Some (most?) houses have awkward architecture, whether from their initial design or as renovations were made over the years. One of the most frustrating features is the angled ceiling, particularly when it is not symmetrical. How do you treat it? Do you make it a feature or try to make it disappear?

Ninety-nine percent of the time, make angles blend in/disappear rather than highlight them. With the right circumstances (most likely, a child’s bedroom) I would explore making it a fun feature.

If you’re dealing with angled ceilings, it usually involves an attic, bedroom, laundry room, or basement. One solution is to COMMIT to a BIG, BEAUTIFUL SOLUTION! (Sorry to yell.) Fully wallpaper the space, covering the ceiling as well as walls. Own it! This works well if you have a lot of awkward angles and/or you want to create a very cozy cocoon sensibility. Bedrooms are a great place to do this.

I selected this image because the interior designer made a small, awkward space visually larger by fully covering the walls, ceiling, and windows in the same pattern. It’s a fabulous room. The only teeny little issue I might point out is that I would have aligned the pattern on the left window with the wallpaper pattern for a more seamless look, but this is the great Mark D. Sikes so I hesitate to criticize!

You can do this with grasscloth or another tonal, textured wallcovering if you aren’t a floral or gingham sort.

What if you love wallpaper but don’t want to cover the ceiling with it?

Another thought is to treat the slope as part of the wall rather than ceiling, and carry the wallpaper up to the flat horizontal plane of ceiling. That can be painted the field color of the wallpaper (in the case below, white) or even a color pulled from the wallpaper palette, depending on how much you want to emphasize the ceiling. If it’s a small room, I am inclined to select the field color from the wallpaper. But it is a very case-by-case basis.

You can also paint the walls and ceiling the same color. I’ve done this a million times to make a room look and feel larger, and blur the lines between angles and flat planes so it’s not so awkward.

Martha Stewart— don’t ask me why the pendant is hanging there, though. Watch your head!

Now for some “DON’Ts”

At least paint the ceiling like the walls….

Extreme closeup of awkward angle painting—arghhhhh

What if the angle involves a shower? I have designed a few bathroom renovations where the ceilings were angled. Depending on the location and direction of the angle, you might take the tile all the way up in the shower.

I just did this one (excuse the amateur photo). We are still waiting for the shower enclosure.

There are lots of other little painting/wallpapering tricks up my sleeve. But if you want to hear more, and especially if you are in Westchester, NY or Fairfield County, CT, reach out!