The Best Ceiling Paint Color Ideas & Trends

Choosing the right ceiling paint color can change the entire aesthetic of your space. While many people stick to traditional white ceiling paint, there are benefits to branching out into bold and bright color palettes.

When trying out ceiling paint ideas, make sure the color suits the room’s size and complements your lighting conditions. From warmer neutrals to moody darks, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite ceiling paint colors, whether you’re painting a living room, dining room, bedroom, or elsewhere.

Before deciding on a color for your ceiling, keep in mind the following:

Tips for Choosing a Ceiling Paint Color

Consider the Light Sources in the Room

Ceiling and wall paint colors look different depending on the lighting in your room, and they might work with or against it. Take note of the sources of light in the room, including natural light from windows and artificial light from light fixtures like lamps and sconces. Different types of light bulbs, from incandescents to fluorescents, also produce different lighting effects. Even the placement of your windows (for example, either north-facing or south-facing) will affect the way you perceive a paint color.

Once you have chosen some possible ceiling colors, we recommend that you test swatches of paint on your ceiling to see how they look with your lighting at different times of the day.

Consider the Light Reflective Value (LRV)

Every paint color has a light reflective value, or LRV, which refers to how much light it reflects or absorbs. LRV is measured on a scale of 0 (black) to 100 (white) and is generally listed on paint chip cards. Bright colors with an LRV of 50 or above reflect more light than they absorb, and typically create an airy look making a room feel larger, while those with LRVs under 50 absorb more light to create a space that feels more intimate, cozy, or moody depending on the shade of color.

Stay Within Your Existing Color Palette

One of the simplest ways to decide on a paint color for your ceiling is to choose a color that matches your room’s color palette. For example, if your room is filled with accessories that have warm undertones (like orange), then consider painting your ceiling a lighter color orange or yellow to continue that vibrant energy. If your room has jewel tones and you want a white ceiling, soften the contrast with a creamy white like Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee instead of a bright white like Chantilly Lace.

Embrace Complementary Colors

Create a bold design statement and energize your space by choosing a paint color that is complementary to your wall color to use on the ceiling. What are complementary colors? For example, if you have Aegean Teal painted walls, painting the ceiling a pale yellow creates a vibrant combination. Gray and pink are actually analogous colors, but they complement each other perfectly:

Paint Color Tips for Different Ceiling Styles

While you can choose any paint color to enhance your interior design, it helps to consider the type of ceiling you have and how paint can make the most of a room’s unique architecture. Read on for paint color and design ideas that enhance all sorts of ceiling types.

Painting Slanted Ceilings

A slanted ceiling is a unique architectural feature that adds character and drama. While white paint is a popular choice, many people paint slanted ceilings with creative color schemes. Light colors help to accentuate the height of tall slanted ceilings. In this room, a sky blue ceiling draws the eye upward and helps brighten the dark ceiling beams:

Many rooms with slanted ceilings are on upper floors, and the ceilings are low. Making a statement with color is a great way to accentuate the architecture, rather than painting it all white in an attempt to disguise awkward angles. This bedroom exudes nautical charm with its plank walls and sunny yellow ceiling:

Another option for painting awkward slanted ceilings is to choose a dark color for both walls and ceiling. Dark gray and blue shades like Hale Navy or Ashland Slate make the edges of a room recede. In this bedroom, Hale Navy on walls and trim unifies the space, making the slanted ceiling appear taller.

The Best Paint Colors For Tray Ceilings

Tray ceilings can be confusing to paint because they have both horizontal and vertical surfaces. While professional painters often advise painting all vertical surfaces to match the wall color, this gives tray ceilings a “striped” look, with a strip of wall color between two white ceiling areas. If you’d like your wall color to continue up into the tray area, just paint the ceiling around the tray the same color as the wall! Now the central tray is the focal point. This bedroom is painted right up to the tray in Benjamin Moore’s Silver Fox:

While white is probably the most common tray ceiling paint color, there are many color schemes that enhance this elegant feature. Paint the central tray a bronze shade for Old World elegance, or a pale silvery gray like Silver Satin for a touch of modern glam. Pale sky blue is a popular tray ceiling paint color for its light and airy effect. A light blue tray ceiling is a beautiful complement to white walls, which help draw the eye upward and reflect daylight around the room. Two of our favorite light blue paint colors for ceilings are Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue and Wythe Blue.

