Known as the “fifth wall” in architectural circles, the ceiling often is overlooked in design and decorating. Drywall it, paint it white and you’re done, right? Not necessarily.
Dennis and Bonnie Christensen of Geneva had tired of their plain-Jane ceilings in their 1983 ranch house in Geneva. When they remodeled their family room in 2003, they asked their contractor, Bob McDowell of St. Charles-based McDowell Inc., to add some pizzazz to the simple 9-foot drywall ceiling.
McDowell’s solution was a coffered look, using beadboard and trimwork, painted off-white. “It gives the room character and warmth but keeps it light,” Dennis says.
Evanston-based architect DonnaLee Floeter says today’s homeowners are more likely to add ceiling treatments to their remodeling to-do lists than in past years–perhaps because in many cases, there’s simply more room to play with overhead.
Nine-foot ceilings are now a standard height, up from 8 feet, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
“Consumers say it provides more openness, more light and makes the home feel bigger,” says Jerry Howard, executive vice president and chief executive of NAHB.
Yet architects and builders report a move away from soaring, two-story ceilings. Yes, homeowners want more openness and light. But “cozy” is the operative word, not space just for the sake of space.
That’s where beams and beadboard, paint and press-tin panels can come in. Using pattern, texture, color or architectural details on ceilings, it’s possible to make a room seem larger or smaller, lighter or darker, warmer or cooler. It is also possible to cover flaws and imperfections. Whether a ceiling is cracked, stained or simply plain Jane, here are some easy and effective ideas to dress up your house’s “fifth wall.”
Playing with proportion
A popular way to bring attention to ceilings is with crown molding. Outlining ceilings with moldings gives the perception that a room has more size and depth, designers say.
Libby Langdon, designer for HGTV’s “Small Space: Big Style,” dispels the myth that you can’t add crown molding to ceilings that are only 8 feet tall. Even with a lower ceiling height, a thin crown molding of 2 to 3 inches will still lend an air of elegance and give a room a more finished look.
“It actually draws the eye up and makes the room look taller,” she says.
If a ceiling is too high, adding a strip of crown molding 18 inches below the ceiling and painting the portion above the molding the same color as the ceiling can make a room seem cozier. One of Floeter’s favorite ideas is using a cove molding on the wall, near the ceiling, with rope lighting hidden behind it.
Installing crown molding also can be a fairly inexpensive do-it-yourself job, at about $1.75 a square foot, depending on the material. In addition to wood, molding now comes in primed, lightweight PVC. Painted, it looks like plaster.
Ceiling medallions, used with a chandelier, also can add architectural interest to a ceiling. These plaster look-alikes are made of polyurethane foam, so they are lightweight and easily installed with screws or glue.
“Some people just let the light fixture hold it to the ceiling instead of attaching it permanently,” says Brooke Bowser, a spokesperson for www.artfulmedallions.com. “Then, they can take it with when they move.”
Warming up a room
For a vintage feel, homeowners can dress up dull ceilings with pressed-tin tiles or the cottage-look of beadboard panels. Another bonus: These ceiling treatments are great for covering flawed surfaces.
Among the do-it-yourself crowd, “tin ceilings are hot,” reports Keith Lattie, floor/walls supervisor at the Home Depot in Palatine. Similar in appearance to those once seen in five-and-dime stores, the patterned tin sheets come in 2-by-2-foot, 2-by-4-foot and 2-by-8-foot panels. Some panels can be nailed directly to drywall; others need to be tacked to wooden furring strips. Available in painted white, primed only or in brass, copper or chrome, they come in many patterns and start at $18 per 2-by-4 sheet.
Keep in mind that metal panels don’t provide great acoustics, so they may work better in a room with higher ceilings. Another option is faux tin tile, such as Armstrong’s TinTile Ceiling Tiles. They generally cost less than real tin panels and when painted, have the look of metal. They also improve acoustics by absorbing sound.
Beadboard, or plank, paneling comes in sheets for quick installation and is available at most lumberyards in a variety of grades and sizes. Thinner planks visually enlarge smaller spaces, and wider ones shrink an area that’s too large. Options include solid wood, plywood panels with a pine top veneer or lighter-weight mineral-fiber panels. Expect to pay $17 for 4-by-8-foot sheets.
Going undercover
If there are exposed pipes or ducts in the ceiling that you want to cover or you want to level an existing ceiling, a suspended ceiling may do the trick. More colorful, more durable and easier to install than in the past, suspended ceilings–lightweight tiles supported by metal gridwork–can be used in media rooms, kitchens, play rooms and home theaters, as well as basements.
Suspension ceilings typically require a drop of at least 6 inches from the current ceiling. Designs include three-dimensional, plaster-like patterns that conceal the metal gridwork, and tiles range from 35 cents to $3 a square foot.
Ceiling tiles typically are made of mineral fiber and come in 2-by-2-foot or 2-by-4-foot panels. Specialty tiles that resist moisture, mold and mildew can be used in damp basements. Because the tiles–such as USG’s ClimaPlus or Parkland Plastics’ SpectraTile–don’t retain moisture, they won’t sag or stain. In home theaters or playrooms, tiles that asorb or reflect sound, such as Owens Corning’s Quietzone Solserone, are available.
Delivering drama
HGTV’s Langdon encourages homeowners to dare to paint their ceilings colors other than white.
“Use metallic paint on a dining room ceiling for an old-Hollywood look,” she suggests. “For an outdoor look in a kitchen or kid’s room, paint it a pale color and attach garden lattice. Don’t be afraid to paint a really tall ceiling black; it will lower it and make the room more intimate. Wallpapering the ceiling also makes it cozier.”
Decorative, or faux, paint treatments also can add interest and warmth. Venetian plaster and other Old World techniques are strong choices for warming up rooms, according to The Rohm and Haas Paint Quaility Institute. Many paint stores now have a special section just for faux painting with the supplies required. There are even kits available that will help you make murals. For example, for clouds on a ceiling, there’s Watercolor Walls’ Cloud Wash Kit. For buying sources, go to www.watercolorwalls.com.
Of course, a fancy ceiling often costs more in time and money than the basic builder-white drywall ceiling. But to homeowners who invest the extra effort, it’s worth it.
When Susan Berk added a family room to her North Shore home and remodeled her kitchen last summer, she asked her contractor, Jeff Samuels of Samuels Homes in Northbrook, to replicate the ceilings in the rest of her 1924 Italianate house.
Samuels finished the kitchen’s 9-foot ceilings with a thin coat of plaster plus stenciling, echoing the ceilings in the original first-floor rooms. On the 11-foot family room ceiling, he used wooden beams like those in the living room and added stenciling to tie it to the kitchen.
“It cost more,” Berk says. “But it was worth it to replicate the Old World look and to make the new part of the house look like it had been there, not like an addition.”
