How to Decorate a Gabled Room

A gabled roof has two sloping sides that meet in the middle, forming a triangle. If you have a room in your home that is located under a gabled roof, decorating the space can be a challenge, as the sloping ceiling takes up a good bit of space in the room. With a little thought, you can turn a room under a gabled roof into a functional space that you and your family can enjoy, maximizing the square footage of your home.

Things You'll Need

• Paint
• Shelves
• Furniture
• Recessed lighting

Instructions

1. Paint the gabled ceiling a light color. While white is certainly an option, you can use a light, pastel color to give the room more depth. Avoid a dark color, as this will make the ceiling feel as if it is more sloped and close in the space.

2. Paint the walls of the room. Use the same paint color as you used on the ceiling, or select a complementary color. Again, choose a light color to open up the space to make it feel less restricted.

3. Install wall shelves or a shelving unit along the sloped part of the ceiling that extends down to the walls. Since this part of the room is likely too sloped to allow for comfortable standing, instead of wasting the space, fill it with shelves to create storage.

4. Position seating in the center of the room. Set a chair or a sofa in front of the window that is positioned on the wall between the sloping ceilings. Arrange chairs or sofas in the center of the room so that their backs are facing the sloping ceiling.

5. Install recessed lighting in the ceiling. Have the lights installed along the beam in the center of the room, as well as in the sloping gabled ceiling. Hanging light fixtures will fill up valuable upward space, so avoid them. Recessed lighting will illuminate the room and take up less space, making the room seem larger.

6. Hang pictures and decorative accents on the straight walls of the room. Choose paintings, photographs or poster of items that speak to your personal taste and style.

7. Use the wall shelves or shelving units as storage and as display shelves. Set out framed pictures on the shelves. Display collections of books on the shelves. Set trays of candles or candlesticks topped with taper candles on the top shelves. Organize items such as small toys and craft materials in decorative baskets; set the baskets on the lower shelves.

8. Cover the windows with treatments that coordinate with the style of the room. For instance, if the room has a rustic design, cover the windows with plantation shutters. For a space that has a country inspired design, consider toile or gingham printed curtains.

9. Set large-leaved plants, such as ferns and peace lilies, in decorative urns. Set the urns in the corners of the room.