Tray ceilings add an extra dimension of design that can spruce up an otherwise ordinary room, but installing one is costly and messy. The use of a painting technique called trompe l'oeil allows you to fake the look of a tray ceiling with paint -- the term translates to "fool the eye," and you must pay careful attention to light and shadow to make the effect successful. Rooms with very low ceilings are not suited to the effect because the dimension takes on additional shape with distance. That said, the trompe l'oeil look itself can be a charming style even if the illusion doesn't work, adding a mural effect instead of faux dimension.
Instructions
1. Wipe the ceiling down with clean water. Dirt, dust and grime can keep the paint from adhering properly. Apply a coat of primer if you're planning to cover a dark color with a light color.
2. Draw two diagonal lines connecting opposite corners -- you should be left with a giant "x" across the ceiling. Use a chalk line or laser level for accuracy. These lines with designate the corners of your tray.
3. Mark off four concentric squares, with the corners at the diagonal lines. The innermost square will be the raised part of the tray, the next square out will be the sloping sides of the tray, the next square will be the vertical sides of the soffit and the outer square will be the bottom side of the soffit. The squares can be any size you like, but the outer one should be the smallest.
4. Paint the innermost square with your tray color and allow to dry.
5. Observe how light enters the room, and take note of which side has the strongest light and which side has the least light. Look at your walls -- even if they are painted the same color, you will notice the variation in tone between them. This effect is very important for the ceiling, and you will be mixing colors to replicate it.
6. Measure off enough tray color to paint one side of your next square, and pour it into a clean container. Mix a very small amount of white paint into it and stir well. Test the color on a practice board and have a helper hold the board next to the painted part of the ceiling on the side where the light hits the strongest. The contrast should be noticeable, but not so light that it turns into a pastel. Keep adding white and remixing until you achieve the correct tone, then paint the light side of the square with that color. Allow to dry.
7. Add a small amount of dark gray paint to your tray color, and test on a practice board. Hold it up to the ceiling on the second-lightest side, and paint that side of the square once you get the tone correct. Allow to dry.
8. Repeat the process for the next two sides, adding more and more gray as you progress toward the dark side of the room. Allow to dry.
9. Repeat the mixing/testing/painting process on the next square, but use your soffit color. The lightest side of this square should be rather bright, as the light from the window would hit the vertical side of a soffit directly. Likewise, the dark side should be very dark because it would only receive ambient light, not light from the window.
10. Repeat the mixing/testing/painting process again with the soffit color on the outer square, but start with a slightly darker tone on the light side and work your way darker from there. The bottom of the soffit should not catch very much direct light, and would mostly be illuminated by ambient or reflected light. Allow to dry.
11. Paint in additional highlights and shadows if you wish, but keep in mind that the direction of the light changes with the time of day. If you get very detailed, the illusion will work brilliantly for about 30 minutes every day, but will fail for the rest of the day. Keep all light and shadow subtle for the best effect.
Tags: next square, square will, tray color, your tray, Allow Repeat, dark side, diagonal lines