Ceilings You Can Look Up To

The key to integrating a ceiling into a room's overall design is understanding the space, Nashville, Tenn., interior designer Beth Haley says.

"When designing spaces, think of the entire room three-dimensionally. If left untreated or ignored, then the emphasis will be on the ceiling," she says. "It will become the big white elephant. The ceiling should be the icing on the cake." Whether it's a tray ceiling, cathedral ceiling or a ceiling you bump your head on, here's how to make the most of what's overhead.

One problem homeowners often run into is how vaulted ceilings and cathedral ceilings seem to swallow everything else in the room, making the room tiny in comparison. Haley says the key to avoiding this design disaster is to emphasize the opulence and drama of the ceiling while maintaining a relationship with the room below. She suggests using architectural features to play up the room's height while bringing the interest of the room to eye level.

"You first need to define the style and feeling you wish to accomplish, then select the appropriate feature," she says, adding that the real key is emphasizing the space while considering the viewpoint, both literally and figuratively, of the occupants below.