have you seen these ceilings?

Not only is a good ceiling important in a room design, it can also drive the direction of the design. It finishes the room—or can be a place to start. I'm very sensitive to this issue because the ceilings in my house are ugly. I mean hideous. They are square acoustical tiles, some of them even with those little holes throughout. Ugh. I hate looking up. And have avoided this work, because it is difficult, and messy. But something must be done, or the design work I've done in all these rooms, from the floors down, will always feel incomplete. These ceilings are literally bringing these rooms down. But, address the ceiling, and you have created a whole, complete, coherent design. I love all of these ceilings for inspiration. And would take any of them. Now, who wants to do the work for me?!

Bill Ingram

Exposed beams, even when painted, are dramatic. This design would totally fit the style of my house.
 
via 6th Street Design School

I'm not usually a fan of tin ceilings, but in this loft space, painted white, and modernized with track lighting, it feels contemporary and really works for me. This would be an easy solution I could achieve myself. I wish it were my favorite!


Oh, these ceilings with their faux bois panels between the the beams are killing me! I want to make this happen. Haven't figured out how to do it yet though. (Or maybe just how to do it affordably.)

Tom Scheerer

A very similar look, but these wood planks look real. Adore this. I can't figure out how to make this happen without spending a fortune on materials and installation.

Traditional Home

Really love this rustic wood ceiling with those beat-up super-distressed beams. Wouldn't this lend such instant character to any space?



My current inspiration. This is what blogger Chania did in her bedroom. Isn't it beautiful!? I am thinking I can make this happen with readymade wainscot panels and mdf boards. It would still be a ton of work, even with lots of help, but it might be affordable. Check out Chania's before and after here. She did an amazing job.

8 comments

Fran said...

Love your inspiration and I love that last photo! Her before & afters are insane!! Her bedroom & bathroom are incredible. We're redoing our bathroom and my husband put beadboard paneling on our ceiling - love the look! I found a great resource for the beadboard if you're looking!

Karen said...

I have so many projects to do in my house that adding any touches to the ceiling will have to wait, but these are all so inspiring.

Shannon @ Project Shannon said...

These are really cool photos - but here's a question: I have really low ceilings (like I can touch them without really even trying). Do you think low ceilings work with fancy details like these? Or do I just have to give up the dream and forget about it?

Ms. Bake-it said...

I love what Chania did to her bedroom! I filed the information in my idea binder because I would love to do that to one or two of my rooms someday. I would like to know your answer/thoughts in regard to Project Shannon's question. I too have low/standard ceilings and have considered whether or not it would work.

Thanks for sharing!

~ Tracy

casey at loft and cottage said...

Hi all, I emailed Shannon directly but will share my answer here too for Tracy and others. So, with a low or standard ceiling, I still think you could do a few of these--the tin ceiling and the beadboard don't project too much down into the room so you won't lose too much height. However, I noticed Shannon has done a planked wall in her bedroom--so for that room, with some texture and lots of interest on the wall, I might keep the ceiling much more simple and just paint it a light color--very soft aqua, chartruese, or the palest shade of your wall color. Hope this helps!

Simple Daisy said...

Oh my....I love all your choices!! I really love the white painted tin ceiling! So cute:)

Anonymous said...

Oooh SO pretty. You're right - a ceiling can really make or break a space. We had drop ceilings in our old basement and, instead of drywalling it, we just swapped out the tiles for some "prettier" tiles we picked up at Lowes. It made a HUGE difference and wasn't too expensive.

Oh how I'd love to have the rustic beams in the TH pic in my someday farm house!

René said...

Casey, you think your ceilings are bad. I agree though, a nice ceiling can make a room. Love those images!

-Rene