10 ways to raise low ceilings: design tips (50 photos)

According to the old standards, which were valid until 2010, the ceiling height should be at least 2.5 meters. This value is considered the most familiar and comfortable for a person. After making changes to the SNiP, the standards for ceiling heights were lowered, allowing the builders to choose it themselves. The apartments still adhere to certain values with respect to different rooms. For residential premises and kitchens, the norm remains all the same at 2.5 m, while for corridors, hallways, halls, the figure is already slightly lower - 2.1 m. These rules are not observed in some communal apartments, dormitories and old buildings (buildings of pre-Soviet times). In private houses, as they say, the owner is a master, and the owners have the right to choose for themselves the optimum height. Although in small rooms, high ceilings under 3 meters will look inappropriate, creating a "well" effect. In large, spacious rooms, on the contrary, the overhanging top will land the living room or bedroom to the “cave” state. The design of low ceilings includes the selection of colors, lighting and proper decoration. Consider a number of tricks and techniques that will help fix construction flaws and make the room cozy, and its interior balanced.

What to exclude in a room with a low ceiling

The geometry of the room should be precisely calibrated. Ceilings overhanging too low have a negative effect on a person’s psychological comfort. For those who suffer from claustrophobia, it can even provoke an attack. If the room is low, then the impression is created that the ceiling slab will now collapse and crush everyone under it. In order not to aggravate the situation and not to visually ground the ceilings even more, some interior elements should be avoided. Do not decorate the room with the following details:

Ceiling moldings. Favorite decoration of classic interiors will add volume where it will definitely be superfluous.
Bright, colorful decor on the walls.
Massive furniture. Instead of a classic classic dark wood wardrobe, it’s better to choose a small locker to decorate a room. Do not use large beds, sofas and armchairs. Such furniture will look organically only in rooms with classical parameters.
Dark colors in the ceiling. Stop at the traditional white version.
Massive chandelier with a cascade of light bulbs. This, again, is a favorite decor for a classic style, which will have to be abandoned in favor of a laconic ceiling. For low ceilings, it is recommended to use several light sources that divide the surface among themselves into sections or zones.

Curtains with lambrequins strongly "land" the situation. And they will not only make the ceiling even lower, but also reduce the room. Light, air curtains of light shades will visually “lift up” the room. If vertical stripes are present on the textile, they will “lengthen” the room even more. You can even abandon the curtains at all and use only tulle web.
Massive or tall furniture. She will "prop up" the low ceiling. If you still choose high furniture, then its bottom should touch the floor (without legs), and the top should go all the way to the ceiling. It is better to consider the built-in options.
Modern interior solutions for low ceilings are not suitable: slatted wood trim (clapboard) or plastic panels, drywall construction, floor beams or beams.

In the latter case, the example is twofold. Light brown beams against a whitewashed ceiling can make it higher, but only if the ceilings themselves are very thin and neat. By the way, this solution is suitable for half-timbered houses or chalets.

Techniques to visually increase the ceiling

With low ceilings can be fought in different ways. The following tricks will help to correct the situation:

Special wallpaper pattern. Here you can use not only vertical stripes, but also a geometric pattern of elongated rhombuses or ovals.
Ceiling should be painted in neutral white. This classic version will help to make the room tidy and at the same time alienates the top by a couple of centimeters. If the owners to the experimental, modern solutions in design, you should follow the golden rule: the ceiling is lighter than the walls and in no case is not vice versa.
The floor should be dark with a slight gloss of gloss or varnish.
In rare cases, ceilings are painted in blue, turquoise. These light shades of blue have unique properties to create the illusion of distance between a person and those objects that are made in them. A bonus to such a ceiling will be the feeling of being outside, because the real sky above your head.

The ceiling can not only be plastered, but also covered with white paint with a glossy shine. The reflective surface will create the illusion of "bottomlessness." Of course, the tension fabric would have looked more beautiful, but the design “eats” too much space, which is not compensated by gloss.
The walls and the ceiling are sometimes painted in the same color, completely erasing the boundaries between them. Moreover, such necessary elements as heating radiators mask as much as possible so as not to violate the "integrity" of the two planes.
In another case, this transition is emphasized by white moldings and ceiling plinths (fillet). The contact of two planes turns out to be stepped, smooth.
Disassemble the floor. It is possible to increase the height of the room not only from above, but also from below. If in the house at installation of a floor covering regulating logs were used, then they precisely took away about ten centimeters. Such a complex structure can be replaced by lighter ones.

