Content
- Choosing the ceiling decoration option
- Painting and whitewashing the ceiling
- Wallpapering the ceiling
- Pasting with polystyrene boards
- Plastic Panel Trim
- Drywall Ceilings
- False ceilings
- Dropped ceilings
- Stretch ceiling
Having decided to start a repair, you will have to choose the color palette of the room, choose the method of decorating the walls, ceiling and floor, find the optimal combination of practicality, aesthetics and, of course, price. If you study the possibilities of modern decoration, you can save the lion’s share of the family budget, because everyone knows how unplanned alterations can lead to huge, irrational waste.
Choosing the ceiling decoration option
Any redecoration starts from the ceiling, the interior of the room as a whole depends on its completeness, design and construction. To date, there are a lot of options for finishing the ceiling. They are selected based on the preferences of the owners, the purpose of the premises and, of course, the cost. When the question of saving is acute, classic budget finishing options are chosen – painting and whitewashing, wallpapering or polystyrene boards. Relatively inexpensive, but also more practical and aesthetic are suspended ceilings. And, of course, when the question of the price of repair is not so acute, the choice may fall on elite stretch ceilings.
Let’s try to describe in detail each type of finish to help you choose the best option..
Painting and whitewashing the ceiling
One of the most ancient, laborious and dirty methods requiring a perfectly flat ceiling surface with neat joints of ceiling tiles. Everyone remembers how much whitewashing has to be washed off the floor and furniture after painting or whitewashing the ceiling. In addition, it is quite difficult to achieve an ideal monophonic surface without streaks with chalk solution or paint for the ceiling.
On the other hand, painting and whitewashing – has been and remains the most budgetary option for repairs. And one cannot but admit that a qualitatively reconstructed painted ceiling looks rather neat and aesthetically pleasing. Plus, at your discretion, you can tint white with other shades..
Wallpapering the ceiling
This is a less “dirty” and time-consuming method than whitewashing, but just as inexpensive, especially along with suspension and tensioning systems. There are a lot of design options, from combinations of wallpapers of different drawings to their coloring in any color..
If you use special wallpaper for the ceiling (ideally, liquid wallpaper), they will retain their original appearance for a long time. It is not recommended to use them in the bathroom or in the kitchen. In addition, the ceiling wallpaper is unlikely to smooth out the unevenness of the ceiling, so the glued surface should be as flat as possible..
Pasting with polystyrene boards
This decoration option is very similar to wallpapering, so we will not dwell on it for long. The only thing, unlike wallpaper, ceiling polystyrene tiles are able to withstand moisture and smooth out small flaws in the surface of the ceiling.
Plastic Panel Trim
A good option for finishing the ceiling are PVC panels. They are durable, durable, have good sound insulation and are resistant to moisture and high temperatures. The latter allows them to be used with LED and halogen spotlights. PVC panels perfectly mask the unevenness of the ceiling, pipes and wiring. In general, this is a budget alternative to more expensive false and false ceilings..
Drywall Ceilings
This is a versatile and inexpensive false ceiling that allows you to bring all kinds of design ideas to life, hide any surface defects, bumps, lighting, wiring, etc..
Perhaps the only drawback of drywall, in his fear of moisture, so it is not suitable for the bathroom. Otherwise, drywall is an almost perfect finishing material..
Benefits:
- Sheathing of any, even unprocessed surface;
- The ability to hide wiring, pipes, ceiling seams and other irregularities;
- Obtaining an absolutely flat and smooth surface;
- Creating a multi-level ceiling;
- Carrying out an integrated lighting system;
- Excellent thermal insulation and the ability to maintain a microclimate in the room;
- Safety;
- Heat resistance and incombustibility;
- Low cost in comparison with stretch ceilings.
Unlike the previous methods of finishing, you will have to tinker with the installation of drywall panels – install the frame, mount the plates, and carry out the subsequent decorative finish. Depending on the unevenness of the ceiling and the volume of hidden wires and communications, you can lose 5-10 cm in height. On the other hand, these are minor disadvantages, because as a result you get a beautiful, inexpensive, perfectly flat ceiling of your design.
If you are interested in decorating ceilings with drywall, be sure to read our article about it!
False ceilings
In addition to the aforementioned gypsum plasterboard ceilings, hem ceilings can be made of wood fiber boards (MDF) and MDF. These are durable, safe, moisture-resistant finishing coatings, a huge color and texture variety.
MDF and fiberboard can simulate wood, tile, raw brickwork or natural stone. The surface of the plates is easily painted with enamel and oil paints, glued with a film, decorated with slats and other elements, thereby creating an imitation of beams. Such a false ceiling will create an “expensive ceiling effect” and realize a lot of interesting design solutions.
