• 39 ceiling colors

What Color Should I Paint My Ceiling

Flat white for most rooms, a pale tint for a low one, a dark color for a tall one.

What Color Should I Paint My Ceiling

Show all 39
  1. Flat bright whiteThe standard ceiling: it bounces the most light back and suits any wall color.#FAFAF7

Next step Pick a wall color to go under itDraw a named color for the trim

All 39 ceiling colors

Whites 8

  • Antique white A yellowed white that sits well with old plaster and dark wood beams.
  • Chalk white A soft, faintly gray white that stops a sunny white room from glaring.
  • Cool white A white that leans blue, crisp over cool gray or blue walls.
  • Creamy white For over cream, beige or tan walls, where a bright white can look cold.
  • Flat bright white The standard ceiling: it bounces the most light back and suits any wall color.
  • Same white as the trim One white on ceiling, trim and doors, so a low room has fewer lines.
  • Same white as the walls With white walls, one white all over beats two whites that almost match.
  • Soft white White with the glare taken out, for a room lit mostly by lamps.

Pale tints 12

  • Blush A faint pink that gives lamplight a warm cast in a bedroom.
  • Greige, walls and ceiling alike One color all over hides where a sloped or low ceiling begins.
  • Pale aqua Fresh over a white bathroom or laundry room, and light enough for a low one.
  • Pale butter A soft yellow that stands in for sunshine where a room gets little.
  • Pale greige Over warm gray or greige walls: warmer than white without reading as a color.
  • Pale lavender A cool tint for a bedroom, soft over white or pale gray walls.
  • Pale peach Warmer than white at night, when lamps are the only light.
  • Pale sage A quiet green overhead, good with white walls, wood floors and plants.
  • Palest blue Reads as open sky over white walls, and stays light enough for a low room.
  • Palest gray A breath of gray over gray walls, so the line where they meet goes soft.
  • Soft sage, walls and ceiling alike Wraps a small bedroom or attic room, so the corners stop counting.
  • Wheat Over tan or brown walls a pale tan ties in, where white would cut the room in two.

Deep colors 12

  • Brick red For a dining room: over cream walls it glows by lamplight.
  • Charcoal Brings a very tall ceiling down and hides pipes, ducts and beams.
  • Chocolate brown Cozy over cream walls in a den or library with a tall ceiling.
  • Deep blue, walls and ceiling alike For a den with little daylight: go dark all over and let the lamps do the work.
  • Deep green Rich over white paneling in a room with tall windows.
  • Deep teal A strong color overhead for a tall hallway or stairwell with white walls.
  • Mid gray Two steps deeper than pale gray walls, to bring a tall ceiling closer.
  • Mustard gold A sunny lid on a white kitchen or hallway with height to spare.
  • Navy A night-sky ceiling for a dining room or bedroom with white walls and trim.
  • Slate blue A grayed blue that sits well over light gray walls and white trim.
  • Soft black Lets a tall ceiling fade from view at night; keep the walls pale.
  • Terracotta Warm overhead against white plaster walls and wood beams.

Porch colors 7

  • Buttermilk A pale yellow that keeps a deep, shaded porch from feeling gloomy.
  • Dove gray A light gray for a porch ceiling over gray siding, calmer than white in full sun.
  • Haint blue The pale blue-green of porch ceilings in the Southern United States.
  • Pale gray-blue A grayed blue for the porch of a gray or white house, quieter than sky blue.
  • Robin's egg blue A stronger blue-green for a porch that can take more color than haint blue.
  • Seafoam Between green and blue, at home on the porch of a beach house or lake cabin.
  • Sky blue A clear light blue that carries the sky in under the porch roof.

How it works

For a low or dim room, flat white is the right call. These 39 colors cover the other cases: a tint over gray or white walls, a dark lid for a tall room, a porch.

Read the full guide

Lighter lifts, darker lowers

A ceiling paler than the walls tends to look higher, and one darker than the walls looks lower. So a low room gets white or the palest tint of its wall color, and a tall, echoing room can take charcoal, navy or deep green.

Keep the finish flat

A gloss finish shows up flaws in a surface, such as sanding marks. In most homes the ceiling is painted flat, whatever the color.

From the screen to the ceiling

The hex codes are approximations for a screen. Show the swatch at the paint counter, bring home two or three sample pots near it, and brush them on a board you can hold up overhead.

  • Judge a sample held overhead, not against the wall: a ceiling gets less direct light, so paint tends to look a shade darker there.

Questions and answers

What color should I paint my ceiling with gray walls?

Cool white over a gray that leans blue; soft white or pale greige over a warm gray. In a tall room, try a gray two steps deeper than the walls.

What colour should I paint my ceiling, white or the same as the walls?

The same as the walls where the ceiling slopes, as in an attic room, or where a small room has no trim: one shade hides where the walls stop. In a plain room with white trim, white overhead looks cleaner.

Why are porch ceilings painted blue?

It is a tradition of the Southern United States that began with the Gullah people of Georgia and South Carolina, who thought the color kept haints, or ghosts, away from the home. The pale blue-green shades are called haint blue; one is on this list.

What color ceiling makes a room look bigger?

A pale one. Light colors reflect more light, so flat bright white, soft white or the palest blue keep a small room open.

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