WASHINGTON • What does the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City have in common with a house for a family of eight in Lutherville, United States?

The ceilings in these spaces demand that you look up.

"Statement ceiling" is a term designers use to describe a ceiling that has been given extra attention, sometimes even making it a focal point of a room.

And Ms Elizabeth Reich of Jenkins Baer Associates, an interior design company in Baltimore, said that "statement" can be anything a person wants it to be.

"The ceiling is a huge part of the overall impact on how you're going to feel in the space," she said. "There's a lot of different ways you can make it stand out and give the space a lot more character."

Ms Reich recently posted an Instagram photo of an ornate ceiling at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. In the picture, a wooden staircase winds around a light-blue stained-glass statement ceiling.

"Historically, when they built these, they paid a lot of attention to those kinds of architectural details, and they had these amazing craftsmen who turned your plain ceiling into a masterpiece," she said.

Although what Ms Reich saw in the museum is not realistic to replicate in the average home, she believes ceilings in any kind of room - living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, powder rooms - can be enhanced.

So what is the best way to maximise a ceiling's potential?

Ms Quintece Hill-Mattauszek, an Alexandria, Virginia, designer who is a "pattern fanatic", said a lot of people forget about their vertical real estate. "A lot of times when you're in a bedroom, you're on your back," she said. "So it's really nice to see something really cool."

Ms Reich says interesting wallpaper is particularly smart for powder rooms because their small size means not much is needed to make a big impact. "You can also do a contrast wallpaper on the ceiling to add texture or graphic interest. It's always fun to do something unexpected in a powder room."

For wallpaper on a bedroom ceiling, she has used grass cloth for a calming effect. "I tend to like the ceilings in bedrooms to be beautiful and serene, since this is your place to relax and unwind."

Coffered ceilings can provide a timeless look, and beams or planks can add character that will complement many styles.

Ms Andrea Houck, an interior designer in Arlington, Virginia, is working on a silver dining room ceiling in McLean.

She recently dedicated a blog post to the design element, calling the ceiling a "fifth wall". She described ceilings she had painted in verdant green and soft blue, and highlighted some of her favourite rooms by other designers, including a bathroom by designer Amanda Nisbet with white walls and a lavender ceiling.

Without the unexpected ceiling colour, she said, Ms Nisbet's white bathroom "would be predictable and mundane". And the finishes - high-gloss on the walls and matt on the ceiling - provide contrast.

Alternatively, a high-gloss ceiling could formalise a space, Ms Reich said. Any colours can be used to create lacquer, or high-gloss, finish, but dark colours, such as blue, work particularly well, she said.

"I think a ceiling is another piece that people just can't forget about," Ms Houck said. "It's so important. You can just tweak the colour ever so slightly and totally change the feeling in the room."

WASHINGTON POST