Thanks to those of you who voted on this one.  I thought I should finally post the results:

What's a designer trick to make low ceilings appear higher?

• Use small scale furniture                                                                                                                                                          1 Vote
• Place furniture away from walls                                                                                                                                                0 Vote
• Tell guests to "duck" when they enter                                                                                                                                      0 Vote
• Paint vertical stripes on the walls                                                                                                                                          1 Vote
• Use lot's of accessories so that the eye focused on something other than the room's height                                    2 Votes

Preferred Answer:  Vertical stripes definitely make a room appear to be taller than it actually is.  Likewise, horizontal stripes can help to stretch your space and make a small room appear bigger.