Looking up: Colourful ceilings are child's play
Bright hues, patterns and murals give kids something to look up to
Look up. Waaaay up.
Ceiling mouldings and false ceiling designs add colour, style and texture to your child’s room, design experts say.
“You always hear that we never look up,” says interior designer Ulya Jensen (ulyajenseninteriors.com). “Well, this is going to make you look up.”
Classical or vintage ceiling moulding and tile designs are popular for adult rooms, but they can easily be adapted for children’s rooms, too, Jensen says. For example, when ceiling tiles are being used as inlays in a moulding design, a neutral or plain colour probably suits a dining room, “but you can add colour to some of those tiles, which would be quite fun in a child’s room,” she says.
Put them “wherever you want the attention to go,” Jensen suggests.
“In a small room … you don’t have a lot of square footage to deal with, so why not do something to make the room come alive and become a conversation piece?”
Ceiling mouldings and false ceilings can also be cost-effective, she says. What was once a custom job, can now be a do-it-yourself one, thanks to readily available products.
“Ceilings are a great opportunity to take advantage of whimsical or theme lighting,” says interior designer Penny Southam (southamdesign.com).
Her son had a painted tree on his nursery wall that continued onto the ceiling. “I created a light fixture in the middle of the room by transforming a metal bird cage into a light,” she says.
Murals are another way to add creativity and colour to your child’s ceiling. Southam’s daughter had a Cinderella-themed mural that wrapped two walls and the ceiling.
“We took advantage of a very low knee wall and an angled ceiling line by building a fort with a little door, window with shutters. She used to play house with her friends in this little nook.”
Jensen also recommends colour blocking for ceiling designs in children’s rooms.
“You can do a checkerboard effect in bold colours or soft pastel colours,” she says. “It depends how much energy you want the room to have or how much energy you want the kid to have when he or she is falling asleep.”
Or use traditional crown moulding to frame a high-impact colour, say for a daughter who loves fuchsia or purple.
“(It offers) high impact in a room with low investment. If you get tired after a couple years … you can paint it out again.”
Baseboards are another option, with multiple colourful and cartoon designs available.
Jensen has also seen baseboards used creatively on a ceiling in place of traditional crown moulding.
But no matter what colours or imaginative designs you choose for your child’s room, a parent must always be prepared for constant change.
“Kids rooms always change as they grow through their phases. They may like Batman this year but want him gone the next so if you go theme, be prepared to do lots of updating.”