lives. Their biggest concern was: what colors should we choose and where should they go? Another concern was expressed this way: “we want a dramatic look!”

When doing a house painting project, especially for an entire house, choosing the right colors is critical to produce a result that is nurturing to all involved. As preparation for the color consultation with our company’s Color Design Consultant, we asked the clients to come with pictures of looks they liked and to experiment, as a family, with different colors.

Period Color Consultation

The whole family then met with Painting in Partnership’s House Color Consultant. Because they did their homework and were well prepared, it took only two hours to develop a color scheme for the entire house. The picture below illustrates the color selections. Now, is this dramatic enough for you?

This building is a vintage, Four-Square house built in 1927. In Part 2 of this story, we will address the surface preparation issues and concerns that arise during a painting project in a vintage house .

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