We're moving to a new home in April and I need some expert advice. ;)

I'm trying to decide whether to paint the ceiling black as well as the walls or leave the ceiling white. There will be three white doors in the room and all of the trim around the two windows, doors and baseboards will be white. I think that the contrast will be stunning. We'll put up some sconces and some Laurel and Hardy prints as well.

We have a 106" Da-Lite High Power screen in manual pull down form. The projector has yet to be decided on because I returned the Optoma HD7100 and haven't chosen it's replacement due to the upcoming move. I'm leaning at this point to one of the BenQ 1080p units or the Mitsubishi HC6000.

So, given the retro-reflective nature of High Power screens, I'm wondering whether having a flat white ceiling will matter if all of the walls are flat black. Other than the trim in the room and the doors, the ceiling would be the only large area not painted black. I'm also considering going to a 133" High Power screen so that means that the screen would no doubt be even closer to the ceiling than the 106".

I think that the contrast of the white ceiling against the black walls would be very sharp and would also provide some balance. If the ceiling is painted black as well the room may turn out to look too drab or dreary and boring. It's not a large room so too much black might make it look much smaller than it's 19' x 17' dimensions.

What I need to know is given the type of screen that I have and the predominantly black room, will the ceiling painted white cause some washout to the image on screen? Or will the anti-reflective nature of the screen make a white ceiling okay?

I need to decide by Saturday because we're giving the builder are final decisions on colors.

What do you think? Is having a white ceiling sort of like kissing your sister?

Wayne

Black ceilings often make the room feel bigger as it makes the ceiling "disappear"

is your sister cute?

i vote for paint if black.

later.

I have a brother who I could dress up as a woman I guess....:o

Thanks for the input guys. So that's two votes for black ceiling and nothing for the white.

I forgot to mention that the carpeting will also be dark. Not solid black but black flecks or tones amongst grey or brown. Haven't looked at samples yet.

Wayne

Paint it black.

Here's my vote:

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens ev'ry day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and it has been painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

Hmm, hmm, hmm,...

I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black
Yeah!

One vote against black.
I also wouldn't paint the side walls black.

I would paint it dark though. My front wall is flat black and my side walls are very dark brown. The ceiling is the same very dark brown. The carpet is a very dark burgundy.

I'm happy with how it turned out, but it is very dark in there. Black might be a bit too much.

Steve,

That was great! I wish you'd get off the fence though. :D

bqmeister,

Great advice. Thanks. You didn't mention what color your back wall is. I presume dark brown like the sides? I will be painting my front wall black for sure. I'm also a big believer in painting the rear wall black, especially since I have a retro-reflective High Power screen.

It's interesting that you would mention brown because my wife and I are now leaning heavily toward a black front wall, black rear wall and brown side walls with a dark carpet of some sort.

So you went with brown on the ceiling too? I don't think I could go wrong with that but I'm still debating going black front, ceiling and rear wall and then brown on the sides and carpet.

Okay then. Would that look good or should I go with black only on the front wall and rear?

Wayne

I went with black front wall and brown side, back & ceiling. Also a brown shade of carpet. I am extremely happy with the way it turned out. No regrets.

Thanks crg!

Wow. That's two now with brown walls and ceiling plus black front wall. We'll do something similar. I just haven't decided whether to go black on the ceiling and rear wall as well. Our rear wall where we're living now is black and it looks great against the other greenish walls and ceiling.

Wayne

paint it black

Yup. Sounds like good advice. :)

We're going black front, ceiling and back walls with brown on the sides and the three doors. Trim will be black and blinds on both windows as well. Carpet will be either black or brown.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and encouragement. Much appreciated. :cool:

Wayne