New Ideas to Decorate Your Ceiling

Things are looking up for your décor - literally. If you're bored with a room, perhaps it's time for something for something unusual. Perhaps it's time to decorate your ceiling! Try these inventive ideas.

Idea #1: Decorate your ceiling with Light Panels
For faint, evenly distributed light that casts a cozy glow, you can use a string of holiday lights to construct light panels for the ceiling. Many craft and hardwood stores sell foam board through which you can carefully cut or puncture small holes. Either using a row-by-row pattern or something more random, poke each tiny light bulb through the openings and then affix the panel or panels to the ceiling, taking care to minimize the visibility of the cord as it heads to an outlet. If your walls are white, you can look for a white extension cord and use lights on a white string. And don't limit yourself to clear-bulbed lights. Amber and blue are also spiffy strands for a ceiling light panel.

Idea #2: Decorate your ceiling with a Batik
This is an old college dorm trick that students often use to cover up ugly fluorescent lights and give the room some colorful makeshift ambience. As always, you should be careful when draping fabric across a ceiling, as it can be a fire hazard. That said, you can visit thrift stores looking for a lightweight batik. If you're unsuccessful, try one of those "novelty" places that sells marijuana pipes and blacklight posters, as they usually sell appropriate fabric. When buying the batik, consider both the size and translucency (if it's going to shield a light fixture). This is a low-maintenance way to decorate your ceiling, and you can sag the fabric to your specifications.

Idea #3: Decorate your ceiling with Paint
Ah, the old standby! People sometimes spend so much time worrying about the color of the four traditional walls that they neglect the ceiling as a surface for hues. Generally, lighter colors make the room feel more open while darker colors will tame a space that feels overly cavernous. Also, remember that you needn't paint your ceiling one solid color. Consider stripes or even two large triangles separated by a diagonal. Or think about running a design from the wall up onto the ceiling. Be open.

Idea #4: Decorate your ceiling with Vinyl Records
If you want a retro look that harkens back to the halcyon fifties in a fresh way, decorate your ceiling with black vinyl records. Old LPs and 45s (at least the ones that don't have value for their music) can usually be purchased at thrift stores or flea markets for anywhere from 10 cents to a dollar each. Because they're lightweight, they can be attached to the ceiling flatly by using strong tape, 3M adhesives, and sometimes even putty. I recommend covering the whole ceiling or running a stripe up a wall and then across the ceiling.

Idea #5: Decorate your ceiling with Ping Pong Balls
Yes, the little plastic balls used for table tennis can decorate your ceiling. While the cost of ping pong balls can add up quickly, you can always purchase them in bulk online. Look for plain white balls, unless you can daringly commit to bright yellow. What's most important is that they're free from stamping or only bear company stamps on one side. The view from below should be clear of commercial markings. I think this technique looks best when the entire ceiling is covered without any ball-free space: the result is a sort of bumpy, textured ceiling that looks like a field of mini-eggs. If ping pong balls aren't your scene, you can do this trick with styrofoam packing peanuts, too. Just glue with glee.

Idea #6: Decorate your ceiling with Hanging Plants
By suspending enough plants from ceiling hangers, you can endow a room with an honest garden feeling. It's remarkable how plants add verve to any indoor space, and that sense of life is more comprehensive when the plants are not delicately, fussily placed on shelves and tables. There's a richer, wilder lushness when, say, ten or twelve plants are either hanging in splendor from the ceiling. Spider plants and vines that grow quickly can be guided along the ceiling with hooks to help encase the space in greenery.

Have other ideas for ceiling decorations? Add a comment to this article.