also never paint the ceilings of rooms. it makes the space look smaller and enclosed. always leave them white to make the room open up.
I disagree there. If there's nice crown moulding at the top, a dark color on a ceiling can actually make the room seem taller. If the eye is drawn up, and there's other vertical lines in the room, it can seem cleaner and more sophisticated.
depends on the room. if you have high ceilings you can get away with it, a lot of times it looks better