Does anyone have a black (or really dark) ceiling?

[Dee*Jay]

I have to make some paint decisions about my new space. There are two different ceiling levels, both rectangular and both about 25' x 50'. One will dropped to 11' and done with faux tin tiles (silver toned with darker "antiquing"). The higher 13' space will be for the living room area, the long side of which is salmon colored brick and has six 3' x 3' windows that start at 6' off the ground (so there is still 4' of wall above the top of the windows).

The *idea* of a black or really dark gray ceiling appeals to me. I often see it in restaurants or other spaces where they want to hide a bunch of ductowrk, piping, etc., and everthing disappears. Here, there is only one duct that runs along the same wall as the windows, so I'm not trying to hide anything, but I wonder if the effect of "making the ceiling disappear" would work here too. My plan is to have the walls be a lighter (but not TOO light) gray), and the floors will be a walnut (so darker than oak, but no ebony).

If not dark though, what? Any and all ideas are welcome!

And I do have photos but there is so much construction stuff in the way it's had to get a good feel for what's going on. Plus, there is nothing in the space to give it "scale," i.e., no furniture so it's hard to envision what it will really feel like once there is a proper living room going on!

 

[kenny]

Black ceiling with spot lighting would be the ultimate diamond-fire environment.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Excellent thinking Kenny!

The color I'm considering is Benjamin Moore Gray Shower, one up from the bottom on the left. So light enough not to be mistaken for black, but sitll dark. I could also do Deep Space (third down on the right but I think that will simply look black-ish).

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/color-gallery#&ce_s=2125&ce_vm=1

 

[JewelFreak]

It sounds stylish, DJ. It's kind of a loft, right? So, the windows are 6' off the ground? Could be very cool. For me, I need light, though, & not being able to see out the windows, plus a dark ceiling & floor, I'd get depressed -- if you head toward that, give it some thought. If not, and many people have dark rooms & love them, go for it.

--- Laurie

 

[Dee*Jay]

JewelFreak, you raise excellent points that I'm trying to think through as I make this decision! The windows of the brick wall (north) look at a hillside that has trees and other foliage on it. It's hard to see any of this because of the white glare. The other wall (south) has an 8' wide double door with frosted glass, three 3' x 3' windows and a 3' x 9' window. I better post some pics for reference because I don't think my descriptions are very helpful! (Please excuse the extreme mess!!!)

 

[Dee*Jay]

Just for scale, here is the CB. He's about 5'8". Obviously this is before the brick mason worked his magic!

 

[Dee*Jay]

And this is looking toward the front door.

 

[momhappy]

We have a gray ceiling, but it's not that dark. A few of our rooms have colored ceilings, but it is about two shades lighter than the wall colors. The darkest ceiling we have is in the media room, which is painted all in dark red to look more like a movie theatre (and again, the red on the ceiling is about two shades lighter than the red on the walls).

 

[Dee*Jay]

Momhappy, I would love to hear about the effect of the red ceiling in your media room! I'm assuming that this space either doesn't have windows or you have window coverings drawn when it's in use for movies and things...? When not is use, and if you have windows thoug that let in light, do you feel like the ceiling "disappears" or does it seem "heavy" to you? (Sorry--I'm sure there are better words but this is how I think of it.) And about how high is the ceiling? BTW, the media rooms that I see all have black ceilings and I think it's awesome that your ceiling is red and not black!

 

[momhappy]

The room has two windows, but we have "blackout" window coverings for movies. Yes, the ceiling does sort of seem to disappear and yes, it feels heavy. It is also the only room in our house with carpet, which is also dark red, but again, the whole point was to give it that "movie theatre" feel. To be honest, I'm not crazy about the dark ceiling, but it does seem to fit within the theme.

 

[crown1]

I am assuming you already did a google image search for tin ceiling painted black. I did and saw several examples. Both tall ceiling and low ceiling were pictured. Interesting enough the low ceiling had cream looking walls and the tall ceiling black walls with light accents. If you have not looked there you might want to. I like the copper ceiling tins also.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Crown, there will actually be two separate ceiling areas. The lower one (11') will have faux tin tiles set in a suspended grid (there is lots of electrical stuff and ductwork above that). The higher part of the ceiling (13') will be just regular drywall (not tiles of any kind) painted a color.

I like the copper tiles too, and even ordered one as a sample, but I felt like the silvery ones are a better choice in terms of bringing the space together. Plus, the kitchen will be under the lower part and it will have stainless steel appliances. I'll try to get a good picture of the faux tin tile tonight. The way I'm describing it probably sounds shiny and it's a *little* bit shiny but not much, especially with the black "antiquing."

ETA: Momhappy, your media room sounds fabulous!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Here is the ceiling tile. It is 2' x 2' and I am painting the grid to match.

 

[crown1]

I do like the silver tin i was only thinking the copper may be nice with the brick. Now that I understand that the tin will only be in the lower area and above the ss appliances I understand your way of thinking. I would probably consider doing the wall and ceiling gray, where it is not tin, since the gray will be ok with the silver ductwork.

