Design Question
Hi Heather,
I have been reading through your blog, some really good stuff here. I am looking for a bit of advice on what to do with a tough room. The attached pic shows a room from three angles that will be used as a master bedroom. The room is about 14ft long x 11ft wide. It looks out on 3 acres of horse fields with a mountain rising in the background.
The palette for the house is still being worked out. The existing colors for the house are strong green for the office, a medium blue for the master bathroom, a light gray for the halls, and the secondary bedroom as a light yellow. We like the green and the blue. The rest of it we are indifferent to, open to ideas!
The lights, carpet, and paint are an obvious change, and the popcorn ceiling can be removed. The bump down roof though I just have no idea how to hide or minimize – any suggestions? We are fairly handy so if you have any wild ideas on how to improve shelves, we are certainly open to them.
Toby
Design Answer
Hi Toby,
Thanks for reading the blog and sending in your design question. While drop ceilings do serve a specific purpose – often used to hide wiring, ducts, pipes, etc. – having one in a room can pose some minor interior design problems, such as visually dividing the room; lowering the ceiling height in one area of the space; and as you previously pointed out, making the ceiling “stick out.” While your instinct (and it’s a good one since drop ceilings can look unattractive) is to hide or minimize the suspended ceiling, the flipside is that different ceiling levels in the same room can create visual interest. There are ways you can work the suspended ceiling or bump down roof into the room’s décor design that improves the visual flow of your master bedroom.
“Ignore” the divided ceiling vibe and deal with the space as a whole. Plan to arrange the bedroom furniture as though the “canopied” section is not there. For example, placing some of the furniture in the drop ceiling part of the room and then the rest in the other half of the room would definitely break up the living space and draw negative attention to the suspended ceiling (bump down roof).
You mentioned you like blues and greens, which are cool shades that I think would work well in this space. The color currently in the room is a warm color; from the picture it appears to make the room, especially the part with the drop ceiling, look a little cramped. Pick two colors, one color would be the main wall color and the second one would be the accent color. The accent color is typically brighter, darker or bolder than the main color you have selected. The accent color would go on the wall with the single window. Then paint the supporting posts and the side of the drop ceiling in the same color. Both ceilings would be the same neutral shade you choose for the trim (baseboards, windows, doors, etc.). Using the same accent paint color on both one wall and the drop down ceiling visually connects it to the rest of the room.
The lights currently in this space are a good example of how the space can appear visually broken up, making the lower ceiling appear separate or not part of the room. Choose matching or complementary lighting fixtures, one for each ceiling, and hang them so that they are the same height. Again, it’s another way of “tricking” the eye into making the room appear cohesive.
You mentioned being fairly handy. Just from the picture, especially in a master bedroom, the closet doesn’t look like it would be as functional as it should be, particularly for two people. I would definitely plan on removing the bench-like shelf currently in the closet and designing some sort of organizer that includes shelves and cubbies while giving you someplace to hang clothes. You might also want to investigate ready-made closet organizers; some manufacturers offer basic closet organization systems that can be conveniently customized and sometimes at a price that would be cheaper than making one from scratch.
I hope this has been helpful. Let me know how it turns out. And keep sending me your design questions.








































