Slanted Ceiling Room Ideas That Make the Space Work

The short answer: put the tallest things under the highest part of the room, use the low edge for storage or sleeping, and keep color and light simple so the slope reads as a feature. Slanted ceilings are common in attics and top floors, so don't feel bad if yours cuts your wall space in half.

Below is how to decorate a room with slanted ceilings, from layout to paint to lighting. Cool blues come up a lot, because a pale blue is a good way to make a low ceiling feel farther away.

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What do you do with a room that has slanted ceilings?

Start with a tape measure. Mark where the ceiling reaches about 7 feet and where it drops to about 5 feet. Building rules tend to use the same thresholds. Minnesota's code, for example, says that in rooms with sloped ceilings at least 50 percent of the required floor area must have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet, and no portion of it may be under 5 feet. Portland's code likewise says portions of a room with a ceiling height under five feet may not be counted toward the room area.

You don't need to follow those codes in a bedroom you're only decorating, but the numbers are a useful guide. Above 5 feet, a zone is usable for storage, a low bed or a reading spot. Above 7 feet, it's where you stand and walk. Below 5 feet, think shallow shelves, baskets or nothing.

Should you embrace the slant or hide it?

Embrace it in most cases. Hiding a slope with a dropped ceiling or heavy contrast just draws attention to it. The calmest approach is to wrap walls and sloped ceiling in the same color, so the eye reads one continuous surface instead of a chopped-up shape.

If the angles feel busy, a single color on the slope and the walls beside it softens the room. If you like the architecture, leave exposed beams alone and let them be the detail.

Which paint colors work on a sloped ceiling?

Light, cool colors recede, and warm, dark ones feel closer. A pale blue or blue-gray on the slope tends to make the ceiling feel higher. Matte finishes help too, since glossy paint bounces light and sharpens shadows along the angles.

Check the light before you commit. A cool blue in a north-facing attic can turn gray and flat. In that case choose a blue with a touch of green or violet, such as a soft teal or periwinkle, and test the swatch on the sloped surface itself, in daytime and at night.

Dark colors can work as well. A deep navy on walls and slope together blurs the edges and makes an attic bedroom feel cozy, as long as you have decent lighting. For more blue combinations, see sofa colors that balance a cool blue room and how to warm up a cool palette with brass.

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What is the best furniture for sloped ceilings?

Low, simple pieces fit best. Put the tallest items (wardrobe, bookcase, tall dresser) against the highest wall and use the low side for pieces that are naturally short.

• A bed with its head against the high wall, or its side along the slope if the slope stays above head height when sitting up.
• Low dressers, benches and sofas with low backs under the slanted section.
• Furniture on exposed legs, so you can see the floor and the room feels bigger.
• Custom or built-in cabinets that follow the angle of the roof, when your budget allows.

As an architect, I'd skip towering headboards and skirted sofas here. They add visual weight right where the room has the least height. If you have a dog or cat, washable covers and tight-weave fabrics are a sensible choice for the low seating you'll end up using most.

How do you set up a bedroom with a slanted ceiling?

For sloped ceiling bedroom ideas, the layout matters more than the decor. Check where your head will be when you sit up in bed, and where you'll stand beside it. Nobody wants to hit a rafter every morning.

Leave a clear path of about 30-36 inches from the door to the bed and the closet. If the room is small, a low platform bed with drawers underneath gives you storage without adding height. In an attic bedroom, a wardrobe on the tall end wall and a window seat or low chest under the slope tends to work well.

If you are asking about feng shui, I can't speak to it as a design principle. A practical rule is to keep the bed out from under the lowest part of the slope, so you don't feel pressed down while lying there.

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How do you use the dead zones under the slope?

The low edge of the room is often wasted. A few ways to use it:

• Built-in drawers or cubbies that stop where the ceiling gets too low to stand.
• Shallow shelves that step down with the slope.
• A reading nook with floor cushions, which is how a lot of attic rooms end up getting used. See this blue reading nook for a palette idea.
• Baskets or low bins for toys, pet gear and blankets. These toy storage ideas adapt well to low spaces.

Keep the area in front of low storage open enough to reach it. A rug that extends under the slope helps define the zone.

How should you light a sloped ceiling?

Avoid hanging a large pendant from the highest point unless you have clear headroom. A flush dome light on a low slope can feel heavy, so aim for light that bounces off the ceiling instead.

• Torchiere floor lamps send light up the slope and make it feel farther away.
• Wall sconces keep the center of the room open.
• Small recessed lights or LED strips on top of a bookcase can wash the ceiling with light, if you're renovating.

Bulb color matters with blue paint. Warm 2700K bulbs can push a blue toward green, while 3000K stays closer to true. For more on mirrors and lighting tricks, see lighting and mirror tricks for low ceilings.

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Can wallpaper, curtains and rugs make the room feel bigger?

Yes, if you keep them vertical and simple. Hang curtains as high as the slope allows, and extend the rod several inches past the window frame on each side so the window looks taller and wider. A solid color that matches the wall reduces visual clutter.

Choose a large rug so the floor reads as a wide, open area. A small rug chops it up. Portrait-oriented art and a tall, narrow mirror lean the eye upward, and a mirror also reflects light across the angles.

Wallpaper works best with a small, quiet pattern on the straight wall, leaving the slope painted. A busy print across both can make the room feel like it's closing in. Texture helps too: see texture pairings for cool blue decor for ideas.

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Does the roof style matter?

It can explain why your room looks the way it does. Many older homes, such as Italianate houses, have a low, overhanging roof with decorative eave brackets as the dominant characteristic. Rooms under them often have a lower top floor. Treat those angles as part of the house's character and choose furniture and color that suit them.

If your attic has an access hatch in the ceiling, here is how to hide it.

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