Each time I have moved into a house or apartment, I spend a fair amount of time fixing and decorating and making things my own. But rarely did I pay much attention to the ceilings. They were usually white. And they usually stayed that way. With not much in the way of enhancements.

But this time, I decided to take advantage of these literal blank slates and see if there were ways that they could add to the rooms. And of course, there are!

For starters, those white ceilings don’t have to be white. We have a bedroom with white walls, leaving us free to add some interest with a nice color on the ceiling. We went with a kind of goldenrod, which has the effect of feeling like it’s always sunny in that room. Rather a nice way to wake up.

Some rooms have (or should have!) ceiling fans, and you can use a little paint to pep those up, especially if they are the old sort of clunky ones. The one shown here started out with white blades, but it’s easy to remove the blades, paint them whatever color you want, and then reinstall them. For this one, I added some stencil flowers that spin away on warm nights.

Adding moldings or trim of some sort near the ceiling can not only enhance the decor but it can change the perceived dimensions of a room. The black ones here are peel-and-stick, but the small moldings were installed by a handy person.

And if you are really feeling adventurous, think about adding art to your ceiling. If you are artistically inclined and don’t mind painting or drawing upside down, you can create your own mural. But if you lack both of those skill as I do, you can add someone else’s art as we did in our second floor bathroom. Andy Warhol and the geese spend their days flying around up there, and making us smile every day thanks to a hanging system that allows safe ceiling mounts (and removal).

By the way, don’t forget adding some interest with light fixtures. I’m not big on using overhead lights, but in the areas where you need them you might as well make them interesting. This test tube “chandelier” is a perfect example. It graces the front hall, but I must admit it’s not unheard of for someone to bonk to a test tube with some tall object they are carrying. Fortunately they are easy enough to replace and refill.

I’d love to hear ways that you have looked up and made things more elegant, practical, or whimsical – or all three. That’s useful information for all of us!