I have a room with 10 foot ceiling that is painted with Benjamin Moore winter solstice, a gray, both wall and ceiling. I have BM black woodwork and cabinetry in the room. The hardwood floor is oak. I like it well enough. I just went and took a look and tried to imagine the black ceiling in there. I do not think it would work well in that room. There is one window and a triple window. It is not near the size of your open floor plan so it is not comparable.

I love a high ceiling and I would probably not go black as it seems to me it would seem lower. I may not be looking at it properly though. I look forward to pictures of the project as it goes forward.


eta: I just saw the pic of the tile. I like it.

 

[movie zombie]

I'd go with Shadow Gray or Sweet Innocence.
once the entire ceiling is done I think it will appear darker.
and I'm so loving the idea with the space!
thanks for the pictures!

 

[TooPatient]

The room has two windows, but we have "blackout" window coverings for movies. Yes, the ceiling does sort of seem to disappear and yes, it feels heavy. It is also the only room in our house with carpet, which is also dark red, but again, the whole point was to give it that "movie theatre" feel. To be honest, I'm not crazy about the dark ceiling, but it does seem to fit within the theme.

Great description!

We have a media room done in a similar style. The walls are a deep burgundy and the ceiling is a deep gray (lighter than you're looking at but very dark). Blackout for windows plus coverings. When the lights go out for movies, the walls and ceiling just disappear. It is wonderful! Of course when the lights are on it sort of feels closed in (despite being a large room). DH had wanted darker colors in other rooms too, but I can't even go there after living with the media room for a few years. I don't want the feeling in the rest of the house!

That said, you've got a huge space to work with. If you leave the ceiling high and the space open it might work great. (our ceilings in the media room are low-ish so that doesn't help!)
One thing to keep in mind is that it is a PITA to paint over darker colors. (Also a PITA to get the dark to fully cover over light!)


ETA: Ours is a bit darker than "Gray Shower" but with a hint of blue in the gray. I think the Shadow Gray might be a good fit for what you're doing! (nice and dark but not claustrophobic feeling)

 

[zoebartlett]

Dee*Jay, I can't offer suggestions or advice but I just wanted to say that I love the space of your new place, and I love the tile also. I hope you'll post more pics of the progress -- I love seeing them and hearing your plans.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Crown, the tiles were a total find! I would have preferred real vintage tin but I need too much of it to find easily. These are PVC and cuttable, which means can lights, etc., can easily be fitted in. They are flexible though so I am definitely going with metal track that is more rigid than some of the PVC track options, especially since we’re laying insulation on top of the tiles/grid.

MZ, I painted one of the ceiling grid pieces last night with the paint samples I’d gotten to that point and the Shadow Gray was surprisingly blue! There is a less blue option of similar tone (I think it’s called either Trout Gray or Gray Trout) and that might be a better choice. I am definitely leaning toward gray rathern than black for the ceiling though the more I think about it.

TP, the painters have already been setting my expectations about coverage on these dark colors, especially since we’re working with virgin drywall. I will have the primer tinted as dark as possible. Does the Shadow Gray look blue even with the red? I’m having such a hard time figuring out what the ceiling will ultimately lean toward, especially since I’m working with empty space right now.

Zoe, I’ve got dozens (maybe hundreds…) of progress pics! Once this thing is done (whatever “done”means… ) I will do a thread. It may be a little while yet though because I’m not doing the kitchen until after I move in. Maybe May-ish… ? This project has definitely put a crimp in my normal “instant gratification” mindset!

 

[TooPatient]

Ours isn't the "shadow gray" but is of a similar feel (but a bit darker). I think it has more blue than the ones you've posted.
It didn't look very blue until we started getting it on the ceiling. With the burgundy walls, it almost lets the blue show through more -- or maybe once I saw it I couldn't quit seeing it!

We did super dark tinted primer over already painted (white) walls. It took two full coats of primer and we still had to do two coats of paint. I really wish we had done an extra coat of primer because we still have a couple of light patches that bug me.

 

[movie zombie]

Benjamin Moore makes a paint called "Color Stories" that is supposed to be primary colors only, or so I understand.
have you check them out?

I am particularly smitten with "Wall Street"....it actually changes as light changes....at least on the chip in the store.
http://store.benjaminmoore.com/stor...lor-cColor_Stories-cColor_Stories_SOG-p1.html

http://www.pinterest.com/benjamin_moore/color-stories/

 

[toaster]

we have 3 rooms with dark ceilings... and had they not been the last three that we chose colors for.... we'd probably have more dark ceilings! i absolutely LOVE dark ceilings!!!

our bedroom has a deep, dark blue ceiling with medium color blue walls (this was our first venture into a dark ceiling... i wanted black but hubby protested so we compromised with the blue)

our workout room has a dark kettle grey ceiling (as are 3 of the walls) and a black floor. it's darker than the darkest grey of the colors you showed. we have really good lighting in this room so there are no issues whatsoever with all the dak!

hubby's man cave has a dark, dark grey... practically black ceiling...... (made me so mad after he protested the bedroom ceiling! lol!) the walls are a light grey with a deep salmon accent wall.

if i didn't despise painting so much.... i'd go back and redo the color choices in some of the other rooms and make them dark!

i think a black ceiling would look awesome in the room you posted pics of!