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For many of us, months and even years can go by in which we barely even notice our kitchen ceilings until they start looking worse for wear. Indeed, while a clean, newly decorated ceiling may be one of the most overlooked parts of our entire home, an old, well-worn one can tarnish the appeal of even the most beautifully designed kitchen space.
Thankfully, this is a problem that’s easily solved. All it takes is a few creative kitchen ceiling ideas and inspiration to revitalize your space, and that’s where we come in.
Below, we’ll talk about lighting, color schemes, and decorative finishes, but first, let’s look at why a kitchen ceiling makeover may be the best interior design investment you make all year.
Why Upgrade Your Kitchen Ceiling
It’s been said countless times before that the kitchen is the true heart of the home. It’s where we congregate with our loved ones, cook up our favorite recipes, and create lasting memories. It’s where we take care of families, and sometimes it’s where we escape for a relaxing glass of wine and a few well-deserved moments to ourselves.
With so much going on there, it’s no wonder that we spend so much of our time and money on improving our kitchens and making them as beautiful and comfortably practical as they can be. Yet while we may spend hours choosing the best kitchen hutch or happily go over-budget to get the most stunning floors and cabinets our money can buy, our kitchen ceilings often go neglected.
If you ask us, that’s a shame, because that very same ceiling is the one part of your kitchen that takes more than its fair share of abuse as smoke and steam rise up from your stove and the hustle and bustle of busy family life take their toll.
Still, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Whether you’re looking to completely transform your space or simply give that tired-looking ceiling a much-needed facelift, these 15 inspiring ideas will help to not only make that ceiling look brand new, but turn it into as much of an attractive talking point as any other part of your home.
Kitchen Ceiling Lighting Ideas
1. Get Creative With Pendant Lights
Having been the standard form of interior lighting for as long as many of us can remember, it’s tempting to write off pendant lighting as old, outdated, and unfashionable. To do so, however, is to miss out on a whole host of opportunities to really get creative with the way you use lighting in your kitchen.
Since they’re available in an almost limitless number of styles and designs, the fixtures themselves can be used to complement and even enhance the look of your usual kitchen features.
This one-of-a-kind, Three-Light Indoor Island Pulley Pendant from Westinghouse Lighting, for example, can really help your cooking area or kitchen island to stand out as the focal point of the room, while stainless steel pendant light fittings always prove popular with homeowners hoping to create an uber-contemporary, high-tech aesthetic.
2. Add a Traditional Touch with Lanterns
Of course, you don’t have to be going for a modern look to make the most of pendant lighting. Combining this interior lighting standard with a beautiful lantern-style hanging light can add a touch of vintage cool to your space.
If you’re going for a completely traditional or farmhouse kitchen, then choosing hanging lights in antique copper or a similar finish will add a certain air of authenticity and undeniable rustic charm.
3. Go Classy with a Chandelier
Chandeliers may be a more typical feature of living rooms, dining rooms, and even bedrooms, but those with a modern design can also add a dramatic finish to a kitchen.
Though the usual dripping-lights and ornate crystal designs may be just a little too extravagant for most kitchen spaces, up-to-date designs can help create a sense of luxury. sophistication and contemporary elegance in even the most basic of kitchen spaces. Meanwhile, certain rustic-style chandeliers can serve as a remarkable centerpiece in those kitchens with an old-world country or continental feel to them.
4. Keep it Contemporary With Kitchen Ceiling Spotlights
LED spotlights have been increasingly popular over the last few years thanks to their unrivaled efficiency. The LED bulbs use as much as 80% less energy than traditional bulbs, leading to significant cost savings and more environmentally-friendly home. Yet less power doesn’t mean less style.
LED spotlights still illuminate a room just as well as pendant lighting with the added bonus that they can be positioned at multiple angles, making your kitchen lighting as much a part of the overall aesthetic as the cabinet finishes or the paint on the walls.
In smaller kitchens, recessed downlights can prove invaluable for creating a sense of depth and space, while mounted spotlights work particularly well as a mood lighting option for creating ambiance.
Decorative Kitchen Ceiling Ideas
5. Do Something Different With Creative Drywall Textures and Patterns
A good quality drywall finish may be a simple, practical way to add strength and durability, but let’s be honest:
As kitchen ceiling ideas go, it’s pretty boring. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re hanging a new drywall ceiling to save money or just to get your renovation done quickly, there’s no need to simply give it a once-over with your drywall sander and call it a day.
Instead, consider spending a few dollars on a drywall texture-making brush or popcorn ceiling scraper and using it to create an attractive pattern.
Need a little inspiration for your drywall designs? A quick Google search for creative drywall patterns or ceiling texture ideas will bring up a wealth of how-to videos and tutorials. In fact, what we like best about this idea is that some of the best-looking drywall textures are so easy to do that even those with limited DIY experience can use them to create a fantastic new look for their kitchen.
6. Add Detail With Ceiling Planks
Whether it’s the ornate design of our cabinet doors or the unmistakable allure of a glistening hardwood floor, there’s something about the warmth and homeliness of natural wood that makes it an ideal element for any kitchen. So it should come as little surprise to find that it looks just as good on the ceiling as anywhere else.
While wooden ceiling planks are often chosen as a low-cost way to cover up cracked, old drywall or an otherwise tired-looking ceiling, it isn’t just their affordability and effortless installation that makes them such a good choice.
Used well, they’re a great choice for adding definition to the room and can be either painted or stained to complement and enhance the rest of your decor.
7. Create a Traditional Farmhouse Feel with Natural Lumber
OK, so covering your entire ceiling in planks isn’t for you, but you still want to enjoy the inviting, natural quality of wood in your kitchen. In that case, why not consider exposed beams?