Dropped ceilings
The most popular type of ceiling in the middle price category. A suspended ceiling is a design when various finishing materials are fixed to a wooden or metal frame. With it, you can easily hide all the flaws and irregularities of the ceiling, wiring and communications, you can conduct a climate ventilation system, install built-in lights.
Distinguish:
- Cassette ceilings – durable, strong, moisture-proof and fireproof steel or aluminum plates (cassettes), most often used in public places – restaurants, hotels, offices, medical facilities, etc.,
- Armstrong type ceilings are a budget option of decoration, which has become widespread both for office buildings and home rooms. These are easy-to-install, inexpensive, aesthetic plates of pressed mineral fiber with thermal insulation, fire resistance and high reflectivity, which allows a good saving on lighting.
- Slatted ceilings are a very durable, shockproof, moisture resistant and fireproof metal ceiling. It does not need painstaking care, is not subject to decay, does not accumulate dirt and dust.
- Mirror ceilings – allow you to create a rich, spacious and stylish design with plenty of light and depth of space.
Stretch ceiling
The latest type of ceilings – elite modern trendy stretch ceilings. In addition to the fact that this type of decoration looks very expensive and stylish, it is also a rather practical way of decorating the ceiling..
- Stretch ceilings create an absolutely perfect surface, hide asymmetrical forms of the room, close all irregularities and communications;
- Stretch ceilings hold considerable weight, in case your neighbors decide to flood;
- The material does not leak moisture, which allows it to be used in all rooms without exception.
- A very wide variety of designs – from the choice of color or texture (matte, glossy or satin) to the application of photo printing, sparkles, jewelry and other things.
Unfortunately, the installation of suspended ceilings will not do without minuses:
- This is the most expensive type of finish;
- They can be installed only by professionals using special equipment (gas gun);
- The canvas is afraid of mechanical damage, sharp objects, easily pierced.
Stretch ceilings are not installed in cold rooms without heating or with temperatures below +5 they lose their technological properties.
Choosing a ceiling design depending on the room
Now you know the features of each type of finish and can make a choice.
But remember that the choice of ceiling finish material is highly dependent on the location. You can’t wallpaper the ceiling in the bathroom, and hope that after a month the appearance of the ceiling will remain in its original form. Most likely, your wallpaper will be divorced, if not peeled off.
In the living room
The ceiling in the living room must be flat, aesthetic, consistent with the general interior of the room. Of all the above options, almost everyone will do..
Want modern and expensive – stretch ceiling. The small room that needs to be expanded is a mirrored suspended ceiling. Limited in the budget for repairs – plaster false ceiling. And the most budget option is wallpapering, provided that you have a completely flat ceiling surface.
Perhaps not a very suitable option for the living room would be a suspended cassette ceiling or trim with plastic panels. They are more suitable for office buildings, offices or medical facilities, but are unlikely to give your living room more style and comfort. Although, of course, this is a matter of preference.
In the bedroom
The choice of ceiling in the bedroom is not much different from the choice of ceiling in the living room. The main requirement is that he should not focus too much on himself and have to rest.
Not the best option in the bedroom would be a mirrored ceiling. He focuses too much attention on himself, does not let you relax, especially considering that in the bedroom, in a lying position, your eyes will constantly rest on him. For this reason, do not install a metal rack ceiling there. If you want to visually expand and deepen the space, it is best to use the glossy surface of the stretch ceiling.
Drywall looks very good in the bedroom, MDF panels, textured ceiling tiles, suspended ceilings.
For a children’s room, you can devote yourself entirely to a flight of imagination and bold decisions like colorful illustrations, cartoony skies, stars, etc..
Read about other subtleties of designing children’s rooms here..
On the kitchen
Kitchen – This is a place with constant vapors, temperature changes and special requirements for hygiene, so the kitchen ceiling should be moisture resistant, fireproof, environmentally friendly and easy to clean. Whitewashing and painting the ceiling in the kitchen, as well as wallpapering, are long gone, due to their fragility. Stains, stains quickly appear on such ceilings, they crumble, peel off, and due to the large accumulation of steam, they become an excellent environment for the propagation of fungi.
If there is a question of price, it is better to use laminated polystyrene tiles or relatively inexpensive PVC panels.
With large irregularities, gypsum, suspended or stretch ceilings will be the best solutions.
To the bathroom
The requirements for the bathroom are the same as for the kitchen. Due to the large number of vapors, the risk of accumulation of fungi and pathogenic bacteria, the need for regular cleaning of surfaces, plasterboard ceilings, ceilings, pasted over with wallpaper or finished with particleboard and fiberboard panels without special impregnation will not fit in the bathroom at all.
Few people can boast of a large bathroom, so the suspended ceiling and mirror ceilings will be an ideal option, which will expand the space, add more light and shine.
