Decorating ideas for the ceiling, your ‘fifth wall’
Raise your decorative game by being experimental with wallpaper and paint on the ceiling
When Agatha Christie instructed her decorator to cover her London flat’s ceiling in wallpaper, he looked at her askance. She stood firm in her decision – and why not? A century later, designers are showing what can be achieved when you choose to get creative with the ‘fifth wall’. Be inspired to do the same – it’s the new decorative frontier...
Heavy petal
In this San Francisco listening room by Chad Dorsey Design, a rich cinnamon palette creates a cocooning feel, but the abstract floral ceiling is the unique focal point. The dreamy pattern is Porter Teleo’s hand-painted ‘Pétales’ wallpaper in ‘Burnt Umber’, which pulls off the visual trick of making the room feel cosier while adding a touch of organic lightness. chaddorseydesign.com
Deep purple
In this apartment in a listed building in Zürich, Atelier Zürich’s studio director Sabine Herzog explained how wrapping the kitchen in House of Hackney’s opulent ‘Mey Meh’ wallpaper created a cosy mood. Painting walls and cabinetry in tonal shades emphasises the enveloping nature of the print and the all-encompassing atmosphere of decadence. atelierzuerich.ch
Cloudbusting
Interior designer Rachel Chudley papered the walls and ceiling of this entrance corridor in Fornasetti’s classic ‘Nuvolette’ design, which hints at the sky visible from the windows in the rooms beyond. ‘The monochrome intensity of being surrounded by this wallpaper works in contrast to the open feeling of colour and light in the adjoining rooms,’ says Chudley. ‘Walking through a dark corridor makes the view at the end even more spectacular’. rachelchudley.com
The right lines
Milanese decoration workshop Pictalab’s ‘Tatami’ fibreglass paper proves that a decorative ceiling can make a subtle statement. Inspired by traditional Japanese woven-straw flooring mats, the design’s strong black lines outline the edges and structureof the room, including the gently vaulted ceiling. The effect is relaxed but controlled. pictalab.com
Outside the box
A trompe-l’œil fresco creates the illusion of beams on the ceiling, adding character and balancing the proportions of this Pierre Yovanovitch-designed space at the Quinta da Côrte hotel and winery in Portugal. The soft tones and simple geometry of the design create a pleasing contrast with the whitewashed walls and terracotta floor. pierreyovanovitch.com
Between the lines
Katie Sarokhanian calls this her ‘quarantine mural’: during lockdown, she transformed her home’s entryway with a couple of cans of leftover paint she had in her shed. The artist and designer picked up her brush and simply painted free-form lines across the walls and onto the ceiling, drawing the eye upwards. katiesarostudio.com
Making waves
Belarte Studio’s ‘Curvy’ wall mural is one of the Swedish brand’s most popular designs, both in private homes and public spaces all over Europe. The wallpaper is seen to maximum effect when the broad bands of colour are allowed to wiggle their way up onto the ceiling, as seen in the vintage store Vix Deco in Gothenburg. Alice in Wonderland surrealism meets 1960s psychedelia. belartestudio.com
Neon dream
The so-called ‘Rainbow Room’ at Bradford Shellhammer’s Rode Barns estate in Stuyvesant, New York, is crowned witha technicolour marvel of a mural that cleverly makes a virtue out of the pitched roof. The Bauhaus-inspired design was painted by Rode Barns’ first artist-in-residence, Luis Urribarri. luisurribarri.com
Heavens above
The soaring ceiling of this living room in the Manhattan apartment of the brand consultant Michelle Harper takes on a celestial quality, courtesy of a mural by the artist Ramon Canet. The ethereal swirls of yellow and blue are echoed by the contemporary arton the walls below, creating a juxtaposition between the classical features of the space and the modern furnishings.
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