Painting the Nursery Ceiling. Creative Ideas and Tips

New parents put themselves out to decorate the nursery as lovely and creatively as possible, but often neglect something essential. The baby will spend most of his time staring up, so the ceiling ought to get a lot of attention.  Decorating the nursery can actually start there or, if you already have a theme, you can certainly find a way to make the ceiling part of it. Here are some ideas and tips on painting the nursery ceiling.

The sky

Painting the sky on the nursery ceiling is probably the first obvious option, but you have to make some choices there too. You can apply a soft sky blue base coat and use a sponge to create fluffy white clouds. Add a golden sun and a few flying birds for a sweet touch. You can also create a striking mural of the night sky with metallic stars and a glowing moon. Painting a ceiling mural can be difficult, though, so if you have your heart set on a particularly elaborate design, you may be better off hiring a mural painter.

Painting the nursery ceiling. Patterns

The walls aren’t the only spot in a nursery where a pattern works – the ceiling is an ideal area to add a whimsical design without overpowering the room. If you’ve opted for white walls, consider painting rainbow stripes or polka dots on the ceiling to add a fun look to the room and engage your child’s senses. You can try a more subtle look by using your wall color and a lighter or darker shade from the same family to create a monochromatic stripe or polka dot design. For a more elaborate look, use stencils to paint a detailed pattern on the ceiling. A winding vine with flowers is ideal for a baby’s girl’s room, while a scattered fire engine or police car stencils work well for a boy’s room. Teddy bears, fish, elephants and other animals work well for both genders.

Painting the nursery ceiling. Background or pop of color

If you’ve already decided on going with a wall mural or pattern, you can just put some background color or an accent color on the ceiling. Make it light if you have colorful walls, especially if you have a low ceiling to give it some more height. But the nursery ceiling is also an ideal spot to add a pop of color if you’re planning to use a light or neutral shade on the walls. In a baby girl’s room, you might try an ivory shade on the walls to make a smaller space feel larger and paint the ceiling a bright magenta or grape shade to add some whimsy to the room. For a boy’s room, try a bright green or blue shade on the ceiling. If you decide to paint a pattern on the nursery walls, such as stripes or polka dots, carrying the accent color from the design to the ceiling is an easy way to give the room a unified look.