In addition to the game of color, use the original combination of decorative light sources, but let's talk about this below. An unusual solution would be the use of reception with height differences. We will not hide, the option is experimental and is fraught with the risks of making things worse. Indoors set the podium. It would seem that such a design certainly will take extra centimeters, which are already in short supply. Partially, the way it is. That part of the room in which the podium is mounted will really turn into a more mundane one, while another zone will appear higher, thanks to a comparative example in the neighborhood.

Another stylish solution would be to use the ombre effect, that is, soft color gradation. The walls are chosen as the canvas: the bottom is painted in a dark shade, which is gradually lightened to the ceiling.

The role of mirrors in increasing the height and space

Mirrors make the room bigger: wider and taller. The essence of design tricks is the appearance of perspective, duplication of the situation in the reflective surface. Of course, it is necessary to decorate the room with mirrors carefully, in order not to create a ballet studio instead of a bedroom. Reflective surfaces, as a rule, are placed on a single wall, which serves as an accent. The mirrors should be placed in groups or sections, which are separated by vertical stripes (horizontal ones have the opposite effect). In some cases, use built-in furniture (wardrobes), the facades of which are decorated with reflective surfaces. For the same purpose, you can use plastic, lacomat and lakobel (a kind of glass).

Proper lighting

As mentioned above, any volume decorations on the ceiling will have to be abandoned. Chandeliers are also on this list. If the ceiling is decorated with a plasterboard construction, then its projections equip with spotlights. Such lighting is classified as decorative, so the main source of light will still have to be taken care of. The central chandelier is replaced by a group of lamps that are placed above each of the functional areas of the room. Ceiling decorative floor lamps and sconces should not direct the light down, as in classical interiors, but upwards.

What furniture to choose for a room with low ceilings

Each room should be decorated with low furniture so that the free space between it and the ceiling is kept within the limits of the usual. A low (perhaps hinged) bed is suitable for a bedroom, a boudoir table of the same height with an elongated mirror. Countertops bedside tables traditionally go flush with the bed, so here choose the furniture from the usual range. Additionally, a low ottoman or small bench is placed near the bed. Use a wardrobe with reflective surfaces of the facades. The living room is decorated with a wide, flat sofa, armchairs and a low coffee table. Instead of a massive rack, use a group of shelves.

For the kitchen they get the original set: the lower part has a dark shade, and the upper part is painted in a lighter tone. In other embodiments, the bottom is used storage system of the closed type, and the top - open. In the bathroom it is recommended to avoid placing full-fledged furniture (with the exception of cabinets under the sink). To lay out towels and household trifles, vertical boxes with shelves for storage are hung on the walls.

To make the use of understated furniture look natural, use Japanese or Oriental style in the design of the room.

Architectural techniques

Change the perception of narrow ceilings can not only finish, furniture or decorations. When planning the premises using a number of simple architectural tricks that will help pull the room along the vertical axis. These include:

Narrow vertical niches. They are used to accommodate elongated vases or other decor that will squeeze into such a frame. Niches are placed in pairs, because one by one they look too lonely on the walls. Perform construction of drywall.
Increasing the height of the door (in the next room or on the balcony) or window openings.
Installation of columns or pilasters, that is, those elements that vertically pierce the space from floor to ceiling.

If the living room has a fireplace, the protrusion above it is distinguished by using color (darker than the ceiling).

Placement of decorative elements and accessories

The decor can be adjusted interior picture. In this case, the decorations will help maintain the effect of lengthening the room. Curtains should be chosen either monochromatic of light fabrics, or slightly denser with a vertical pattern (diamonds, ovals, stripes). You can specially select textiles under the ornament on the walls. Small picturesque decor (photos, paintings, posters) are arranged vertically. It is desirable that such decorations have a pair with a plot associated with them in meaning. The eaves must be installed directly below the border between the ceiling and the wall. It is impossible to hang the structure even with a small indentation from this line, since it will horizontally crush the space, which cannot be allowed. Curtains should fall from the ceiling to the floor. Do not recommend the use of short curtains, as in kitchens, decorated in country style. Do not decorate textiles with garters. The curtains should simply move to the sides, emphasizing the perfect geometry of the window. Even the small decor, which is placed on shelves and free worktops, should be slightly elongated along the vertical axis.

Conclusion

Low ceilings are not a sentence. They can be corrected with the help of simple tricks. As a pleasant consolation, it is enough to imagine what heating bills come to the owners of high (and accordingly overall) apartments and how difficult it is to replace a light bulb in a room more like a ballroom.