WINDOWS, WALLS, CEILINGS AND FLOORS.....

OR JUST CEILINGS, TODAY...

so, maybe not all at once, but in trying to plan ahead on the blog, I decided to talk about the 6 walls of your home - counting floor and ceiling, of course - at least a couple of times a month....

Don't you love walking into a beautiful room, taking in all the fabrics, the paint, the furniture, the lighting, the flooring, and then looking up and seeing more beauty?  

I noticed that 5th wall and its possibilities as a young girl in the pacific islands.  In Samoa, rope made from coconut husk (sennit) is lashed around beams to form a structure to support the roof, and traditional craftsmen turn it into a thing of beauty.  Other Pacific islands have similar craftmanship..

 Now, whenever I travel, I make a point of looking up.  Whether in castles, cathedrals, train stations, or shopping centers... the ceilings can be amazing...

We are a little more relaxed about the architecture in our homes today, but that doesn't mean we can't add a little interest to that 5th wall of our homes.  

 Since I'd really love to put a coffered ceiling in my family room and kitchen area, I'm excited to share some coffered applications... 

 A coffer is defined as a recessed panel or box 

 when that is done in a grid pattern on a ceiling

 it creates interesting shadows and gives a ceiling and a room added dimension

not to mention it just looks amazing

If you have lower ceilings in your home, you can install shallower coffers

 I think it still adds a nice architectural element.  

Most contractors can create this type of customized ceiling for you.

or

you can try it yourself if you are clever and handy!

This picture below is from Wood Fever

He installed it himself, and has provided handy ebooks with instructions on how to do your own. 

Wood Fever

Armstrong makes ready to install, paintable grids

in individual squares

for the do it yourself-er

if you have nice high ceilings, a contrasting paint can add interest

I think I like the subtlety of this all over color, though.

As you can see,there are a lot of variations on this theme

It works in small rooms, large rooms, with higher ceilings or lower.

It can be elaborate, or simple.

It all looks good.

What do you think?

*************************************************************************

QUESTION FROM A READER:

Greetings,



I enjoy your blog., and I'd like to submit a question for your consideration.

We're building a Florida, golf course home. The living room gets direct eastern light, and south light from a deep covered porch.  The flooring is a neutral brown/beige/tan tile throughout (both pink and gold undertones).  The soft furnishings in the living room (open to kitchen and visible to dining room) are mostly various patterns and scales with aqua as the primary color; there is a coral & white ottoman. The living walls will be BM White Dove, and trim BM Super White. The kitchen cabs are off-white with bright white glazing; the kitchen stools are black with gilding and a small print upholstery with the colors from living and dining room in it.  The dining room (western light from deep porch window) will be BM Persimmon 2088-40, above a Super White wainscoting.




ceiling and wall color:  Benjamin Moore PERSIMMON




The study (across the foyer from the dining room) will be BM Philadelphia Cream HC-30.  All ceilings are 10' with a 7" high, painted crown (BM Super White), and the living room has a coffer.




wall color:  Benjamin Moore PHILADELPHIA CREAM
Here's my question, I'm thinking of having all the ceilings, in the public rooms (living, kitchen, study, dining & maybe foyer) painted BM Colony Green 694, or a 1/2 strength version of same.

Benjamin Moore COLONY GREEN
Each room on it's own would be terrific with the color, however, I'm concerned that it may look contrived and too "done up" to put one color on all the ceilings.  What do you think about using that one color for all the ceilings

Thank you in advance for any thoughts you can offer. 


Susan 



Dear Susan,

Your home sounds lovely.  I love your color palette, and I think that Colony Green would be very nice on the ceiling.  Ceilings always appear darker because they are a little shadowed, so I think the 1/2 strength may be the best solution.  It will look especially nice inside the coffer in your living room. At half strength, I don't think it will be a contrived look.  It should be a soft, neutral accent to your rooms.   Good luck.  We would love to see a photo of the finished design!