A ceiling painted soft peach, oversized curtains hung near the ceiling, a big rug and a tall potted palm all fit a weekend, while a mezzanine with glass railings, arched windows or a tall stone fireplace need a contractor, and often permits.
The weekend ideas cost a few cans of paint or a rug, so most renters can start there.
1. Vertical Art
A tall, narrow canvas makes a high wall look planned instead of empty. Red and gold tones like these also pick up a brass chandelier nearby, which ties the art to the rest of the room.
Hang it with the center around eye level, and let the extra wall above it stay bare. Going a size larger than feels comfortable usually looks better than going smaller, since small art floats on a tall wall.
2. Use Tall Plants
Large potted palms fill the empty air between the sofa and the ceiling, and they cost far less than built-in features.
A tall palm beside the seating area does the most work; shorter plants grouped around it keep the eye moving down to the rug.
Pick the biggest pot you can fit, because a tall plant in a small pot looks top-heavy. Place plants where the light is strongest, as in a glass-roofed room like this one.
3. Incorporate Murals
A mural turns one tall wall into the room’s main feature, and a leafy botanical print suits a tan sofa without competing with it.
Framing the mural in white molding gives it clean edges and keeps it from looking like a sticker on the wall.
Wall sconces on both sides add light at mid-height, where tall rooms tend to feel dim. If you rent, peel-and-stick panels are the easier route; just mount them within a frame so the edges are neat.
4. Contrasting Colors
Paint the ceiling a soft peach or pink and keep the walls white, and the top of the room becomes a feature instead of empty space. A yellow armchair below picks up the warmth, so the color feels deliberate.
Test a large swatch on the ceiling before committing, because ceiling color shifts through the day with window light. Keep the sofa and cabinet neutral so the color has just two or three places to land.
5. Chandeliers, Recessed Lights, and Floor Lamps
Layered lighting is what keeps a tall room from feeling like a showroom. A large chandelier gives the volume a center, and recessed lights fill in the general glow around the room.
I would put each type on its own switch or dimmer so evenings can run on the chandelier alone or bring up the recessed lights when you need full brightness. Size the chandelier generously; a small fixture gets lost overhead.
6. Neutral Flooring
Light wood flooring keeps the ground quiet, so attention goes to the windows, stone, and ceiling height instead of the floor. With a white sectional on top, the whole lower half of the room stays calm.
Choose a pale, low-contrast plank with a matte finish, and add texture through a rug rather than a busier floor. A very plain floor needs some warmth from wood tones or fabric elsewhere.
7. Focal Wall
A single feature wall gives a tall room one place to look. Marble behind the fireplace and TV, framed by vertical wood slats, pulls the eye up the full height and gives the screen a calm, finished backdrop.
Keep everything else in the room quieter than this wall. Warm accent lighting along the slats adds depth after dark, and I would put it on its own dimmer.
8. Deep Shades for Walls
Deep color suits a high wall because the surface is large enough to carry it.
Mauve walls with a terracotta ceiling make the room feel wrapped rather than empty, and a brown sofa and blue rug sit well against that warmth.
Test sample patches on 2 walls first, since a dark shade reads differently in each corner. Paint is cheap and fits a weekend, which makes this one of the lower-risk bold moves.
9. Oversized Curtains
Curtains hung near the ceiling make the windows, and the room, read taller. Layering grey drapes over sheer white panels softens the light while keeping the full height of the wall in play.
Mount the rod close to the ceiling, not just above the window frame, and choose panels long enough to reach the floor. A beige sofa and grey floor keep the fabric as the main statement.
10. Wooden Beams
Exposed wooden beams bring a high ceiling closer to the people below, linking the ceiling to the walls with a warm, solid line. Under a vaulted ceiling, they give the eye something to follow.
Large woven pendants hang well between beams, and a dark wood coffee table echoes the timber. If real beams are out of reach, I would consider hollow faux beams, which are lighter and easier to hang.
11. Large Rugs
A big rug is the fastest way to ground a tall room.
Buy bigger than feels necessary: at least the front legs of every seat should rest on it. A busy pattern like this one hides wear and works best when the sofas stay plain.
12. Tall Stone Fireplace
A stone fireplace running floor to ceiling gives a tall room a strong vertical, and its texture keeps the height from feeling cold.
Neutral sofas and chairs stay out of its way, while a large round chandelier balances the heavy stone overhead.
This is a major build, not a weekend job. For a rental, a freestanding console and a big mirror can borrow the same vertical pull.
