By Mi-Ling Stone Poole

DEAR MI-LING: I recently purchased a new home and the only thing I’m concerned about is the low kitchen ceiling. What can I do to make it appear taller? The cabinets are stained in a fruit wood color and they are flush with the ceiling and the walls are teal green.

Do you have any suggestions on how I can visually create a taller ceiling without raising the roof or ripping out the ceiling?

Rhealene Cook

DEAR RHEALENE:
A: First of all, I would suggest that you take a few months to live with your new kitchen and get used to the environment before you start making any drastic changes.

Oftentimes, when we move from one home to another we are still carrying around the image of our old kitchen in our memory and it will take some time to get used to your new space.

When you are ready to tackle the project, one of the easiest things you can do is paint your ceiling a lighter color than the wall. This will trick the eye and add “height to the ceiling.

If you have a window in the kitchen you can raise the curtain rod and create the illusion of a taller window, which will also add more height to the room.

Sometimes the sheen of the paint can make a difference as well.

Wayne Hay, manager of Kwal Paint in Edmond, gave the following tips for creating a visually higher ceiling:

Use flat paint on the ceiling instead of paint with a high gloss.

When mixing the paint for the ceiling, mix one quarter of the formula. This will match the wall color but appear a shade or two lighter after it is painted on the ceiling.

You might also want to consider painting your upper cabinets a lighter color. This would take some of the weight off the top of the room.

I don’t know how much redecorating you are planning on doing, but you should take note of the direction and the style of your backsplash. If it’s too busy and running horizontally it could be part of the problem. You might want to select something that runs vertically and with a soft color palette.

All of these changes should give your room the lift you desire.

Do you have a ceiling that needs a lift?