Tray ceilings are a unique feature that'll make your master bedroom stand out, but you might not be sure how to go about painting one. Will the color you picked out in the store look the same when you get home? Is it going to make the room look too tall, or are you going to accidentally make your tray ceiling blend in too much? These Master Bedroom Tray Ceiling Paint Ideas might help.

1) Match Ceiling

What does your primary master bedroom ceiling look like? If you like that color, then there's no real reason to change it. You can use the same color for the primary ceiling and tray sides and ceiling, and maybe use a different color trim like the designer of the room in this Iupilon post picture did. You can see how it creates an elegant look, and we recommend white for this idea because it helps make the ceiling feel higher and creates an elegant look that suits a master bedroom.

2) Horizontal Stripes

Your master bedroom is an expression of yourself. When you're designing a master bedroom, you can take advantage of a tray ceiling to do unique things that match your personal taste. If you like bold designs and have one or two colors as your primary bedroom theme, try making horizontal stripes using these directions by Brian Patrick Flynn. You can create contrast this way to give the master bedroom a bold look in a unique way.

3) White

Sometimes the best way to get something fantastic is to do something simple in an extraordinary way. White ceilings are probably the most popular, and with good reason. White makes things look higher, just like tray ceilings do, and it's reflective, so if you want to do something different, like adding RGB light strips, you can light it up like JD Lee Designs and More did in this plush master bedroom redesign. You can see how the lights in the ceiling add a new dimension, and having a white ceiling makes them a more viable option.

4) Mural

Murals are popular nowadays, and we're not talking about master artwork. We're talking about simple paintings that you can do yourself that won't cost as much as the house. If you have a favorite image or design, you can paint that on your ceiling using the tray as a frame. For some basic instructions, read through this Greatist article and maybe practice your design somewhere else first. After all, you don't want to mess up your walls in a master bedroom. Try a closet, or even some scrap plywood, beforehand.

5) White Crown Molding

You can have a tray ceiling with no molding for a smooth look, but you need some ornate touches if you want a grand master bedroom. Crown molding is usually best in bigger rooms, but because you have a tray ceiling to make the room look taller, and because this is a master bedroom instead of a kid's room, you can add something a bit more ornate like crown molding. We suggest that you paint your crown molding white or buy white molding like this from Amazon because it'll make any other paint stand out.

6) Gray and White

Part of the point of a tray ceiling is to create an open look by making the ceiling seem taller. If you have a small master bedroom or if you're trying to create an open and airy look with your tray ceiling, gray and white is an excellent combination because both colors are light and make the room feel bigger and because gray is a calming color that should help you and your partner sleep. You can see that open and calming feel in this picture by Martha O'Hara Interiors.

7) Complement Lighting

Paint isn't a choice you make on its own. You'll need to coordinate it with other things around the room, and since any light fixtures you have are probably centered in the tray ceiling, it's essential to coordinate your paint color with light fixtures. With white fixtures, this is less difficult, but you want a unique theme for your master bedroom, so you should have fixtures in colors you like. Roland does a great job showing this with the master bedroom in this Barron Designs article. You can see how they used a color that matched the orange light fixture.

8) Brown and White

Your tray ceiling is a unique feature that makes your room stand out from most other bedrooms. This is as it should be since the master bedroom should be the most ornate bedroom. Tray ceilings make rooms look like they have taller ceilings, and white will help with that, so you need a way to make a white tray ceiling stand out; try using a white top and brown sides. The brown and white will provide a striking contrast and make it look more elegant, as you can see in these pictures from Pennies for a Fortune.

9) Match Wallpaper

Wallpaper isn't just for walls, you know. You have a tray ceiling in your bedroom! That's an incredible feature that makes your room look fancier and more elegant, as a master bedroom should. One way to accentuate this and make it look even fancier is to put wallpaper on the ceiling using these directions by Flora at From House to Home, then paint the sides of the tray with the same color to highlight it.

10) Paint Sides Only

Tray ceilings are dramatic in their own right, and since it's in a master bedroom, you can afford to be bolder than you are with most bedroom decorations. That said, you still want a calming room since it's a bedroom. A great way to accentuate the tray ceiling and create a bold look without making the room less restful is to paint the tray ceiling's sides and have another decoration, like the wood ceilings in this article from Repurpose Life as the focal point.

11) Walls Match Walls and Ceiling Matches Ceiling

This idea is probably the most typical tray ceiling idea, but that doesn't make it any less viable, and you might not be familiar with it if this is your first tray ceiling. With this idea, you treat the sides of the tray ceiling as part of the wall and treat the top part of the tray ceiling as part of the ceiling, and match paint colors to that. You can see the look this creates in this article from BabbFarmLife in which the walls and edges of the tray ceiling are brown, and all the horizontal parts are white.

