Low ceilings 2.4-2.5 m high is a characteristic feature of typical panel houses, with which you have to reckon 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, some tips on what you should not do, as well as a selection of 30 photos of real low kitchens.
15 tricks of design
- White walls + white ceiling
In general, the ceiling and walls should not be white, the main thing is that they should be of the same tone. This technique will erase the boundary between the surfaces, and as a result the kitchen will appear higher.
- Haute cuisine with white facades in the upper cabinets.
. Set to the ceiling itself can be completely white or only partially, namely in its upper part. So the facades of wall cabinets will merge with the ceiling and will not “cut” the walls horizontally. If the headset is low, then the facades for the upper cabinets should be chosen to match the walls.
- Rack or panel facades of the kitchen
Our goal is to bring as many vertical lines as possible into the interior. If you are creating a kitchen design from scratch, then we recommend choosing headsets with paneled, and better rack-like facades, as in this photo.
- Vertical Striped Wallpaper / Curtains
Vertical Striped Wallpapers create the desired optical illusion by visually pulling the walls up. You can glue striped wallpapers on one accent wall or on all four at once. By the way, the canvas with such a print is much easier to dock, and the seams between them are almost not noticeable.
- True there is a striped wallpaper and disadvantages - they visually narrow the space, and therefore are contraindicated for narrow and elongated kitchens.
- Striped wallpapers look particularly good in the interior of a classic kitchen, such as in the photo below( scroll).
- Wallpaper with vertical pattern
Not only striped wallpaper, but also any wallpaper with vertical lines will work to increase the height of the kitchen. Images of trees stretching up plants or, say, vertical elements, recurring elements, if they do not increase, then they definitely will not lower the already low ceilings.
- Wallpaper in rhombus
Wallpaper in rhombus is also able to deceive our eyesight so that the kitchen will seem higher. At the same time to narrow the space, in contrast to the striped wallpaper, they will not.
- White wooden lining
Wall cladding with white clapboard is popular in the Scandinavian countries, where ceilings in typical houses are often low. Adopt this technique as well, because the white color and vertical lines of the lining will work doubly effectively.
- White wall paneling will fit into the kitchen interior in country style, chebbi chic, Provence and any other “rustic” style.
- By the way, clapboard or wooden slats will be good in facing the kitchen apron, especially if it is not as tall as in this kitchen-dining room in the photo below.
- Two-level ceiling with illumination of the central niche
Suspended ceiling designs for low kitchens are contraindicated, 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 imitates a stained glass window, and its lighting replaces a chandelier.
"Window" here is made of plexiglass. The moldings framing it - from polyurethane. And the ceiling itself is made of plasterboard.
- Approximately the same effect can be achieved by decorating a niche with a glossy stretch ceiling and incorporating LED backlighting around the perimeter. The niche may be of any shape.
- Dark floor
Dark colors, such as dark blue, black, graphite, etc., tend to visually separate objects and surfaces. Thus, the floor, trimmed with dark tiles or dark wood, would seem to fall down and thereby increase the height of the kitchen.
- If you’ve already done the repair, you can simply lay a dark carpet on the floor like on the bottom right photo. Of course, the coating should be short-nap.
- Lighting with light pointing up
One or two floor lamps and / or wall sconces, the light of which is directed up, will be enough to create the effect of a higher and "air" space. And all because reflected from the ceiling and walls, the light will be distributed more evenly and will not create harsh shadows.
- Floor-to-ceiling mirror
Ceilings will be well raised and large mirrors will increase the space, especially in facing one or two kitchen walls. In the next photo-slider you can see how the low kitchen-dining room in the panel house was transformed from two mirrors from floor to ceiling height.
Read also the Guide to the choice of mirrors for the lining and decoration of the kitchen.
- Curtains in the floor
Curtains should pick up long, that is, concerning the floor or even lying on it as shown in the photo below. Suitable styles of curtains - collected in a uniform fold, panel( Japanese) or cotton( muslin).
It is desirable that the fabric had a vertical pattern, that is, all the same stripes, rhombuses, floral motifs, etc.
Whatever curtains you choose, the curtain rail should be installed right under the ceiling. The ideal choice is a roof rail. Read more about the eaves for the kitchen.
- Spotlights or ceiling lights instead of pendant
Suspended chandeliers in the kitchen with low ceilings will practically touch the heads of its inhabitants, visually overload the interior, shade even more and “lower” the ceiling itself. Dot and ceiling lights look, though not as elegant as chandeliers, but they take up less space and create more pleasant and even lighting.
- Recessed spotlights should be used for stretch ceilings, and overhead ceilings for ordinary ones.
- Small skirting boards to match the walls.
Floor skirting boards should be chosen low, preferably to the walls or universal white ones.
- Wall decor with a vertical orientation
Paintings, posters, panels or decorative plates can also contribute to an increase in the height of the kitchen. To do this, they need to hang slightly above eye level, as shown in the photo below or in a row vertically. It is also desirable that the wall decoration pattern contains vertical lines. All this can be found in our section Decoration.
And a little about the mistakes that it is better not to commit
The design of a kitchen with a low ceiling has some limitations that you should be aware of in order to avoid a mistake. Here is a small list of them:
- Suspended chandeliers, as already noted, will clutter 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 tabletop.
- Decorative ceiling beams - they make the ceiling heavier and attract too much attention to it.
- Unfortunately, stucco molding, especially with gilding, is good only on high ceilings, and on low ones it looks too alien and hard.
- Making the ceiling a shade darker than the walls is likely to lower its height somewhat, 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 - the best way to finish a low ceiling. However, with a great desire, you can install a stretch ceiling, which, compared to other suspended systems, doesn’t take too much height, namely 4-5 cm.
- The wall decoration with horizontal stripes, and the window curtains with a horizontal print, though will push the walls apart,but significantly lower the ceiling of the kitchen.
Read also:
- Narrow kitchen design: best ideas and usefultricks
- Design and repair of kitchen in Khrushchev - 13 tried and true solutions
- Planning and repairing a small kitchen
- Everything about the design of a small kitchen - 16 super tricks and 70 photos