Low ceilings are great for cheaper to heat rooms, but once your wall art is in place, it can feel claustrophobic. This is not a relaxing environment but fortunately, there are ways to give an illusion of height. Use any, all, or a combination of the ideas below to hang large or oversized wall art in the smallest of rooms without making the room feel cluttered.
- Use low-to-the-floor furniture
Almost all forms of furniture have low-to-the-floor styling options. Sofas with a low back profile, short and stumpy side tables, and if you are really short on space, opt for a single sofa with stools for seating when guests are visiting.In rooms with low ceiling profiles, the low to the floor furniture is going to be essential for hanging any oversized art above it, or even an oversized mirror to make the room appear bigger.
- Install panel mouldings for framed wall panels
Panel mouldings are similar to frame mouldings. The difference between the two is that panel mouldings are better suited to larger installations. You can see these on profiled wood doors and in some wood-panelled hallway designs.Different shapes are available making it possible to build your own custom frames directly on your walls, either as whole rectangular frame panels, or panels with curved corners. Rather than attempting to install an oversized picture frame in a low-ceiling room, you could use panel mouldings to make it look like there are integrated wood frames on the wall. Paint the wall (or use wallpaper) as a backing for the frame, then install a standard-sized framed piece of art within the panelled space.
- Use vertical stripes
Vertical stripes are a go-to option that instantly gives the illusion of the ceilings being higher. The problem from a design perspective is that multiple straight lines create blandness. You can solve that by using patterned wallpaper with anything that gives the illusion of something climbing upward. Patterned wallpaper of tree branches fit the bill perfectly. This is especially the case when used within panel mouldings, as you can then have solid painted colours between different wall panels, different patterned backdrops for each wall panel, and then different framed artwork installed in each. - Use uplighters at different heights
Ceiling pendant lights are impractical in rooms with a low ceiling. The best solution is to replace pendants with flush ceiling lights. They will still only provide downward lighting. The illusion of height in a room comes from lighting the ceiling, and the only way to get light to the ceiling is to use uplighters. There are multiple styles that range from floor lamps, to table lamps, and wall sconces. Any light that illuminates the ceiling instead of the floor, helps to make a room feel taller. More so in rooms with white ceilings because white reflects light. Dark colours don’t. That is why ceilings are almost always painted white.