White OUT!

If all of your friends were jumping out of windows, would you?

Okay, so maybe that's an extreme analogy. But I am curious. Are you're ceilings white?

Why are they white? Because you're parents ceilings were white? Your neighbors? Because you saw the row of "Ceiling White" paint cans at the hardware store, and you thought you were supposed to? Have I got news for you...

Lets get one thing clear right from the start. One of the chief keys to successful design is repetition of color, of pattern or motif. I'm not talking about cutesy themes or Garanimals. But if you've got a room with a white ceiling and nothing else in the room is white, then its arbitrary. It relates to nothing. But Michael, why do they even make Ceiling White, you ask?

Because years ago our homes were not properly lit, and a white ceiling would refract light. Its 2009, and trust me this is no longer an issue. Ceiling White is only available because we're conditioned to painting our ceilings white, therefore there's still a demand for it. End of story.

While you may not be inclined to paint ANY ceiling in your home the vibrant turquoise pictured below, I will encourage you to take that wall color you have and just wrap it right over. Think of how easy it will be to cut in! If you're concerned that the wall color may be too saturated to use on the ceiling, consider 2 things.

• Is it a really warm color? Warm colors advance psychologically, so a little volume in the space helps.

• If its a really deep, saturated color be cautious of how much light the space gets. Dark colors absorb light, so you may need to add some back in with accent lighting.

Many years ago in an article that was written about me, the author stated that "One gets the feeling that if McKinley could strip every can of Celing White from store shelves, he would."
She was right, and my stance on the matter hasn't budged.

When are white ceilings appropriate? When the walls are white. When your mouldings are white, or when white is dominate in the color palette. Otherwise get out the roller, screw on a broom handle, and start painting!