Addressing Visual Problems

Ceilings are oftentimes neglected because they’re somewhat awkward and tiring to work on. There are two main problems that should be investigated when this facade is involved: first, the actual surface itself and secondly the crease between the ceiling and your bath walls. Appropriately, there are also two different ways to fix the problem depending upon which issue you have to deal with; one that allows the renovator to physically change the surface of the ceiling and the other solution can cleverly camouflage the issue so that it is not so obvious to the casual observer.

Hiding Uneven Wall and Ceiling Joint Lines

Typically you paint a wall up to the ceiling. If you have an older home that has been subject to even a little bit of movement overtime the line between the two surfaces will become uneven. However this problem can be easily solved by either moving the connecting line up onto either the ceiling itself or down onto the adjacent wall. This not only disguises the unevenness of the join but also visually changes the apparent dimensions of the room to better align with the space.

Painting a Line on Your Ceiling

Normally if your room is low then it would be best to take the paint line up to the ceiling to optically raise the space. The tools you will need are a long ruler, T-square, pencil, four inch paint brush, roller (optional) and some matte latex paint in two colors. Your objective here is to visually mask the uneven joint through the use of a colored band. Start by painting the whole ceiling the lighter of the two colors and let it dry. Next using your T-square measure out from the wall to the desired depth you want on the ceiling. Continue doing this along the entire length of the façade ticking off the measurement using your pencil at approximately 20-25 inch intervals. Once that is complete you can join your ticks using the long ruler to create a straight line that spans your whole ceiling.

A Steady Hand

Professional decorators use masking tape to create a barrier between areas they want painted and sections they don’t want paint on. If you are fortunate enough to have a smooth ceiling then using tape to mask the area is invaluable to create a crisp line. However most ceilings are not totally flat so trying to contain the paint to one side of the line will not work because the adhesive will not stick properly on the rough surface and the color will bleed under the barrier ruining your hard work. So believe it or not it’s sometimes easier to just paint freehand along your drawn line. Using the other color, paint your bathroom wall up to the ceiling and with a steady hand, drag the paint along the pencil line and fill in the color back to the wall. One thing that should be mentioned here is that you should try to keep your wall color on the light side because a visibly darker tone has a tendency of making your bath seem smaller.

Camouflaging a Crease

The other method to hide uneven wall to ceiling joints is to paint a line along your bathroom wall as opposed to a line on the ceiling. The tools you will need are the same the only addition is a spirit level because the ceiling/wall line will be uneven so you want to create a level beginning point. You can also use a roller for wider application and to speed up the painting process. Start by applying a lighter color on the ceiling and the top section of your bath wall. Once this is dry, measure down the wall to where you want the line to begin. How far down the wall will depend on how high your ceiling is. If you want to create a cozier feeling the lower the line should be but an average depth would be approximately four inches to ensure the drop looks intentional.

Properly Using a Colored Band

Now using your level and pencil mark a straight line around the room. Unlike the ceiling, you can use painters tape to mask above the line without worrying about the color bleeding under the tape, just make certain you apply sufficient pr[...]