How to Decorate a Small Space With Slanted Ceilings and Short Walls

Proper paint color adds height to a slanted ceiling.

A small room with a slanted ceiling and short walls is slightly challenging to decorate. The ceiling starts off high and dips low across the end of the room, making the space appear cramped and closed in. Furthermore, low walls often feature small windows that make the room dark and confined. Fortunately, there are a few decorating tricks you can use to add the illusion of height and space in the room, transforming it into a comfortable and usable area for you and your family.

Things You'll Need

• Paint
• Paintbrush
• Low-profile furniture
• Long, lightweight curtains
• Mirror
• Vertical frames or mirror panels
• Artwork
• Sconces
• Lamp, optional

Instructions

1. Paint the walls a light or neutral shade to make the space appear open. Create a monochromatic theme to reduce the appearance of slopes and make the ceiling and walls appear higher and taller. Avoid dark colors that draw the eye to the limited space. Painting vertical stripes over the walls also adds height to the space. However, use two light shades that complement each other to create a cohesive style.

2. Place low-profile, sleek pieces of furniture against the walls of the room to open up the center, making the space appear bigger than it is. Avoid bulky furniture that obscures the walls and takes up plenty of ground and vertical space. Handpick the furniture, such as a tall, narrow shelving unit, a long and narrow bench or sofa, and a low-profile bed if the space is a bedroom. Don't place the furniture in such a way that pieces block doors or windows.

3. Hang lightweight, long curtains in bold colors or vertical stripes that complement the walls. Mount the curtain rods at ceiling height and allow the drapes to hang all the way down to the floor so that they draw the eye up and add height to the short walls.

4. Mount a mirror horizontally over the shortest wall in the room so it reflects light and makes the space appear larger. Decorate a side wall with a series of vertical frames or mirror panels that increase in height as the size of the wall increases. Space the panels evenly apart and adjust their lower ends so they are in line with each other.

5. Decorate the tallest wall in the room with eye-catching artwork. Hang a colored painting, portrait or print over the center of the wall to create a colorful focal point. Use artwork with colors that blend with the remaining décor to create a cohesive design.

6. Mount small wall sconces on the walls that reflect light upward to create the illusion of height. Illuminate a corner of the room with a tall floor lamp, or place a small lamp on the table to throw light upward.

References

• Apartment Therapy; How Should I Deal With My Low Ceiling?; Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan; September 2007
• House Dressing: Sloped Ceilings Pose a Design Challenge
• "The Herald Dispatch"; Vertical Stripes Can Make Ceiling Appear Higher; Karen Hysell
• Apartment Therapy: Reader's Art: Sarah's Slanted Ceilings