Dear Danica, How Can I Make My Asymmetrical Ceiling Less Obvious?

I’m gonna be honest with you…this one kinda stumps me too! I received this question a couple weeks ago and have been thinking about it ever since. I have two ideas that will kickstart a solution to this dilemma and then 1 imperfect plan that continuously grows on me.

FIRST…

I’d paint the walls and the ceiling all the same color. Currently the two colors create a visual differentiation between the walls and ceiling and further accentuate the asymmetrical lines. So the first thing I’d do is erase the line that’s highlighting what you don’t love.

As for color, I’d go for something moody! Light paint colors show corner creases quite well because corners naturally create shadows. But with dark paint colors, corner creases and shadows somewhat disappear into the color making them less obvious.

SECOND…

It looks like the photo you shared is from the home listing so that bed frame may or may not actually be yours…but here’s why I would replace the headboard. Currently, the headboard is really tall and almost serves as a measurement between the right side of the ceiling vs the left. On the right, it’s obvious that the headboard is close to the ceiling, but on the left there is plenty of space above. I would focus on finding a lower headboard that leaves lots of visual space above on both sides and makes the size difference a little less obvious.

THIRD…

And this is where my imperfect plan comes into play. What if you moved the bed to the right wall, in between the window nooks? It could work! Moving the bed would shift the focus from the far wall (which shows the asymmetrical ceiling the most) to the center of the room (where it appears to be the most symmetrical). The bed would then face the window on the opposite wall, which I always love in bedrooms, and suddenly we would see the room at a different angle entirely. Like so –

The one flaw to this plan is, where would we put the nightstands? Because the window nooks appear to be pretty deep, that does throw a wrench in the plan. But it doesn’t discredit it entirely! I would play around with nightstand sizes and shapes. Rather than a standard rectangle three drawer chest, maybe opt for a round end table instead. Something that has soft corners and doesn’t block the nooks completely, yet still serves its purpose. A couple of sconces beside the headboard or even inside the nooks could free up space on the nightstand.

That’s my thought, but you’ll discover whether or not that works quickly once you start playing around with furniture arrangements.

Hopefully this gets the ideas rolling!