Decorating
Decorating: How to Make the Most of Sloping Ceilings and Walls
Love your lack of levelness and celebrate your slopes with clever design ideas for walls and ceilings that are anything but flat
Quirky architecture, crooked conversions and loft extensions that carve up the roof space are often responsible for rooms with wonky ceilings and sloping walls, and these angular features can present tough design and decorating challenges. How do you fit in furniture? Or prevent a precipitous slope from edging into your physical and mental space? This roundup of interesting rooms offers some inspiration – straight up…
Build bespoke storage
Designing storage, from cupboards to shelves, that can be built into any space allows you to make use of even the most awkward areas. These open shelves provide an accessible home for books and toys in a child’s attic bedroom.
Check out great ways to display books
Designing storage, from cupboards to shelves, that can be built into any space allows you to make use of even the most awkward areas. These open shelves provide an accessible home for books and toys in a child’s attic bedroom.
Check out great ways to display books
Tuck in alongside
It’s nice to be able to climb into bed from either side, but it’s not essential. So why not pop a double in against a sloping ceiling? It creates a cosy feel and makes great use of an awkward space.
It’s nice to be able to climb into bed from either side, but it’s not essential. So why not pop a double in against a sloping ceiling? It creates a cosy feel and makes great use of an awkward space.
Squeeze in a wine cellar
An awkward space may not offer enough room for a full-scale cupboard, but why not slot in a mini wine cellar? This wonky pocket above the washing machine and dryer is large enough for a bespoke rack, which fits in neatly and provides a home for numerous bottles.
An awkward space may not offer enough room for a full-scale cupboard, but why not slot in a mini wine cellar? This wonky pocket above the washing machine and dryer is large enough for a bespoke rack, which fits in neatly and provides a home for numerous bottles.
Make a feature of it
This white home office is a fantastically clean, bright space in which to work, but the red rafters also add a playful touch and ensure those wonderful lines are not totally lost.
This white home office is a fantastically clean, bright space in which to work, but the red rafters also add a playful touch and ensure those wonderful lines are not totally lost.
Think outside the box
A room with a dramatically sloping ceiling may not be suitable for use as a busy, sociable room, but could be ideal for a less obvious purpose. This bright space is an artist’s studio. The fully glazed end wall pulls in lots of natural light, while the sloping wall is a good, out-of-the-way place to prop finished works.
A room with a dramatically sloping ceiling may not be suitable for use as a busy, sociable room, but could be ideal for a less obvious purpose. This bright space is an artist’s studio. The fully glazed end wall pulls in lots of natural light, while the sloping wall is a good, out-of-the-way place to prop finished works.
Wallpaper all the way
When a room has more angled surfaces than vertical or horizontal ones, it can be a good idea to make a feature of them. Here, wallpaper has been added right up to the skylight for a dramatic but cohesive look.
When a room has more angled surfaces than vertical or horizontal ones, it can be a good idea to make a feature of them. Here, wallpaper has been added right up to the skylight for a dramatic but cohesive look.
Cause a distraction
In a loft bedroom, where the angles of the roof are pronounced, you can draw the eye away from those lines by positioning the bed centrally, sticking to a pale scheme and adding a big piece of dramatic art. Wonky walls? What wonky walls?
In a loft bedroom, where the angles of the roof are pronounced, you can draw the eye away from those lines by positioning the bed centrally, sticking to a pale scheme and adding a big piece of dramatic art. Wonky walls? What wonky walls?
Add raw contrast
Exposing the raw brickwork in this bathroom creates a bold contrast with the smoothly plastered sloping ceiling. The steep lines stand out, the clean white paintwork looking fresh against the rustic walls.
Have you made a feature of an awkward space? Tell us in the comments below.
Exposing the raw brickwork in this bathroom creates a bold contrast with the smoothly plastered sloping ceiling. The steep lines stand out, the clean white paintwork looking fresh against the rustic walls.
Have you made a feature of an awkward space? Tell us in the comments below.
This dining and kitchen space extends right under the staircase. The enclosed stairs and adjoining wall have been painted in a single shade of blue, so you can still see and appreciate the steep angle, but can also perceive the wall as one unified surface.
Explore ways to work super brights into your scheme