Ceiling Ideas
Customize on a budget. "I was challenged to outfit a rather large dressing room in this house," says architect Mark English, "and was amazed at the price to do so with conventional closet-company systems. In the end, we chose Ikea systems and adjusted the room dimensions slightly to relate to the product door sizes."
Embedding lighting into ceilings is a longtime designers' trick for illuminating without sacrificing valuable room space. Here, the compact ceiling fixtures simulate indoor stars, creating the feel of an indoor planetarium. What a creative way to add ambiance, especially when paired with the floor-to-ceiling windows.
A few guidelines to remember: 1. The bottom of your ceiling fixture should be no lower than 6'8" above the floor, unless it's hung over a table or island, to avoid hitting your head. 2. To create an eye-catching look in a large space with low ceilings, search for a fixture that is large in width or diameter, but with a lower profile in height like the option shown in this bedroom. 3. For drama and style in a long hallway with low ceilings, try repetition with a stylized flush-mounted fixture. 4. You can also create a unique look with cove lighting and architectural features when there is not space for a large chandelier or decorative light fixture.
A few guidelines to remember: 1. The bottom of your ceiling fixture should be no lower than 6'8" above the floor, unless it's hung over a table or island, to avoid hitting your head. 2. To create an eye-catching look in a large space with low ceilings, search for a fixture that is large in width or diameter, but with a lower profile in height like the option shown in this bedroom. 3. For drama and style in a long hallway with low ceilings, try repetition with a stylized flush-mounted fixture. 4. You can also create a unique look with cove lighting and architectural features when there is not space for a large chandelier or decorative light fixture.
This is a detail shot from the same kitchen in the image above.
This is a kitchen makeover. Imagine how much smaller and darker it would seem with a drop, drywalled ceiling.
This is a modern take on a coffered ceiling - it almost seems like I'm looking at the skeleton of a coffered ceiling, and the added lights make sure the ceiling is the star of the room.
Possible for great room.
Curves are in. The small barrel ceiling-within-a-ceiling adds height while breaking up the square lines in this bathroom. It provides a wonderful opportunity for a lovely light fixture to live and brighten our day.
Look to the skies. Consider a series of skylights to draw the eye upward and brighten a space. Notice how the shape and direction of the skylights fall in line with the doorway at the end of the space, making for a cohesive and seamless integration of the skylights into the overall design.
Modern metal. These metal beams add interest and break up the repetitive horizonal flow of the wood ceiling. Great for a contemporary ceiling treatment.
Skylights can be a pain, I know - if they're not installed correctly they can leak and that is a nightmare. But when they are done right, they're fantastic - like in this sun-drenched space.
Sometimes a simple, wood paneled ceiling with wood beams is the answer. In this room, the wood beams break down the large space while the wood finishes tie everything together. In a room where the main sitting area is away from the source of light and view, the wood beams direct the eye towards the window and out to the landscape beyond.
Interesting filtered light
The panels in a coffered ceiling can be of just about any material. In this example, the panels are decorative and translucent, enabling the light to come from a source hidden above the ceiling line. The design of these coffer panels is very structured: a series of layered grids in a fun, somewhat abstract design of strong colors. This large room has multiple activity areas, each placed beneath its own coffered ceiling. While the overlapping grids give general order and structure, the colors reinforce the center of the ceiling and each activity area. The panels in a coffered ceiling can be of just about any material. In this example, the panels are decorative and translucent, enabling the light to come from a source hidden above the ceiling line. The design of these coffer panels is very structured: a series of layered grids in a fun, somewhat abstract design of strong colors. This large room has multiple activity areas, each placed beneath its own coffered ceiling. While the overlapping grids give general order and structure, the colors reinforce the center of the ceiling and each activity area.
In a simple bedroom with a low (less than 8') ceiling, the step up with indirect light provides spaciousness. As with the above example, the stepped ceiling provides a centering device in a room that has some angled walls and asymmetrical configuration. Simply by borrowing from the attic space and adding some small framing extras, a ceiling such as this is easily achieved in a second-floor bedroom, or a first floor room when there's no second floor above.
With larger and larger kitchens, and the importance of them in daily life and entertaining (ever been to a party that didn't end up being centered in the kitchen?), they are ideal for skylights. Skylights can aid in lighting work surfaces and parts of the kitchen that might otherwise be dark. The view out the two windows in this kitchen is of trees that shade the space, but the skylight helps to bring in some sun to brighten it.
The same can be said of the skylight over the kitchen; the ceiling opening is much larger than the skylight opening, so the effect is more pronounced than if they were both small. This makes sense in terms of maximizing natural light, but also in terms of keeping the skylight small for various reasons: structure, weight of glass, using a prefab unit, ease of installation and so forth.
skylight well with color?
Ceiling fixture
Love these chairs
Molding and paint
Placement of crown molding. Great idea.
Painted beams to pull wall color up
Asymmetrical ceiling for offset furniture
Fireplace and ceiling connection
Tying ceiling with cathedral, interesting. Kitchen coffer extension
Recessed lighting/tray
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