Painting Coved Ceilings

A coved ceiling is an architectural detail that creates a gentle curve where the wall and ceiling meet. Coved ceilings might be used to create a seamless look, or they may be combined with crown molding for additional drama. In many historic homes, coved ceilings are part of an intricate decorating scheme and picked out in complementary colors. Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl on this coved ceiling is accented by yellow molding and wallpaper:

Modern interiors often use coved ceilings to soften the edges of a white room. Coved ceilings painted to match the walls create a seamless look. When the ceiling color is continued down the coved edge it creates the illusion of more height. In this bedroom painted Benjamin Moore Linen White, Smoke blue-green paint on the coved ceiling has an expansive effect:

Coffered Ceiling Painting Tips

If you are lucky enough to have a house with a coffered ceiling you’ll want to make the most of this stunning architectural feature. Coffered ceilings use decorative beams to create a ceiling grid of three-dimensional, recessed panels. Historic buildings often have coffered ceilings in complex patterns of squares and octagons, accented by ornate carvings or plasterwork. Today’s homes typically use coffered ceilings with a square pattern to add an elegant, traditional touch to living rooms. The white beams are trimmed in molding, and typically painted a classic white color like Chantilly Lace.

Consider painting the recessed ceiling panels in your coffered ceiling a contrasting color, or even wallpapering them. Adding color and pattern to the ceiling warms up a large room, and makes a small space feel more cozy and intimate.

Ceiling Colors With Exposed Beams

Exposed beam ceilings feature the rustic warmth of natural wood, giving your space an industrial or historic touch. Nature-inspired ceiling colors like sage green, sky blue and creamy yellow give exposed beams a cottage look. Or, let the natural wood tones take center stage by painting your ceiling a warm off-white like Benjamin Moore’s Pale Oak.

Painting the ceiling area between the beams in a rich, cozy color like Chelsea Gray enhances the warmth of wood and adds a bit of drama.

Paint Color Tips For Vaulted Ceilings

A vaulted ceiling is supported by arches or beams that follow the roofline, creating a tall, airy and open space. Neutral white paint colors like Benjamin Moore’s Simply White are popular for vaulted ceilings because they amplify the light and make the space feel brighter.

Pale blue shades give vaulted ceilings the serene, airy look of a summer sky; for a celestial effect, try a dark blue like Hale Navy punctuated by gold stars. A light gray shade, like Cement Gray, looks crisp and modern. This slightly cool hue may appear warmer depending on the lighting, shifting throughout the day to create a soothing ambiance.

The Best Paint Finishes For Ceilings

After you have chosen a paint color that matches your interior design style, it’s important to consider the paint sheen or finish. Let’s take a look at the best paint finishes for ceilings.

Flat Finish

With no sheen at all, a flat finish is the most widely used type of finish for ceilings. It provides superior coverage, hides imperfections on the ceiling, and doesn’t catch your attention like high-gloss paint. Flat is also easy to apply without leaving lap marks, so it’s great for a DIY painting project.

Matte Finish

Some people prefer matte paint for their ceiling, which has a slight sheen sometimes described as resembling velvet. If you are planning to use a darker color paint like gray, black, or navy, this is a great choice because it bounces light off a dark ceiling for a brightening effect. Matte paints are an easy way to create an eye-catching ceiling finish.

Eggshell Finish

Eggshell has a slight sheen that enlivens the surface. It can add subtle interest to a ceiling by reflecting the light in a room, drawing the eye up without overdoing the drama. Eggshell paint does take a little practice to apply without creating lap marks, but it’s worth the effort. 

Satin Finish

Satin is a low-lustre paint finish that has a subtle shine. Although it's uncommon to use satin paint on the ceiling, this finish can be an excellent choice to highlight the woodwork on the ceiling without adding too much gloss. You coud aso add a soft glow to a navy or black ceiling with satin finish paint.