Think about how often you look at your bathroom ceiling. You brush your teeth, you stare into your phone. Wash your face?
Glance up. Step out of the shower? Upside your face.
Lie in the bath? Well, duh.
The lesson hit me one night over dinner last spring.
My friend Sarah came out of the bathroom and proclaimed, for all to hear, that my powder room felt “unfinished”. Okay, so it wasn’t technically rude. But it was true!
I’d slaved away picking the perfect sage- green paint colour for the walls (Benjamin Moore’s October Mist, FYI), spent ages sourcing beautiful brass hardware and shower fixtures, even blew the budget on the indulgent rainfall showerhead that was totally worth the money. But the ceiling? Plain white builder’s paint.
Flat. Naked. Dry.
That weekend, I was soaking in the tub staring at my cavernous expanse of ceiling white space, trying to mentally calculate how many times I’d wasted gorgeous shower steam just…staring at nothing. Literally. Ceiling = wasted potential.
Your bathroom ceiling is likely the room’s largest surface area. And yet it’s also probably the most neglected feature. Which makes no sense!
Bathrooms have moisture, low lighting, and when was the last time you sat on the toilet and stared straight ahead? People tend to spend a lot of time looking up in bathrooms, ya know? Paint was my first foray into bathroom ceiling design.
But not just any old paint. You can’t use regular ol’ emulsion on your bathroom ceiling unless you like condensation rings. Nope, this space needs moisture-resistant paint.
Or,maybe for you, mud? My powder room ceiling is painted a super soft, barely-there shade of blush pink from Farrow & Ball. Colour name?
Dead Salmon. Harsh? Sounds like it.
Looks like a dream. The gentle colour warms up the space making all of your white fixtures shine, and creates a cozy cocoon effect that makes you feel like you’re floating on a cloud. I’m a pretty frugal person, so bear with me when I say that paint can be deceiving when it comes to costing out a project.
You see “small space,” you assume inexpensive job. But then you remember you have to Prime. And buy special brushes.
And cover your crap with plastic sheeting. And then get out the ladder because Trust me, you don’t want to paint ceilings on your tiptoes. After supplies, paint brushes, tarps to cover the toilet, and stretching the blush paint across two gallons because Murphy’s Law says if you’re painting a ceiling you will find that spot directly over the light fixture that shows every single roller mark… mine ended up costing about £85.
But wow, did it make a difference! Once you’ve painted the heck out of that ceiling, though, don’t stop there. I installed tongue-and-groove paneling on half of my guest bathroom ceiling last month.
No, not all of it. Full ceilings can look overpowering in smaller rooms, but creating that sharp architectural detail above the vanity makes your space feel bigger (and fancier) than it really is. As far as installation goes, well, let’s just say I don’t recommend you DIY this one unless you enjoy a good challenge.
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Measuring. Cutting. Sweating.
Swearing. Shimming. Caulking.
Tears? Maybe a little. But I will say this, minor imperfections on ceilings almost never show like they do on walls.
Once it’s up, people will glance at it, sure. But they won’t study it the way they will your wall paint lines. Okay, this may come as a surprise, but lighting plays a H U G E role in making your bathroom ceiling pop.
I used to have a basic flush-mount fixture hanging in my powder room. You know the one I mean – huge clear glass bowl that everyone hates because it traps dead flies. I swapped it out for a West Elm semi-flush crystal chandelier for about £120, and holy smokes, what a difference!
Light reflecting off of colour and texture on your ceiling creates this gorgeous ambient glow that just makes everyone look better. And let’s be real, that’s half the battle with bathroom lighting. Speaking of going bold with paint, I painted my main bathroom ceiling navy blue.
The same shade as my living room accent wall, in fact. Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy, if you’re curious. Everybody laughed at me when I said I was doing it. “Won’t your bathroom feel SO tiny with a dark ceiling?” Please.
My cabinets are painted a lovely crisp white, and so is the trim. But that dark ceiling makes the wall colour feel like it goes all the way up to the ceiling, meaning my upper cabinets look bigger. It also creates a very intimate, spa-like vibe, and white just pops like crazy against it.
Painting your bathroom ceiling dark is also super forgiving. Because you can’t see imperfections or paint lines from down below! Painting the ceiling dark also made me realize how important lighting is.
My ensuite bathroom faces north so it doesn’t get great natural light, but that brass mirror suddenly felt like a showstopper thanks to that navy sky. Installed some indirect wall washing LED’s around the room and now it always looks bright and fresh. Feels like a hotel bathroom.
If you rent, or just wanna try something fun without commitment, peel-and-stick ceiling tiles are another option! Those dropped-ceiling, acoustic ceiling tiles your dentist’s office got stuck in the 90’s with? Yuck.
Today’s peel-and-stick panels come in all kinds of materials that can add texture and interest to your ceiling. I’m partial to the faux- tin ones – they give wonderful structure and really make other finishes in your bathroom shine. They can be pricey at about £3/sq ft, but the good thing is you can take them with you when you move.
Want more coverage without breaking the bank? Ceiling wallpaper is trending right now for good reason. I used a subtle geometric print in my powder room – it’s a teeny tiny bathroom so I figured if I hated it I only wasted a small amount of time and money.
The trick to ceiling wallpaper is finding something with a small repeat so it doesn’t spin you around when you stand up.
And you do need to use actual wallpaper paste meant for ceilings. Standard stuff will work…but then it’ll start drooping in random spots a few months down the road because it can’t handle the humidity.
Ask me how I know. Did someone say cottagecore?? Beadboard ceilings are another quick DIY that can transform your bathroom.
I installed it above the toilet and bathroom window in a friend’s guest bathroom last year. Nothing crazy, we just painted it pure white to contrast with her dark floorboards. But man, did it give the tiny bathroom the feel of a beach cottage.
Right?! BATHROOMS have moisture, bad ventilation, and drastic changes in temperature. Make sure whatever you choose can handle your bathtub Niagara Falls.
Grasscloth was pretty in my dining room, but it didn’t love life in my steamy shower.
