Sistine Chapel and so much more…

We all have seen pictures of famous ceiling paintings and can name a few. On top of the list is of course the “Sistine Chapel” in the Vatican and even I, who is not a fan of this little tax free State in the middle of Italy, yes, even I took my time and was laying on the floor for an hour -like so many tourists from all over the world; I wanted to take it all in, wanted to admire Michelangelo’s masterpiece, wanted to look at his famous colorful fresco.

Ceilings, have always fascinated me, what a great space to display art and color. There are so many more famous ceiling paintings, and I have been fortunate, saw a few of them. The Sistine chapel has never been my favorite, there were other’s, that I found more interesting. One of my all time favorites is the ceiling in the Grand Foyer in der Opéra Garnier in Paris. Even if you don’t like classical music or opera, it is worth a visit. If you ever go to Paris, take a look at it. It’s stunning!

Then there are all the beautiful churches and castles in Austria where I am from. The famous Castle Belvedere in Vienna,  a beautiful building, full of great architecture and art, there is so much to see…still my eyes went up to the ceiling.

I decided early on that I would have a ceiling painting in my home later on. Of course, I was a child then and didn’t really get the whole picture. It became quickly apparent that a masterpiece on our ceiling would be out of the question without hitting a jackpot…any jackpot.

We rented our first apartment aka “the shoebox” when we were still in college. There was not a lot of money for furniture or other accessories left. We needed a living space, bed, table, and chairs and a working refrigerator, all other things besides that, were considered luxury articles and were not in our budget…like a mural on the ceiling.

I still remember looking at the white walls in our small apartment and tried to figure out what I could do, to make space a little bit more cozy and comfortable. My husband went to help his Mom and was gone for the day, and I decided to bring some color into our lives. The carpet was dark blue, the walls and ceilings were white, it didn’t look very inviting. I went out and got some blue paint, that matched our carpet and started painting. I painted our living room ceiling royal blue.

My husband came home, he looked and didn’t say anything. He is more on the quiet side and doesn’t just say something without thinking about it. He looked at the ceiling from every angle he possibly could find and then there was the verdict. He liked it…so did all our friends.

That all happened over 30 years ago. Wherever we moved to from there, at least one room always had a painted ceiling.

Ceiling paintings today can be different, of course, there are the ones that require hiring an art student, but there are other ideas anybody can do, even with a small budget.

I found some colorful pictures that I would like to share, just to give you an idea about a unique space The Ceiling.

Doesn’t it look elegant, a classy look with a painted ceiling?

 What a genius idea, I can see it in a boys room!

 

Too cute, isn’t it? I bet any kid would like that.

Ceilings and walls colored in a matching color scheme. Good idea.

What a clever idea for a small space like this guest bathroom.

OK, this pool is stunning, to begin with, but it wouldn’t look that great with a white ceiling would it?

Great projects for any art student or hobby painter. Not as expensive as one might think if you shop around.

Someone had a great idea for a ceiling painting in a smoking room. I believe every smoker will quit smoking when they decide to do so and no advertisement or warning print in the world will change that. However, I do have to admit that this ceiling painting in a smoking room would have made me uncomfortable…then, way back then when I still smoked.

Daily Prompt Write about anything you’d like, but make sure that all seven colors of the rainbow — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet — make an appearance in the post, either through word or image.