Should You Always Paint a Ceiling White? Designers Share When to Break This Classic Decor Rule

Grey living room, tall windows, window seat with yellow cushions, French floral fabric upholstered chair, oversized black ceiling lights, pale wood flooring, sofa, round antique table, house plants.

For most of us, painting the ceiling anything but white is a bold design choice that's so easy to get wrong. Choose the right alternative to a white ceiling and the results can be beautifully impactful. Make the wrong choice and your space can feel smaller, darker and unbalanced.

So, it's understandable that most of us play it safe. But does a ceiling always need to be white, or could we be a little bolder with our ceiling colors? And, if so, how do we get those painted ceiling ideas right?