12) Different Color From Walls

Sometimes you have to get creative and get colorful! In your master bedroom, you get to do everything you probably weren't supposed to as a child, including bright and colorful changes to the decor. Your tray ceiling doesn't need to be the same color as the rest of the bedroom. Instead, you can create a bold and lush look by choosing a completely different color, such as this lush cream and pink bedroom with a metallic tray ceiling.

13) Deep Browns

Usually, you'd want to avoid dark color for a ceiling, particularly in a small room, but a tray ceiling expands your options a lot since it makes your ceiling higher and makes the whole room feel larger. Dark colors can be soothing, so you can actually use dark colors for your tray ceiling, but what color should you choose? Deep browns are calming, and they create a luxurious feeling. Since they're neutral colors, they create a look that's both tasteful and lush, like the bedroom in this post.

14) Dark Crown Molding and Light Ceiling

Contrast is key to making something look bold in a lot of cases. You can use contrast to make your master bedroom look good and use neutral colors to keep it tasteful. Try bold trim like this black or dark brown roll from Amazon, or paint your trim in a dark color that matches your room's decor, then paint the top part of the tray ceiling in a light color. This is great for a white ceiling, but it works for any light color.

15) Blue and White

You might have to skip to about one and a half minutes into this video by Smart Interiors to see what we're talking about, but there are some fantastic things you can do with a blue tray ceiling. Paint the lower part of the ceiling blue like the ceilings at the end of the video, and paint the sides and trim white. This creates a dramatic effect no matter what, and blue is a restful color, making this combination ideal for a master bedroom ceiling.

16) Stencil

Tray ceilings give you a frame to work within, and you can actually treat them like a frame. Choose a design you like and stencil it inside the tray using the directions from this Stencil Stories article, then paint the tray's sides the same color as the rest of the ceiling. This turns the ceiling into a fifth wall by making the tray part into an accent wall of sorts. While this might be a bit much for most bedrooms, it's perfect for a master bedroom, and you'll have neat designs to look at while you count sheep.

17) Monochrome

Monochrome sounds kind of boring, but it's a fancy word for a single color. Basically, we're suggesting that you paint the lower ceiling, tray, and tray sides all one color. This Home Guides article goes into a little more detail on this, but the main reason for it's to make the room feel more put-together since the colors will match. After all, a tray ceiling might stand out enough on its own, and you want a more elegant look in a master bedroom.

18) Match Decorative Tile

Decorative tiles are a great way to make a tray ceiling stand out, but you might have shied away from them, thinking that you just wanted to paint the ceiling. After all, painting is quick and easy to do. These tiles from Amazon are designed to glue up so that you can do them on your own without the expense of a contractor, and since they're paintable, you can use the same color paint that's on your walls or find other ways to match the tile to the colors in your room. Try painting the tray sides to match

19) Single Color with All White Trim

You might’ve seen a few tray ceilings around, though they're not that common. If you have, you might have seen an example of a gaudy, multicolored one like the one in this article by The Decorologist. If you like that look, that's great. Go for it! For those of you who looked at that and hated the idea of it in your master bedroom, let's try something calmer and more put-together. To create a cohesive and calming look that befits a master bedroom, try painting the whole room one color, including the walls, tray, and ceiling, then using white trim.

20) All One Color With Tray Ceiling Accents

If you don't like the idea of a tray ceiling being the centerpiece of a room, there are ways to tone down the tray's style while creating a fantastic accent. Try painting the room all one color, with white being one of the best choices, and then designing a wood beam accent as Schloegel did in this remodel. The white makes the tray ceiling less prominent because the only color is the wood beams, and your eye is naturally drawn to them.

21) Match Crown Molding to Other Trim

Crown molding is an excellent idea for a master bedroom tray ceiling because it highlights the tray ceiling as the primary feature of the room. There are few things you can say about every tray ceiling, as Erica Lugbill from Lugbill Designs describes in this video, but crown molding is one thing that almost all of them will have. When you have crown molding, you always want it to match the other trim in the room, so if you're painting a new tray ceiling, make sure to get a paint that matches or repaint all the trim.

22) Monochromatic Shades

Using monochromatic shades means that you have multiple shades of the same color, but what does this mean for a tray ceiling? Paint your tray ceiling in the same color scheme as the rest of the room, and make it a deeper version of the wall color. This method works even if the rest of the room isn't in monochromatic shades because it makes the tray ceiling feel like it goes together with the rest of the room nicely. You can use this article by Shoko Wanger to make a room in monochromatic shades.

23) Match Lower Ceiling to Walls

You want your tray ceiling to stand out because it's a unique feature that most living rooms don't have, let alone bedrooms. One way to make the tray part stand out like an accent wall is to paint the tray ceiling one color and paint the lower part of the ceiling the same color as the walls. This makes the tray part stand out and gives you something interesting to look at instead of counting sheep at night. Using only the one color outside the tray ceiling will also keep the design from becoming too energetic and interfering with sleep.

