LOW CEILINGS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 249, 11 January 1928, Page 6

LOW CEILINGS

CREATING ILLUSIONS Low ceilings are undoubtedly picturesque in theory, but when it comes to living beneath them they are not quite so attractive—that is, unless special attention has been given to the decorations of the room.

The decorations of a low-ceilinged room should invariably be light in colour and simple in design. All over paterned papers and hangings should be avoided; even small designs will emphasise the lack of height, and give you the feeling of living in a box with the lid shut down.

If you do not care for entirely plain wall surfaces, then choose a paper with a narrow stripe, and let it run right up to the ceiling, instead of cutting it off short with a frieze. In the case of a bedroom that perhaps also has a sloping rpof, there is nothing so. successful as plain cream distemper, which is also used for the ceiling, so that it and the' walls merge, and an illusion of height is created.

Pictures are generally taboo in such a room, but if they are included they must be very small and full of colour. Woodcuts of flowers, such as are now very fashionable, are the best choice.

If there are open fireplaces in the house, these may be effective or ineffective, according- to the skill of the mason and the alertness of the builder. All too often the throat of such a flue is wrongly built. A mason may carelessly or ignorantly give the wrong shape to the fireback and throat. Then the operation of kindling a fire is attended by such annoyances as billows of smoke that come out into the room and roll up to the ceiling.