How to Decorate a Room with a Tall Ceiling

Many newer homes have rooms with taller than typical ceilings, or even extra tall ceilings that are "open to below" and are essentially two stories high. 

If you have a room with a very tall ceiling, you might wonder how to decorate that room to maximize its potential.

Here are some ideas for how to make a room with high ceilings feel cozy and well designed.

Home office with a tall ceiling - AI-assisted image | Human-editedPaint or Wallpaper
You can use paint or wallpaper to make your tall ceilings feel more intimate and custom, which is especially true if you live in a new construction community where everyone's homes look nearly identical.

Why not add some personality to your space to make it one-of-a-kind?

You might want to select a color or wallpaper that is slightly darker than you would normally select if you want the room to feel more intimate and cozy. 

Professional designer tip - make sure to select your paint color or wallpaper after you have decided on your color scheme for your room - there are an infinite number of paint colors and thousands of wallpapers to choose from, but you will be more limited in color when selecting furniture, rugs, art, and decor.

Keep in mind that two story rooms often have walls that connect to other rooms or an upstairs hallway, so the paint or wallpaper color needs to be appropriate for all spaces. 

You can even paint the ceiling.

Here are some tips & tricks for selecting paint colors in the article How to Pick Paint Colors Like a Pro.

Modern white bedroom with a tall ceiling and canopy bed - AI-assisted image | Human-editedArchitectural Interest
You can add architectural interest to your tall ceiling by adding crown molding, decorative beams, coffering, or a tray (either stained or painted) to draw your eye up the wall and appreciate the volume of the space. 

If you have a fireplace in the room, consider running the millwork, brick, or stone above the fireplace mantel all the way to the ceiling.  This makes your fireplace feel more grand and help connect the ceiling to the floor, which helps make the room feel more cohesive. 

You can even add wall paneling to emphasize the wall height of the room and to create a focal point in the room.  Some examples of wall paneling include shiplap, beadboard, board & batten, and picture molding.

Library dining room with a tall ceiling - AI-assisted image | Human-editedTall Furniture
In order to make your tall ceilings appear a little less tall, decorate using upholstered furniture with tall backs. 

Also use extra tall bookcases and armoires to take advantage of the tall ceiling height. 

You can even have a custom bookcase built all the way (or most of the way) to the ceiling.

In a bedroom with tall ceilings, decorate with a bed that has a tall headboard, canopy frame, or posts to fill in the volume of the space.

You can even add drama with a tester bed to add a cozy feel.

In addition to tall furniture, also use tall accessories, including tall plants/trees, tall vases filled with branches, and other items that have a tall vertical element.

Kitchen with tall ceiling and unique chandelier - AI-assisted image | Human-editedLighting

Make sure to select over sized ceiling lighting to fill the empty void of space above your head.  This helps to make the room's high ceiling not feel so high and to illuminate the ceiling so it doesn't have dark shadows. 

You can select one large chandelier or use multiple pendant lights or chandeliers to fill the space.  Multiple chandeliers or pendant lights have become very popular over the last few years, especially over a rectangular surface like a dining table or kitchen island.

Complement your large ceiling fixture with lamps and/or wall sconces to provide lighting lower in the room at eye level.  This lower level lighting will direct the light closer to where you need it and make your room feel more cozy.

Traditional neutral elegant entry foyer - AI-assisted image | Human-editedArtwork and Mirrors

An over sized room requires over sized artwork or mirrors, so decorate your tall room with wall decor that is larger than a standard large size to reflect the size of the room. 

Average sized art or mirrors will look very out-of-scale and look dinky.

Tall oversized rectangular art or mirrors will mimic the tall space and look proportional.

If you want to create a gallery wall collection of many pieces of art instead of using one oversized piece of art, make sure to include some pieces of your gallery wall very high to take advantage of the wall space and not leave a big empty wall above your art.  Make sure to hang the art pieces close together so they feel like one group instead of mismatched art pieces hung in random places on your wall.

Also consider using a wall mural to get a custom unique look that perfectly complements your architecture.

You can use colorful oversized art or a colorful mural to create a cohesive color scheme for your room.

For more information on creating a color scheme for your room, see the article - How to Decorate Your Home Using Color.

Dining room with tall ceiling and huge window - AI-assisted image | Human-editedEmphasize the Windows
Make sure to emphasize the windows in a tall room using curtains and moldings to draw your eye outside during the daytime and towards the beautiful soft curtains at night.

Properly hung curtains not only look beautiful, but they also add softness in the room as well as some sound dampening for better acoustics and fewer echos.

For the best look, the total width of your curtains should be at least double the width of your window.  For example, if your window is 50 inches wide, then you need at least 2 - 50 inch wide curtain panels.  If your window is 70 inches wide, you might opt for 2 - 100 inch wide curtain panels.

Hang your curtains wider than the edge of the window so that, when opened, your curtains should mostly cover your wall and barely cover any of your window.  This allows the maximum amount of light to enter your room and to make your windows appear larger. 

Also hang your curtains near the ceiling to emphasize the height of your room.  If your ceilings are really high with windows stacked on top of windows, you might choose to only cover the bottom set of windows.

For more information on hanging curtains, see the article The Correct Way to Hang Curtains and Drapes.

Rustic living room with tall ceiling - AI-assisted image | Human-editedAdd Texture
Texture in a room makes it feel more cozy and less sterile, which is especially important in a room with tall ceilings.