Painting above picture rails

[christinarossetti]

Our 1920s house has picture rails in the living rooms/bedrooms etc. Just about to paint the living room - do you usually paint the area above the picture rail the same as the ceiling? Or does this make the ceiling look lower?

Not a huge dilemma as I'm going to paint the ceiling and woodwork pure white and the walls, um, off white, just wondered what people usually do.

TIA

I would paint the area above the picture rail the same as the lower wall or a third color, not the same as the ceiling. :)

It's up to you! You are right in that painting white will have the effect of lowering the ceiling, whereas painting the same colour as the wall will make the ceiling loom higher. I have really high ceilings in my current house so have painted everything down to the picture rail white. HTH

We have picture rail, then smooth coving into the ceiling. Nowhere to stop, really, so the only option is to paint the same as the ceiling. The great advantage is that you can change the whole look of the room by just repainting from skirting boards to picture rails.

I've gone - main bit - colour, picture rail -White, above picture rail - pale version of colour, cornice - white, ceiling - pale version of colour. I've done with stone and gray. Works if you have reasonably high ceilings. (All the parts have proper names - I just don't know what they are)

Mine are white, as the ceiling.
The house has very high ceilings though.

Yes that what I've done. Picture rail, above it, coving and ceiling all white. Looks lovely.

I've always done mine white to match the ceiling, but I like the idea of a paler version of the main walls.

White to match the ceiling. Colour all the way up looks so over done.

White to match the ceiling every time. Completely disagree that doing this has the effect of lowering the ceiling: it might do if the ceiling was another colour, but not with white. White above the picture rail makes the room feel more spacious and reflects light around the room.