The fifth wall – how to do ceiling wallpaper aesthetic the right way

When renovating the interior, most people tend to forget about another wall they have – the ceiling. Some just brush it off, don’t even consider it to be an interior element, so just paint it white and call it a day. An awful mistake – the fifth wall has a lot of potential and with a great wallpaper, it can turn your interior into a complete masterpiece, especially if you have high ceilings. Even more, today, we have wonderful wallpaper designs available, as well as a new type of wallpaper – removable, peel and stick wallpaper. It allows you to experiment with your taste and interior, since it can be removed as easily as applied (you won’t need any additional glue like you would with traditional wallpaper. The peel and stick wallpaper works just like a huge stiker).

So why should you look into the possibility of wallpapering your ceiling, what are the design guidelines you should follow and how you should apply the wallpaper in order to get that perfect ceiling wallpaper aesthetic?

Why you should install wallpaper on the ceiling

Of course, wallpapering the ceiling is not meant for every interior, but in most cases, if applied taking in mind color combination rules and other interior design rules, the result looks fascinating no matter what the room is – living room or bathroom, and no matter what king of ceiling you have – angled or flat. Using wallpaper on the ceiling is an unconventional way to show your unique, creative side of personality. Not only can you create a one of a kind interior, but also, wallpaper on the ceilings can help you hide blemishes and even some uneven spots (if you want to hide defects like these, you should use wallpaper with a small, patterned design). Wallpaper on the ceiling can be your room’s focal point, and to make it more juicy, you should get a beautiful chandelier – since the wallpaper will bring the attention up, you wouldn’t want to see an outdated, rusty ceiling light hanging there on it’s dear life. So, invest in something beautiful, so that together with the wallpaper, these two elements can amaze you.

Wallpaper on the ceilings help to add depth and texture in the room, which are the things that make the interior more pleasant to the eye. It can also make the room look wider, more spacious – if you want to achieve this result, you should use wallpaper in light and bright colors. But if you use darker tones, they will weigh down the room and make it cozier. So if you feel like your room is too small, or feels cold and unwelcoming, use this knowledge to fix the problem in no time! And, if you have a vintage interior, wallpapering your ceiling is definitely a thing you should do.

Which wallpaper designs you should use?

Wallpaper design options are limitless and they all look stunning, but it doesn’t mean that you can just pick one you like the most and go with it. You have to take in mind the color palette you have in the room, in order to choose the best wallpaper. For example, if you have dark blue walls, you would want the same tone dark blue wallpaper design on your ceiling. Or, if you are completely changing the whole interior, you can choose a wallpaper for the ceilings first and from that wallpaper pick one color that you will use for the other walls. For example, if you really like our “Vintage Damask” wallpaper, you can apply it on the ceiling and paint the rest of the walls the same tone of blue that is in the design. The colors from the design elements will gradually unite with the wall colors and create a unified look in the interior. For this option we can suggest light, airy designs that resemble clouds. Those will look just wonderful and you will feel very comfortable and welcomed in the room.

Another way, a bit less daring, is to paint the whole room white and apply colorful wallpaper only on the ceiling. You can use the colors of that wallpaper design for your house decors, pillows, curtains, rugs, and other interior elements, including furniture (couch for example, or a coffee table). Here you can go bold and pick the most intense designs, especially if you love colorful interiors. Dramatic floral patterns will be excellent in this scenario – the room will look more charming and emotional. And make sure that the design pattern doesn’t have a feeling of “this side is the right side up”. Geometric patterns with a bit of contrast will work great on the ceiling, since those are non-directional and look good from all angles.

How to apply wallpaper on a ceiling

We would highly suggest you to use peel and stick wallpaper, instead of traditional wallpaper on your ceilings – without the need to use a wallpaper glue, the whole process will be a lot easier. And, before applying wallpaper, take care of safety measures - get stable stairs and a helmet. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt! If you are a novice at wallpapering, you should consider getting a professional to do this job – ceilings are even harder to wallpaper, than regular walls and you would want to get a proper, beautiful job done. By getting a professional to do the job, you will also save your time and nerves – it’s worth a thought!

The whole process is similar to applying wallpaper on a regular wall, the only thing that will be different is how much your spine will hurt afterwards. But, first of all, take a look at the ceiling - is it clean, is there any dust, is the surface smooth? Clean the ceiling, and if the surface is a little bit uneven, that’s alright, some designs are quite forgiving of small surface defects. But if you have just recently painted the ceiling, you will have to postpone the renovation projects – apply wallpaper on the ceiling two weeks after the ceiling has been painted. And we would advise you to position yourself in a way that you have at least 10cm of distance between your head and the ceiling.

After that, measure the ceiling, draw a vertical line on the wall where you want to start gluing, using a spirit level. Remember that this line will determine how straight the rest of the gluing work will go, so it's best to make sure you've been accurate. Starting from one side of the sheet, remove an area of protective film about 11 inches from the wallpaper and, holding the upper corners, glue the wallpaper from the ceiling line, away from the window or any other light source (thus it will be easier not to make any mistakes). Once the side of the sheet is attached to the wall, continue to take off the protective film and, with the help of a squeegee, align the air bubbles in the direction from the center to the edges of the sheet. When the first sheet is glued, continue the same way, gluing the next sheet next to the previous one and without creating overlaps.

When you get to the ceiling light, turn off electricity and take down the ceiling lamp. In the wallpaper, cut a hole with a paper knife, so that you can get the wires through and adjust the lamp back. And yes – before applying wallpaper, you have to remove any ceiling lights that you have, vent lids, ceiling decorations, and other things that you have attached to the ceiling.

Final words

If you want to spice up your interior in an unusual way, want to surprise your friends and family, and more importantly, create a whole new aesthetic in your house, try out wallpapering your ceiling! And even if you don’t feel like this is a good idea, our peel and stick wallpapers can prove you wrong! Or right - either way, we have a vast collection of magnificent wallpaper designs that you can apply on the ceiling and take off, if you feel like that particular design doesn’t work for you.

Of course, peel and stick wallpaper might not be as durable as traditional one, but take in mind that you might get tired of your wallpapered ceiling. You might want to change the design in the future or take it off completely. Yes, the traditional wallpaper would without doubt stay on the ceiling longer than removable wallpaper, but that’s also its drawback.That’s a big commitment, wouldn’t you agree?