Nursery Update – Why I chose to paint the ceiling dark

It is time for a nursery update – and more importantly to talk about why I painted a dark ceiling!! I know you’ve been waiting for a colour update and what colours we chose. I was toying with the idea of painting a ceiling, and in this nursery I decided to go out of my comfort zone and paint the ceiling. This is something I have never done before!! I have never painted the ceiling in a project, let alone a dark ceiling!

This past week, I brought home some samples from Benjamin Moore and got to work with painting them on the wall. I brought home three colours. The colours are Thundercloud Gray (top), Province Blue (middle), and Providence (bottom).

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I am sampling these different paint colours for a particular reason.

1. To choose the paint colour for the room including doors and baseboards
2. To choose a paint colour for the ceiling and I am leaning towards a dark ceiling!

You may be wondering,

But why would you want to paint a ceiling dark?

Well, here is what I have learned. The ceiling is the fifth wall in a room LITERALLY and is often neglected in most projects. In all the room makeovers and projects I have done before including the playroom, the rainbow room, and so on, I have never touched the ceiling paint.

Painting a dark ceiling is a simple yet dramatic way to add character to a room. Because it is often forgotten in a room makeover, adding a treatment or paint to a ceiling can not only elevate the room but add unique dimension that would otherwise be missing.

Now you may also be wondering,

Won’t a dark ceiling make a room feel and look smaller?!

Great point.. I also thought the exact same thing! Until I took the leap of faith and decided to paint the ceiling in the nursery a beautiful dark blue colour – Providence Blue by Benjamin Moore. We used the Regal Select Interior Paint in a flat finish for the ceiling which gave it a beautiful effect without being too glossy. The dark ceiling is in stark contrast to the lighter walls for which I chose Thundercloud Grey. I went with an eggshell finish for the walls and a semigloss finish for the baseboards and doors. Yes, I also painted the doors because this room has THREE doors and leaving them white would break up the colour too much and take away from the cloud effect I am going for!

As you can see, the contrast between the light walls and the dark ceiling, actually make the small room look bigger than what it is. It gives the illusion of a night sky with the dark ceiling and that is something I love!

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So here we are.. with our paint choices!

TLDR version – I went with Thundercloud Gray for the walls and Providence Blue for the ceiling.

Next, we are going to be creating a framed mural on the wall right behind me!! Stay tuned for that!

And I am running a fun giveaway on Instagram to give ONE of you a paint makeover in partnership with Benjamin Moore! Check out my Instagram page for more details.