Once a standard architectural feature of country houses and cottages, fitting wooden beams is a wonderful way to add that all-important sense of authenticity to a traditional farmhouse kitchen.
And if the real deal proves too expensive? You can recreate their rustic appeal for a fraction of the cost with faux wood beams.
8. Combine Styles for a Unique Classic/Contemporary Hybrid
So far, we’ve focussed a lot on different kitchen ceiling ideas suited to one particular theme or design trend. For example, we just talked a lot about using wooden beams in a traditionally designed kitchen and spotlights in those with a decor that better reflects today’s interior fashion, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t design the two.
As you’ll see in the image above, bringing together both classic and contemporary features can create a unique look, bringing the homely comfort of the farmhouse kitchen into the modern home.
Kitchen Ceiling Color Ideas
9. Use White to Create a Sense of Space
Interior decorators generally agree that painting your ceiling in light colors makes the walls seem much higher and the space as a whole that much larger.
With that in mind, if your kitchen is on the smaller side, then using white paint and other lighter colors can be the perfect choice for opening up that space and making it feel both roomier and brighter.
10. Choose Dark Colors for a Sense of Intimacy
That being said, you may prefer to make your kitchen feel comfy and cozier rather than light and roomy. If that’s the case, opt for darker, richer colors.
A flat black ceiling paint, for example, will create a wonderfully intimate atmosphere that can prove particularly effective if your kitchen also doubles as your dining area.
Provides exceptional wear resistance. The high-gloss finish is scrub-able and non-toxic when dry. Easy water clean-up. Dries to touch in 1 hour.
11. Experiment With Light and Bold Colors for Different Effects
There’s certainly much more to kitchen ceiling color choices than black and white. With just about every shade on the color wheel to play with, you can experiment with different colors depending on the kind of ambiance you’re trying to create.
If you want your kitchen to feel warm and inviting in those cold, winter months then deep reds and other rich colors will do just the trick. Alternatively, you may want to choose light colors such as pale blues and yellows to create a light, breezy summery vibe if that’s when you use your kitchen the most.
Kitchen Ceiling Style Ideas
12. Add a Unique Finish with a Modern Tray Ceiling
You might not be familiar with the term ‘tray ceiling,’ but if you’ve paid even the scantest attention to modern interior design trends over the years, you’ve definitely seen them.
An increasingly popular addition to both contemporary and traditionally-designed kitchens and dining rooms, tray ceilings typically feature a rectangular shape that is cut out from the main ceiling. With some, you can even cut out multiple rectangles within one another, each one decreasing in size to create a stylish step-like effect.
The overall result is a striking look that can make a small room seem taller or to highlight a focal point such as a kitchen island or dining table. An even more unique look can be achieved by combining colors, such as using a dark color for the overall ceiling with a contrasting light color in the central rectangle.
This can also prove to be a great way of drawing attention to a chandelier light or particularly impressive ceiling fan.
13. Keep it Light and Cool with a Tiled Ceiling
Strong, durable, and relatively inexpensive, it’s no secret that tiles make an attractive option for kitchen flooring, but don’t underestimate what a difference they can make when used on your ceiling.
Foam and mineral fiber ceiling tiles come in a wide variety of designs to really add detail and definition to your ceiling without it dominating the room, though metallic-look tiles are also proving popular among homeowners looking to really make their ceiling or kitchen backsplash stand out.
That said, we still don’t think anything quite compares to the simple, understated appeal of ceramic tiles. Effortlessly easy to clean, they make a great addition to a busy kitchen while also lending a light, cool, and minimalist look to your space.
14. Add a Sense of the Dramatic with Ceiling Arches
You may be used to having a u-shaped kitchen, but have you ever considered how cool it would look to have a u-shaped kitchen ceiling?
Cathedral-style arched ceilings are a simple-yet-effective way to add a sense of height and space to your kitchen, with the archways themselves creating a certain elegance that works well in both classic and modern kitchen designs.
Though not without their drawbacks (they can be tricky to paint and pose an interesting challenge when changing light fittings), they’re guaranteed to make a dramatic difference to the overall look and feel of the room.
15. Create a Stylish Talking Point with a Coffered Ceiling
Here’s another one that you’re likely to be familiar with even if you’ve never heard the correct term before now.
This approach uses a series of beams to create a grid-like structure across your ceiling. Once upon a time, this style was reserved exclusively for mansions, stately homes, and other high-end properties often carved out of high-caliber wood with paintings in each grid panel.
Today, the affordability of modern ceiling materials allows you to create a similar look in your home, adding a certain touch of luxury that will serve as a stunning talking point without overpowering the rest of your beautifully-designed kitchen.
Final Thoughts
Let your lifestyle be your main source of kitchen ceiling inspiration. More so than any interior decorating magazine, Pinterest board, or even all of the creative ideas we’ve listed above, the one place that’s really worth looking to draw inspiration for your kitchen is your home itself.
More specifically, how you use your kitchen should at least be a factor in determining which kind of ceiling design is best suited for that space. If you’re passionate about cooking and can often be spent cooking up fabulous feasts, then rising steam and smoke is likely to be a familiar sight in your kitchen.
In that case, going with darker paint colors or a finish that is going to be less prone to discoloration and other obvious signs of ceiling damage may be the best way forward. Alternatively, if your kitchen is also the place where you serve up those delicious home-made meals, then concentrating on mood lighting and perhaps even a tray-style design may be the best way to ensure that your ceiling is every bit as stunning as the rest of your kitchen.
