Ceilings You Can Look Up To

One way homeowners can account for this problem is bringing the sound down to them. "Don't allow lighting or sound to be directed down from the ceiling," Nilsson says. If you use a high-ceiling room for entertainment, wire it for surround sound and install speakers into walls.

Heath says the innovative lighting designs available now can make even the trickiest room glow — as long as they're used appropriately. "Recessed lights specially designed for sloped ceilings can make it much easier to correctly light a vaulted ceiling, allowing the light to flow all the way to the floor," he says.

Another popular option is decorative low-voltage track lighting. "It's almost like floating art, and it can shine both up and down," he says.

"I would leave out downlighting altogether in a master bedroom," he says, adding that a better option is indirect uplighting, like on ceiling fans with reverse bulb lights. "That takes care of the dark space in the middle of the room without being too bright."

Interior designer Beth Haley says that lighting is just as elemental to a room as walls and floors. "Lighting should always be considered in the initial design process. As an afterthought, it can be expensive and a hassle," she says, adding that for ceilings with architectural interest, lighting is really what can make or break a room. "Lighting can also be used to lift your eye from the floor to the ceiling, creating drama to that great architectural ceiling."

"A high ceiling can be a magical experience," Swanson says, adding that he uses paint in dramatic fashion on some high ceilings, then integrates that drama throughout the room. "Imagine walking into a space with soaring ceilings, painted in a multitude of colors and patterns. Now, run those colors and patterns down the walls with great patterned drapery, beautiful wall coverings and art, spilling onto the floor in a gorgeous multi-colored rug. What a treat!"

Even if you aren't feeling daring enough for a trompe l'oeil, paint can work to your advantage. Haley recommends going with darker colors in large, soaring rooms for a cozier feel, but says any paint scheme you choose will work as long as it's part of an overall design scheme.

"Thought-out paint schemes, whether warm, cool, dark or light colors, are going to define a space and give it purpose," she says. "Color gives depth and allows you to push and pull elements to create the overall feeling and style you want to achieve."