24) Metallic

A master bedroom is unique in that you and maybe a partner are the only ones who need to enjoy it, which means that you don't have to worry about whether you're using in-fashion or typical design choices. Instead, you can focus entirely on what looks good, and metallic paints are sometimes the extra kick that you need to make a glamorous or attractive master bedroom. Metallic paints like these are great for blue and gold or gray, white, and silver themes.

25) Glitter Paint

Glitter isn't just a thing children use in their classrooms for messy and sparkly crafts. It's also a paint additive that can add some glamour to your project. You can see in this article by Ron's Painting LLC that glitter can create a textured and interesting look that'd match a glamorous or even a regal master bedroom. Glitter additives would make your tray ceiling a centerpiece of the room, and the added sparkle from your light fixture would make it stand out more in the daytime than at night.

26) Faux Tiered

One thing paint can do to a tray ceiling is intensify any architectural features. You can use the directions in this HGTV article to learn how to make a faux tiered ceiling, which might seem a little much for a bedroom, but you've already got a tray ceiling, and the master bedroom should be more ornate than the other bedrooms. Use paint and a couple other tools to make a faux tiered ceiling around your existing tray ceiling and add even more texture.

27) Texture

The tray ceiling adds depth to your room, but the highest part of the tray is further from view and might look dark and flat if you don't have the right light fixtures to accentuate it. Rather than choose your light fixture based on the fact that you have a tray ceiling, you can design a tray ceiling that's more visible on its own. Try using a textured roller like this when you paint it to make it stand out more.

28) Sample

When you go to paint your ceiling, you'll probably go to the store and get little cards with paint samples on them, but those little samples aren't enough to get a real feel for what the color will look like. For something as important as this prominent fixture in your master bedroom, you want to make sure it seems right since you'll be looking at it every day. We'd recommend that you get a sample and follow the other tips in this Designed Simple article.

29) Match Accents

Your master bedroom is going to be full of accents, particularly if you have a small sitting area and other luxuries, and one way to make sure your tray ceiling looks good is to match any accents. You can pick anything already in the room, as described in this myperfectcolor article, but we suggest using the bed or headboard if you're certain that you'll be using the same colors. Otherwise, pick a dresser or other large piece of furniture that's likely to stay the same color.

30) Bright

A tray ceiling is something that stands out, and you can make it a wonderful accent without playing with fancy glitter paints and other unusual and experimental choices. Instead, pick a bright color like this to paint the tray, and paint the entire tray to make it stand out. If that's a little too much bright color, you can paint the ceiling part of the tray only. After all, you do sleep here, and calming tones can be nice, too.

31) Patterned Version of Wall Colors

If you like your wall colors but don't want to make your room look monotonous by making the tray ceiling the same color, you don't have to switch it up completely. Instead, use a stencil or other pattern to make the same color look interesting, as the designer of the room in this photo did. The ceiling is the same color as the walls, but as you can see, the bedroom looks a lot more interesting with the patterned tray.

32) Gold

Gold is a more common bedroom color than you might think. It's a rich and beautiful color, making it well-suited to a master bedroom, but it doesn't have the aggressive, vibrant look of reds and a lot of other warm colors. You can paint the sides of the tray ceiling gold, or if you have a large master bedroom, you can copy some parts of this video to make your tray ceiling into a more ornate and grand decoration.

33) Natural

If you like rustic design and aren't sure what to do with your tray ceiling, you can create a natural look by lining the edges with natural stained wood trim and using a natural color like brown or green. You can also use earth tones like gray and tan, depending on your bedroom color scheme and what you like. Try using the directions in this Thrifty Decor Chick article to create this complete look, or skip the wood and just paint a natural tone for a rustic bedroom.

34) Galactic

You're designing a bedroom for the homeowner or master of the house, which unlocks a lot of design options that you may be used to thinking of as impractical, such as using very dark colors that are hard to paint over. If you like stargazing, the tray ceiling is a perfect place to create the illusion of a window into the sky, even if you're on a bottom floor. You can use these directions to paint this unique mural that might have seemed over-the-top in the past.

35) DIY Nailhead Trim Stencils

The tray ceiling is a perfect opportunity to create an accent for your bedroom, but what accent should you choose? We found this neat nailhead stencil idea from Design Sponge that we wanted to share with you. It creates a uniform pattern that's just fancy enough for a master bedroom, but that's still tasteful. You can paint this on just the top part of the tray ceiling to make it an interesting accent that you can look at when you're struggling to sleep.

What're you thinking about doing with your tray ceiling? Did any of these ideas inspire you? Let us know in the comments below.