Painting your walls white can make the space appear spacious, simple, and open. But painting the entire space, including the ceiling, with the same color can make the room feel clean and quiet, and a few problems on top.
You know, nothing exceeds like excess – much as you may want to cover all surfaces in the room with the same color to bring the results you want, too much of it may negate the benefits.
So, What are the pros and cons of painting the ceiling the same color as the walls?
There are plenty of them. Applying the same color everywhere brings the uniformity you need, but can also be monotonous to look at in the long run.
Six Pros of Painting the Ceiling the Same Color as your Walls
Here are the benefits of going with one color:
1. Speed of Painting and Cost
The first benefit of opting for one color both for the ceiling and walls is the small amount of time it takes to complete your painting project.
You don’t need to prepare multiple paints and apply them separately in turns.
Having to use different paints can mean you are slowing down a bit to carefully paint the lines and allow one color to flawlessly transition into another – this one can eat a big chunk of your painting time if you are dealing with a big project.
Secondly, the cost of the whole project will be low compared to if you had opted for, say, two or three different colors.
Think about it – you are going to pay for the second and possibly the third color that may choose to accompany the first.
If you must thin your paint, it means you will use more thinning materials in the process.
Let’s say you must thin it with a given proportion of kerosene, you will need to buy as much kerosene as the amount required by two or more colors of paint.
So, going with one color throughout the room can cut the amount required to complete the project, can make you spend less, and can be good for your sanity because you don’t need to juggle between different hues.
2. Light v/s Dark Colors
Different colors may change the desired aesthetics of your room. If the walls are painted with a darker hue compared to the ceiling, for example, the eyes will be drawn upwards – it is natural for the eye to be drawn by lighter colors than darker ones.
Conversely, painting both the walls and the ceiling with the same color, whether dark or light, keeps the eyes relaxed in the room and allows room to concentrate on the events taking place in the space.
Many homeowners don’t pay a lot of attention to how the relationship between aesthetics and contrasting hues can be used to change the way the eyes perceive the space.
If you want your room to feel spacious, you should paint the ceiling and the walls with the same light color. A mixture of colors doesn’t bring the same results.
3. Uniform Aesthetics
Just so you understand how important it is, picture these two scenarios: trying to relax in a room painting with one uniform color from the roof to the baseboards.
Also picture another room with a riot of colors (blue ceiling, few strobe lights, walls with completely different paint, and what seems like a badly drawn graffiti in one corner).
You may have probably noticed that the space with one uniform color from the ceiling to the baseboards is more relaxing, good for peace of mind, and, more importantly, pleasing to the eye.
Spaces with multiple colors on walls and ceiling create tension and you’re less likely to feel relaxed while resting in them.
A higgledy-piggledy of colors in living spaces has never been pleasing to the eye, and that’s why many internal designers advise choosing two contrasting hues if you must mix colors.
4. Same Drying Rate
A single color would mean both your ceiling and walls have the same drying rate. Different types of paints have different rates of drying.
Oil emulsion paints take a longer time to dry compared to water-based options.
Fast-drying paints are always better when it comes to time management although they come with some repulsive disadvantages.
But that’s not the point here.
The reason why the drying rate of a paint matters is the amount of time you have to keep waiting for one color to dry once the other has finished drying.
Using one color on the ceiling and another different color on the walls could mean they will have different rates of drying especially if you choose different types of paint.
This could mean you will resume decoration and stages.
This is different from using just color all over the space so that drying is uniform to permit activities to resume at the same time.
5. Same Paint Hides Some Odd Angles
Have you ever realized that white paint on both the walls and the ceiling sort of makes it hard to see the edges where the ceiling meets the wall?
Yes, and now, if your space has some angles you would do anything to get away from sight, one color of paint would do the trick.
Whether you prefer dark hues or light ones, apply one of them all over the room and the offending angles will be hard to see.
6. Ease of Lighting
One uniform color makes it easier to light your room. If you choose to go all-white, for example, the whole room will be brightly illuminated because the white walls and ceiling will reflect much of the light towards the center of the room.
If you choose dark colors, the level of lighting will diminish the darker the color gets until a critical point is reached.
Mixing several colors creates some confusion. If you paint the walls with a light color and opt for a dark color for the ceiling, the unevenness in reflection and absorption will create chaos and poor lighting.
Three Cons of Painting the Ceiling the Same Color as your Walls
Maybe going with one color isn’t all beneficial. What are the drawbacks?
1. One Color Is Monotonous
Yes, one word “boring”!
Please imagine having a bright white paint from the baseboards all the way to the base of your lighting fixture on the ceiling. It may look calm and reassuring at the start but always turns out boring with time.
The gradient of the hue doesn’t matter, the monotonous appearance of the paint will prompt to make changes at some point in the future. But that will make the whole thing costly, don’t you think?
Applying one color and then topping it with different shades so that you can break the monotony means you are spending more money than you would have spent if you got it mixed in the beginning.
2. Lack of Connection
Ask any interior designer about room colors and they will immediately tell you how important it is not just to use different colors in different rooms, but also how essential it is to connect those colors.
If your home has an open floor plan, for example, opting for one color can make the place look choppy, drab, and lacking any connection.
If, however, you opted for multiple hues that effortlessly transform into another, the room would be diverse yet connected.
3. Consistency with The Rest of the Furniture and Décor
Furniture and décor in a typical home come in different colors. The best way of complimenting the diverse décor and furniture colors is by being diverse with your wall and ceiling colors.
For instance, you’d want the ceiling to have a color that contrasts that of the carpet or seats. Walls should not have the same color as the furniture.
In a nutshell
There are numerous benefits of going with one color:
- Single color painting for your ceiling and walls can be cost-effective for your project because you will spend on one color and a small amount of thinner is necessary
- One color means less amount of time required to complete your painting project
- Rooms with one uniform color from the ceiling to the baseboards are more relaxing, good for peace of mind, and, more importantly, pleasing to the eye.
- A single color would mean both your ceiling and walls have the same drying rate.
- One uniform color makes it easier to light your room. If you choose to go all-white, for example, the whole room will be brightly illuminated because the white walls and ceiling will reflect much of the light towards the center of the room.
On the flip side:
- Some color everywhere on walls and ceiling create a visual monotony
- The best way of complimenting the diverse décor and furniture colors is by being diverse with your wall and ceiling colors, not using the same color on walls and ceiling.
- If your home has an open floor plan, for example, opting for one color can make the place to look choppy, drab, and lacking any connection.
Related: Is It Better To Paint Your Home Yourself Or Just Hire Someone To Do It?
