There must be horizontal divisions of colour which attract the attention and make one oblivious of what is above them.
Every one knows the effect of a paper with perpendicular stripes in apparently heightening a ceiling which is too low, but not every one is equally aware of the contrary effect of horizontal lines of varied surface.

But in the use of perpendicular lines it is well to remember that, if the room is small, it will appear still smaller if the wall is divided into narrow spaces by vertical lines.

If it is large and the ceiling simply low for the size of the room, a good deal can be done by long, simple lines of drapery in curtains and portieres, or in choosing a paper where the composition of design is perpendicular rather than diagonal.
To apparently lower a high ceiling in a small room, the wall should be treated horizontally in different materials.

Three feet of the base can be covered with coarse canvas or buckram and finished with a small wood moulding.

Six feet of plain wall above this, painted the same shade as the canvas, makes the space of which the eye is most aware.