Create The Illusion Of Higher Ceilings With A Door Stack Up And Color Drenching

Most real estate experts agree that high ceilings add value to a home. The standard ceiling height is eight feet, while nine feet and above is considered high. But the preference for high ceilings is mostly psychological. A high-ceilinged room can feel vastly more spacious than a room with normal ceilings — even if they have the same square-footage — and low ceilings can make some people feel confined. 

Unless you have a large renovation budget, you are probably stuck with the ceilings you've got (according to Angi, it typically costs just under $20,000 to vault a ceiling). Fortunately, there are hacks for making your ceilings appear higher, like buying short furniture or covering walls in vertically-striped wallpaper. One genius way to create the illusion of higher ceilings is to create a stacked look with your door and some color drenching. In an Instagram video from @callsigndesign, husband and wife team Walter and Lisa Reece stack moldings up to the ceiling above an interior door. They paint everything the same color to look like one cohesive piece. It adds some serious drama to an otherwise bland hallway, and tricks the eye into thinking both the door and ceiling are higher than they really are. 

The hardest part of creating the look from the video is making and securing the 3-sided boxes on the upper corners of the doorframe, which are needed for attaching the corbels. Walter and Lisa Reece from @callsigndesign actually made their own cleats for attaching the boxes to the wall, but fortunately, you can get a 2-pack of 12-inch wooden cleats for under $15. However, you will have to make your own 3-sided boxes, which can be done with primed pine boards. You can skip this step and attach corbels directly to the ceiling, but you may have to cut through existing molding to do so. 

Before installation, paint all of your pieces, the door, door trim, and the area in between the door and the ceiling (if your ceiling lacks molding, you'll want to install some at the base of the ceiling between the 3-sided boxes). Attach the cleats to the wall, then attach your 3-sided boxes over the cleats. Then, attach the corbels underneath the boxes and to the wall using a pneumatic pin nailer and heavy-duty construction adhesive. Finally, attach the angel applique in the area between the door and the ceiling (the applique used in the tutorial is the Ekena Millwork Angel Center with Scrollsare). If your style is a little less ornate, use Ekena Millwork brackets in place of the corbels. 

If this sounds daunting, an even simpler solution is to install a crosshead or pediment above the doorframe. This type of millwork can add a decorative touch to your home and make your ceilings and doors look bigger. A crosshead is essentially a thick molding that goes above a door, like this Ekena Millwork Crosshead. A pediment is an architectural detail found above a door or window that can add gravitas as well as height, like an Ekena Millwork Half Round Sunburst Pediment. Paint the crosshead or pediment the same color as your trim and leave your wall color as-is.

Alternately, you can use a simple can of paint to add height without any fancy millwork. Measure a few centimeters or even several inches all the way around your door frame and use painters tape to create straight lines. Paint the door, doorframe, and the frame you made on the wall the same color to look like one solid piece. This will add width and height to your door, as well as a fun pop of color in the room.