Ceilings need love too. We spend all our time and energy on the elements that are in our sight line. We may even spend hours stressing over the difference between Provincial and Special Walnut stain colors for our hardwood floors. But enhancing the lighting is about the farthest people go to dress up the ceiling.
Lionel Richie was the last person to publicly praise the ceiling. He danced on it! We can have some fun with it too.
The ceiling is another canvas where you can spread your wings and take the look of your kitchen to the next level (yeah, I said it). The most common method is to add some faux beams. They can be in any configuration but keep in mind that too many can just be too many. Use them tastefully and keep it somewhat simple.
Simple pine boards can complete the feeling of a "modern farmhouse" as in the picture below. It's easy to do and works in almost any shape kitchen.
Providing a totally different look, a semi coffered ceiling really dresses things up for bottom-to-top visual candy. It can be a bit of a trick to pull off if you don't have a square or rectangular ceiling but as you can see in the below picture, it can still work.
Sometimes you're forced to integrate a design element that you may not have initially considered. The kitchen below had a not so attractive beam running through it. None of us wanted to alter the beam due to cost. So instead of worrying about concealing the beam, we enhanced it. We simply wrapped what was already there with cedar planks. It ended up working with the vibe of the space and provided a solution to a potentially costly problem.
This next example may or may not be your cup of tea but it should not be discounted as a valid option. This is what we call a "flyover". Although not that common and fairly laborious it does a good job of making a statement and helps capture a certain style.
Any of the above could be combined to create a stunning ceiling. They could also be combined to achieve a visual nightmare if overdone. We want to avoid creating a cave like effect or any feeling where the ceiling seems so heavy it's going to fall on our heads. Many aren't comfortable spending money on what some think should be a simple clean surface and that's OK but it's good to know that there are tasteful ways to address this space.