Low ceilings with a height of 2.4-2.5 m is a characteristic feature of typical panel houses, which have to be reckoned with when planning repairs and kitchen design. In this material you will find 15 simple techniques that will help you visually increase the height of the kitchen, a few tips on what not to do, as well as a selection of 30 photos of real low-end kitchens.
15 design tricks
- White walls + white ceiling
In general, not necessarily the ceiling and walls should be white, the main thing – that they were the same tone. This technique will erase the boundary between the surfaces, and as a result, the kitchen will seem higher.
- High kitchen with white facades in the upper cabinets
The headroom up to the ceiling can be completely white or only partially, namely in the upper part. So the facades of hanging cabinets merge with the ceiling and will not “cut” the walls horizontally. If the set is not high, then the facades for the upper cabinets should be selected in the tone of the walls.
- Rack or paneled facades of the kitchen
Our goal is to bring as many vertical lines as possible into the interior. If you create a kitchen design from scratch, we recommend choosing a suite with paneled, and preferably rake facades as in this photo.
- Wallpaper / curtains in vertical stripes
Wallpapers in a vertical strip create the necessary optical illusion, visually stretching the walls skyward. Pokleit striped wallpaper can be on one accent wall or all four at once. By the way, canvases with such a print are much easier to join, and the seams between them are almost not noticeable.
- The truth is, striped wallpaper and drawbacks – they visually narrow the space, and therefore for narrow and elongated kitchens are contraindicated.
- Especially good looking striped wallpaper in the interior of classical cuisine, as, for example, in the photo below (leaf).
- Wallpaper with a vertical pattern
Not only striped wallpaper, but any wallpaper with vertical lines will work to increase the height of the kitchen. The images of trees stretching upwards of plants or, say, vertically arranged repeating elements, if not raised, will not exactly lower the already low ceilings.
- Romantic Wallpapers
The rhombus wallpaper is also capable of fooling our eyesight so that the kitchen will seem taller. At the same time, they will not narrow the space, unlike the striped wallpaper.
- White wooden lining
Wall cladding with white lining is popular in Scandinavian countries, where in standard houses ceilings are often low. Take on arms and you this technique, because the white color and vertical lines of the lining will work doubly effectively.
- White boarding fit into the interior kitchens in country style, Shebbie Chic, provence and any other “village” style.
- By the way, the lining or wooden slats will be good in the casing of the kitchen apron, especially if it is not as tall as in this kitchen-dining room in the photo below.
- Two-level ceiling with illuminated central niche
Suspended ceiling structures for a low kitchen are contra-indicated, but a two-level ceiling with a highlighted niche can create the illusion of a high ceiling.
For example, in this classic kitchen, a niche in the ceiling simulates a stained glass window, and its backlight replaces the chandelier.
The “window” here is made of plexiglas. Framing it moldings – from polyurethane. And the suspended ceiling itself is made of plasterboard.
- Approximately the same effect can be achieved by decorating a niche with glossy tension ceiling and built-in LED lighting around the perimeter. The niche can have any shape.
- The dark floor
Dark colors, for example, dark blue, black, graphite, etc., have the ability to visually remove objects and surfaces. So, the floor, trimmed with dark tiles or dark wood, will, as it were, fall down and thereby increase the height of the kitchen.
- If the repairs you have already done, then you can simply lay a dark carpet on the floor as on the bottom right photo. Of course, the coating should be with a short nap.
- Lighting with the direction of light up
One or two floor lamps and / or wall sconces, whose light is directed upwards, will be enough to create the effect of a higher and “air” space. And all because reflecting from the ceiling and walls, the light is distributed more evenly and does not create sharp shadows.
- Mirror from floor to ceiling
Not bad raise the ceilings and increase the space of large mirrors, especially in the lining of one or two walls of the kitchen. In the next photo slider you can see how the low kitchen-dining room in the panel house was transformed due to two mirrors from the floor to the ceiling.
Read also Guide for choosing mirrors for kitchen cladding and decor.
- Curtains in the floor
Curtains should be chosen long, that is, touching the floor or even lying on it as shown below in the photo. Suitable styles of curtains – collected in a uniform fold, panel (Japanese) or thread (muslin).
It is desirable that the fabric has a vertical pattern, that is, all the same bands, rhombuses, plant motifs, etc.
Whatever curtains you choose, the curtain rail should be installed under the ceiling. The ideal choice is a ceiling tilt cornice. More information about the cornices for the kitchen.
- Spot or ceiling lights in place of suspended
Suspended chandeliers in the kitchen with low ceilings will almost touch the heads of its inhabitants, visually overload the interior, further obscure and “lower” the ceiling itself. Point and ceiling lamps look albeit not as elegant as chandeliers, but they take up less space and create more pleasant and even lighting.
- For stretch ceilings, you need to use recessed spotlights, and for conventional ceilings – overhead.
- Small skirting boards in the tone of the walls
Floor skirting should be chosen low, preferably in the tone of the walls or universal white.
- Wall decor with a vertical orientation
Pictures, posters, panels or decorative plates can also help increase the height of the kitchen. To do this, they need to hang just above eye level, as shown in the photo below or in a row along the vertical. It is also desirable that the pattern of wall decorations contain vertical lines. All this can be found in our Decorating section.
And a little bit about mistakes that it is better not to commit
The design of a kitchen with a low ceiling also has some limitations that you should know in order not to make a mistake. Here is their short list:
- Suspended chandeliers, as already noted, will clutter up the space and will simply interfere. The only place where the chandelier does not hurt – over the dining table. The lamp here can hang at a distance of 60 cm from the table top.
- Decorative ceiling beams – they weight the ceiling and attract too much attention to it.
- Unfortunately, stucco molding, especially with gilding, is good only on high ceilings, but on low looks too foreign and heavy.
- Decoration of the ceiling with a shade darker than the walls, is likely to lower its height a little, and painting in a dark color will completely lower it, creating the feeling that the ceiling is pressing.
- Installation of suspended ceiling systems. Standard whitewashing and painting is the best way to finish the low ceiling. However, with a great desire, you can install a stretch ceiling, which, compared to other suspension systems, does not take up too much height, namely 4-5 cm.
- The decoration of the walls with horizontal stripes, as well as window decoration with curtains with a horizontal print, though it will move the walls, but significantly lower the ceiling of the kitchen.