13. Decorative Patterned Tray Ceiling
A recessed tray ceiling with a gold floral pattern gives the top of the room a detail worth looking up at. Built-in lighting inside the recess washes the pattern in a soft glow, so it reads at night too.
Keep the furniture plain in pattern and color so the ceiling and one painting hold the room’s visual weight. Put the tray lights on their own dimmer.
This is a construction and decorating project, not a weekend one. Renters can borrow the look with a ceiling-height painting or wallpaper panels on the wall.
14. Mezzanine with Glass Railings
A mezzanine with a glass railing opens the upper level to the room below without blocking light or sightlines. A black staircase gives the clear glass a strong graphic line to play against.
Glass keeps the volume feeling open, which solid railings can’t. A sculptural pendant hung through the open height fills the space visually, and I would size it large so it holds its own beside the stairs.
Structural work like this needs a contractor and permits. It suits owners, not renters.
15. Double-height Arched Windows
Tall arched windows running up a vaulted wall pull daylight deep into a high room and give the ceiling height a graceful reason to exist. White walls bounce that light around, and marble floors carry it across the room.
Leave arched windows bare or dress them with simple panels hung high, so the curve stays visible.
Adding arched windows is a major renovation, so budget accordingly. If you’re renting, a large arched mirror leaning on a wall borrows the shape.
No architectural element adds drama quite like a double-height ceiling. As these 19 light-filled rooms from the archives of Architectural Digest prove, high ceilings open up an array of design possibilities, creating the perfect setting for high-impact decor, from grand chandeliers to bold surfaces.
16. Seamless Indoor-outdoor Sliding Walls
Sliding glass walls that disappear let a living room and a patio act as one space. With the glass open, a fire pit and lounge chairs extend the seating area, and the city view fills the walls.
Run the same flooring tone across the threshold if you can.
Sliding wall systems are expensive and need professional installation, so this is a project for owners.
Creating Warmth and Intimacy
Warm color does most of the work in a tall room, and the easiest places to add it are the surfaces you can swap in a weekend: deep-toned throw pillow covers, a big rug in a rich shade, or a painted wall.
Texture matters as much as color. Layer woven throws, nubby upholstery and heavy fabrics so the room has soft surfaces at seating height, where people actually feel the space.
Warm neutrals with curved shapes and gentle tones keep a large room calm instead of stark. Pick a few textures and repeat them across the room rather than adding one of everything.
Maximizing Vertical Space
Art on a tall wall can go 2 ways: oversized single pieces or a gallery wall that climbs. For a gallery wall, build upward in a column so the grouping uses the height instead of spreading sideways.
Larger horizontal pieces also work, and they help shrink the sense of empty wall. Whatever you choose, check that the art doesn’t overpower the furniture beneath it.
Lighting can fill height too. Pendants and chandeliers hang into the vertical space, while wall lights and floor lamps break up the wall at lower levels so your eye doesn’t skip straight to the ceiling.
Avoiding a Cavernous Feel
A tall room can handle bigger, heavier furniture than a small one, so don’t shop as if you were furnishing a compact space.
A large sectional with a sizable coffee table sets up a defined lounge zone, and that zone is what keeps the room from feeling hollow.
Put the sectional and table on a rug, and load the sectional with plush cushions. Soft surfaces absorb the echo that high ceilings tend to create, which is a comfort issue as much as a look.
Big rooms swallow small furniture, so pick a roomy sofa and a generous rug, then bring the eye down with warm paint, a few leafy plants and light at more than one height.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the disadvantages of having a high ceiling?
A tall room can feel cavernous, cold and hollow if it is furnished like a small one.
It can also echo, and small furniture and small art tend to get lost in it. A large rug, a roomy sectional and soft surfaces like plush cushions absorb sound and make the room feel settled.
What to do with high ceilings in a living room?
Fill the height with a few large pieces: a big chandelier, tall art, a floor-to-ceiling feature wall and curtains hung near the ceiling.
Large furniture suits the room better than compact pieces. A wide rug, tall plants in the corners, and light sources at different heights (sconces, a floor lamp, table lamps) pull attention back to where you sit.
Are 12 ft ceilings too high?
No, 12 feet is a good height to work with, not a problem to fix.
A room that tall can carry bigger, heavier furniture, oversized art and a generous chandelier. It only feels off when the furnishings are too small for the volume.
What is the best color for a living room with high ceilings?
Warm, deep colors work best, because a tall wall is large enough to carry them and they make the room feel wrapped instead of empty.
Paint a large board or poster and prop it against the wall for a few days, watching how the color changes from morning through late afternoon.
