The seven sins of plumbing
Look up! You might spot wallpaper, colour or even a mural on the ceiling, finds Caroline Botting.
Lyttelton’s Kris and Alex Herbert literally shed blood, sweat and tears when they covered their ceiling in bamboo wallpaper. ‘‘It had to be done in one go, we wanted it in before all the furniture was there,’’ says Kris of the huge, 400sqm space they covered in just one night.
There’s a spot above their study nook with a patch of blood where Alex suffered a cut from a roll as the pair worked late into the wee hours.
‘‘It was a killer workload. There was no faffing about with glue; we just stapled it directly on to the structurally insulated panels,’’ Kris recalls.
The decision to decorate overhead in bamboo brought much-needed warmth to the vast space, a rebuild of the former Lyttelton rugby club. White was never an option.
‘‘Plaster would have been too echoey in this space, and it was too big to go all white,’’ says Kris of their decision to make more of a statement of their ceiling. ‘‘Don’t be afraid to try new things. Dream something crazy.’’
The ceiling is often an overlooked blank canvas, but by seeing it as what decorators often call, ‘‘a fifth wall’’, it can dramatically change a space.
Wallpaper is just one way to add colour, pattern and texture to a ceiling. It can also become a major design feature, as it did in Barbara Valentine’s champagne room. The intimate space in her Eltham house was made all that more inviting with her decision to wallpaper a mural of cherubs by 16th-century artist Alessandro Allori. Installing it though was a ‘‘terrible mission’’. If you have the patience and stamina for taking on the job, go for it, otherwise call in the professionals. If wallpapering seems too onerous, give the ceiling a revamp with paint.
Wairarapa artist Rhondda Greig is a fan of colourful ceilings. Her kitchen is painted pink and blue, and she has yellow in the living room and apricot in the bathroom. ‘‘We referred to the big V in the kitchen as being like a jet flying into the kitchen. It has an element of flight, so we chose blue for the sky, which complemented the rest of the pink,’’ Greig explains.
Yellow was chosen on the south side of the house as it brought warmth to the living room, as did the apricot in the bathroom, which also worked well with the green trims and views to the trees outside. ‘‘The domestic environment provides an opportunity to have a visual adventure; it’s the one place where you can experiment,’’ Greig says. ‘‘If it all goes wrong, you can always paint over it.’’
If you visit interior designer Deborah Delorenzo’s house, don’t forget to look up. Rich vibrant hues on ceilings are her favourite thing.
‘‘If people are not brave about colour it’s a good place to start. It’s not in your face, but it’s really dramatic,’’ says Delorenzo, who has recently painted her bathroom ceiling in a hot magenta, appropriately named Resene ‘‘Sassy’’.
‘‘I love doing something unexpected that creates character,’’ says Delorenzo. Case in point: a recent home office project in a bungalow. She teamed white walls and white timber beams with ceiling panels in Resene ‘‘Hot August’’, a rich orange.
‘‘It looks amazing.’’
‘‘If people are not brave about colour, ceilings are a good place to start. It’s not in your face, but it’s dramatic.’’ Deborah Delorenzo
MAKE THE CHANGE
Colour ceilings can dramatically change a room and your feelings in it, says Resene marketing manager Karen Warman. Think through these points before making the change:
Consider what the room is used for, who uses it and what time of day it is lived in most. Also, think about the feeling you are trying to create – is it a glamorous space or a room for relaxing in?
Darker colours lower the height of a room; a lighter colour makes it taller. Designers often use darker colours on high stud ceilings to evoke a sense of cosiness. Continuing a wall colour to the ceiling creates a cocooning effect, and is especially effective in bedrooms and media rooms.
Ceilings are in shadow. Place your colour sample overhead to give you an idea of how much darker it will look first. Brighter and deeper colours are favoured in rooms that don’t have a lot of light.
Metallic finishes add a touch of glamour and work well in powder rooms or bedrooms. Metallic finishes or higher sheen finishes accentuate colour. Beware of going too glossy as it can look glary.
Don’t be limited to just one colour on a feature ceiling. Create patterns, stripes or use anaglypta wallpaper for a textured effect and paint over it.