Should You Paint Your Soffits Ceiling Color Or Wall Color?
If you’re currently remodeling and thinking about soffits, you’re probably wondering whether the soffits be painted the ceiling color or the wall color.
We hear our clients ask this question all the time and that’s exactly why we knew we needed to bring the discussion here.
Soffits are part of so many homes. They can be used as a decorative feature in certain places, but their practical purpose is typically to hide mechanicals, beams, and other necessary items that impact the function of your home.
When clients ask us what color their soffits should be, our answer is: “it depends!”
In order to simplify the decision, we have come up with a simple process that considers each individual soffit situation to help give more clarity on what will work best. We hope going through this will help you make the best decision for your own home too!
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Answer The Following Questions To Determine If You Should Paint Your Soffits Wall Or Ceiling Color -
When making a decision on what color to paint soffits, there are a few things we take into consideration. Below we will walk you through a super simple process we use to help our clients decide if their soffit should be painted ceiling color or wall color.
All you need to do is answer the question and it will move you forward toward a decision!
1. Is The Ceiling Textured Or Smooth?
The ceiling texture is the first thing we always consider. If the ceiling is textured (popcorn, knockdown, orange peel, etc.), then the decision is often simple - the soffits will be wall color. In this case, your decision is pretty much made, so skip over the rest of these numbered questioned and go on down to the next section.
If you have smooth ceilings, you have more available choices because there is no ceiling texture automatically differentiating the two surfaces. You’ll want to go onto the next question to help you decide.
2. Does The Soffit Tie Into Part Of The Flat Wall Surface?
If you’re moving on to question two, that means you have smooth ceilings and have more things to consider.
Now take a look at your soffit again. If your soffit runs along a wall and technically is flush with that wall, enough that it technically could be considered part of it, your soffit should then be painted wall color. This is often the case in kitchens with soffits above the cabinets and sometimes in situations where there is a beam and/or wing wall. The reason it needs to be painted wall color in this circumstance is because there would be no way to make a clean break between the two colors and having a line there would likely draw attention to the soffit and make it look like a mistake. Your decision is now clear and you can skip over question 3 to the next section.
If your soffit does not run flush with a wall at any point, then the options are still wide open for you to decide between ceiling or wall color, and hopefully your answer to the next question will help make your decision clear.
3. What Is The Height Of The Ceiling?
Since you have gotten this far, it means you have smooth ceilings and your soffit does not tie into or run flush with part of a wall.
The next thing you will want to consider is the ceiling height in the room where the soffit is located.
In our opinion, if the tallest point in the ceiling is less than 8 feet tall (thus the soffit is significantly lower than that) we would lean toward having the soffit be ceiling color. Especially in basements of older homes where ceilings and soffits can sometimes get really low, having the soffits be ceiling color can help them blend into the space can make the room feel brighter. With the soffit being closer to eye level, it is nice to not draw extra attention to them.
That means if your ceiling height is 8 feet tall or higher, we would recommend the soffit be painted wall color. This is a great way to accentuate the height of the room and help the soffit blend into the upper part of the wall.
Now That You Know Which Color You’ll Be Painting Your Soffit…
Should The Whole Soffit - Sides And Bottom - Be The Same Color?
If you’re asking us, then our answer is a resounding - YES!
No matter which side of the soffit paint debate you landed on at the end, either wall or ceiling color, painting the entire soffit the same color is important in making sure it looks intentional and cohesive.
What If There Are Multiple Soffits In The Same Space?
Whether you paint all soffits the same or not is up to your discretion, but in places like basements with many soffits in different parts of the space, we often will use the above criteria to determine the color for each individual soffit. We find that when the soffits aren’t all in the same line of sight, having them be different won’t be noticeable, so you can do what you think looks best.
Conclusion
Deciding whether to paint your soffits to match the wall color or the ceiling color can sometimes feel confusing. Using the process above we have seen our clients have a much easier time coming to the best decision for themselves on what color to paint their soffits. We hope you found our take on the decision process helpful as you consider what you might do in your own home!
Now I want to hear from you - Do you have soffits in your home? What color did you decide to paint them and why? Let us know in the comments below!
