One of the easiest, most cost effective (& chic-est) upgrades y'all can make to your space is adding a ceiling medallion to your overhead light. They work with ANY light fixture and add instant architectural interest to even the blandest of spaces...it's like the perfect jewelry to your outfit.
Ceiling Medallions come in a variety of sizes and styles, from highly ornate to really clean & simple. I let my light fixture help dictate the medallion style & size I select. In the above pic, our simple mid-century globe got paired with a more stylized, ornate medallion that's in proportion to the globe. For me, the more simplistic the style of light fixture overall, the more cra cra I tend to go with the medallion. And I generally prefer to keep the size of the medallion in proportion to the light fixture as well. Here's an overall room shot so y'all can see the medallion & light in situ:
Pic by Bob Martus
The gal above is just giving us all kinds of EXTRA, so y'all can see the medallion is really, really simple and I went smaller in scale to not pull as much focus from my light fixture 'licious...and here's what the overall room is serving:
Pic by Bob Martus
Pic by Bob Martus and obvi the light was completely cropped out of this shot, but it's there...promise!
Generally, ceiling medallions get installed BEFORE your light fixture with a bit of contractor glue, some screws & patching, caulking, then painted to match ceiling, etc. Though there are some medallions that come in two halves, so installing prior to your light fixture isn't always necessary...and some medallions need to have their centers cut out too...so, I recommend hiring someone out for installation (& BONUS while you're at it, you can upgrade your actual light fixture too: another super easy way to make a huge style statement in your space). In all the pics above though y'all, my medallions are just put up with sticky tack. Uh huh. Y'all read that right. #Stickytack. I KNOW that sounds way janky...BUT: Since I had the medallions put up at the same time my lights were installed, the ceiling plate of the light fixture itself is actually helping to hold the ceiling medallion in place. As a renter, the medallions can move with me wherever I go and be reused. Ceiling medallions can be scored at Home Depot, Lowe's, even more specialty retailers, like Architectural Depot for lots of style and price variety...now go out and put a medallion on it, Betch-- you'll be so glad you did!