When you have very high ceilings, you want to call attention to them...
You want to appreciate all that glorious space that is encapsulated within. You want to celebrate and accentuate their height, and all that added cubic space that makes your room feel grand, luxurious, and lofty.
But what do you do with all that space? Above the doors? Above the furniture? Above eye level?
How do you draw your eye upwards so everyone can appreciate those high ceilings?
This is a big decision.
Because if you don’t involve that space with what’s happening below, at human level, the room will feel divided. All that glorious volume will be floating above, unnoticed and unloved. It will feel vacant and unused. Wasted.
And “wasted” is just a bad word.
One way to blend the upper area with the lower one, is to decorate a wall all the way up with art or decorative objects.
Take advantage of your large blank canvas and put some color, definition and contrast up there! It will create balance in the space, and draw your eye upwards, so you can finally appreciate those grand, high ceilings.
Hang Art All the Way Up the Wall
Don’t hang everything at eye level!
I know a lot of people subscribe to this, but if you look at all the wonderful tall spaces published in high end magazines and in plenty of award winning design work, you will see artwork hung up the wall way above eye level in many situations.
While I wouldn’t likely hang a small piece of art with a lot of tiny detail that is best viewed close up, I would hang something bolder or more abstract. This type of work is perfect for hanging up high and can be appreciated just as much there as right in front of your nose.
Stack big art vertically up the wall in a room with tall ceilings.
Stack art vertically on a wall that is tall and narrow.
Make Your Space Soar w/Long, Simple Drapery
Usually, if you have a room with high ceilings, or a two story space, you also have high windows.
Oftentimes, because those windows are so high up, people don’t feel the need to treat them with window coverings. They probably figure they don’t need the privacy up there, or don't want to face the expense of treating all those windows.
Believe me, nothing chops a tall room in half more dramatically than a drapery rod, with draperies hanging down, that's running across the top of a room's lower windows.
Long, simple drapery panels can bring so much height and drama to a two story room. It just causes that space to soar!
Yes, it will require more fabric, but if you go with a very inexpensive solid color linen, you can get a big bang for your buck and begin celebrating all the volume of that space!
Create Balance w/ Wood Beams, Architectural Finishes Used Strategically
Architectural features are a great way to put some interest up in that tall, two story space.
Wood beams, ceiling coffers, architectural features like paneling or cladding a fireplace wall - any or all of these would work to create balance in a room with a high ceiling.
You see, you should fill that void with the same kind of visual interest that the lower part of the room has. The most successful rooms with high ceilings involve all of the space with contrast, pattern, texture, or color.
The coffered ceiling and wall paneling help to fill this tall space architecturally and add lots of interest.
Wood beams bring the warmth of wood up high in a room so the ceiling feels like it has not been ignored.
Add Large Statement Light Fixtures, Even Multiples!
One chandelier over the table at a lower height would have really contributed to a more empty looking space. Two really help fill the tall space. (Draperies are still to come in this dining room!)
See how trim moulding is used to add interest to the walls and two chandeliers hung up high, fill the void.
Multiple lighting fixtures were installed in the story living room of the featured New American Remodel in Las Vegas during the kitchen and bath show. It helped fill the space and added lots of interest.
Multiple light fixtures in The New American Remodel, KBIS.
I had seven large pendants hung at multiple levels in the Seasonal Living Showhouse.
Use Tall Furniture and Mirrors
If I have a room with very high ceilings and need a mirror for above a console, I will select a 72” + tall, floor mirror. This is one time you can really use a tall mirror to help fill the wall.
I did that here in the Seasonal Living Showhouse over two consoles on a tall, narrow wall.
This tall mirror in an antique shop with high ceilings fills the space.
In a bedroom with a high ceiling, make it immediately more intimate with a draped bed or a four poster bed.
This four poster spool bed adds some structure to the room and works great with high ceilings.
This dramatic draped bed fills this tall space in a spectacular fashion.
This is your chance to use some unusual, high backed chairs!
High backed chairs fit right in to a room with high ceilings.
So, in conclusion:
You know you should not let your space with high ceilings go blank. Instead, you can:
Hang art up the wall, not only at eye level.
Hang long, dramatic drapery panels on the high windows.
Use architectural details on the ceiling and/or walls to add interest up high.
Use a statement light fixture or even multiple fixtures.
Use tall furniture and mirrors.
All of the above will enhance your tall space, create balance, and involve that grand height with the more human scale below.