Plus, they are quite easy to care for, they are perfectly clean from stains and plaque.
A more expensive alternative is the stretch ceiling, which is also ideal for the bathroom..
In the table you can see the final recommendations for each room.
The choice of finishes depending on the room
| Type of finish | Living room | Bedroom | Kitchen | Bathroom |
| Coloring and whitewashing | Yes | Yes | undesirable | undesirable |
| Wallpapering | Yes | Yes | Yes | undesirable |
| Pasting with polystyrene boards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| False ceilings (drywall, MDF and fiberboard) | Yes | Yes | Yes | undesirable |
| Dropped ceilings | Yes | yes (SLR not recommended) | Yes | Yes |
| Stretch ceiling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Choose a ceiling for the house
For Khrushchev
The small height of the ceilings in Khrushchev, unfortunately, is not a myth, but a harsh reality. Their maximum height is 2.40 m or even less if the floor was replaced and screed. Naturally, in such conditions it is quite difficult to install a suspended or suspended ceiling, which will steal from an already small height of 5-10 cm. But it is still possible if the real surface of the ceiling does not have too large transitions, and the ceiling can be installed with minimal loss of space.
In Khrushchev, it is recommended to mount ceilings with a mirror or glossy surface for visual expansion and deepenings of space. Correct placement of lights will also have a similar effect..
For a modern new building
Unlike Khrushchev, choosing a ceiling for a new building is much easier. Here, the height of the ceilings is greater and the quality is newer, so you can choose almost any type of finish. It should only be taken into account that within 2-3 years, the new building will sit down a bit, which may affect the geometry of the premises. Therefore, finishing materials, especially for the ceiling, should be installed with some margin. Ideally for new buildings, all types of suspension and tension systems are suitable.
For a private home
In a private house, the issue of thermal insulation is acute, therefore, the material of the ceiling should well retain heat in the house. Since the external covering of the ceiling must also take into account the insulation layer (from expanded clay, mineral wool or foam), it is best to use frame structures – suspended and suspended ceilings.
For suspended ceilings, a frame is first assembled for attaching an external ceiling (cassettes, drywall, etc.), and then a layer of insulation is laid in the space between the profiles. For stretch ceilings, on the contrary, they first create a frame of bars for insulation, lay it, and only then pull the outer canvas.
Lighting options
It depends on the choice of the light source and the correct arrangement of the light which room you will end up with – small and dark, large, but cold or warm and cozy.
Chandeliers and lamps
The classic lighting option is a chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Gives a lot of warm light, perfectly fits almost any kind of interiors, gives the room an exquisite cosiness.
Remember the weight of the lamp! It is not safe to attach a heavy chandelier to lightweight drywall; it is better to mount it on the concrete base of the ceiling.
Unfortunately, this type of lighting is not very suitable for modern suspended and suspended ceilings, therefore, it is gradually replaced by built-in lighting.
Spotlights
- They allow you to create the necessary lighting around the perimeter of the entire ceiling and make it a certain pattern, if it is provided by the designer;
- Simplicity of installation of fixtures and replacement of bulbs;
- Safety. Spotlights do not heat the ceiling;
- Swivel models allow you to change the direction of lighting as necessary;
- This is a relatively inexpensive way of lighting..
LED strip
A very non-standard and non-trivial approach to lighting rooms is LED strip. You can not only pick up an unusual color of lighting, but even create a real light show at home, thanks to the dynamic effects – smoothly changing colors, light music, waves, etc..
Modern trends in the design of ceilings
What Ceiling Designers Recommend Today?
- Light neutral tones make the room more spacious, lighter, higher. If you decide to use patterns or bright colors – accent them in one small place so that the room does not become clumsy.
- Perfectly divide the space into zones allow multi-level ceilings. For example, a protruding section of the ceiling will perfectly focus on the bed in the bedroom.
- Glossy, mirror and varnished surface scatters the light, creating the effect of 3-dimensional space.
- For a low room, a plain monophonic light drywall ceiling with LED strips located at the edges is ideal. Such an illusion will visually raise the ceiling.
- The ceiling, sheathed with wood or wood paneling, combined with light furniture gives the interior naturalness, wealth and comfort.
- The glossy finish of the bathroom walls matches the matte ceiling.
DIY ceiling decor
The eternal question of repair is to do it yourself or to provide work to professionals. In fact, many of the above methods of decorating the ceiling are not particularly difficult and can be done independently. You can easily whiten or paint the ceiling yourself, paste over it with wallpaper or polystyrene boards. With some dexterity and learning video lessons, you can put a plasterboard or MDF panel on a frame.
The only type of ceiling, the installation of which is recommended to be entrusted to specialists, is a stretch ceiling. Firstly, because at least a little practice is needed to install it. Secondly, because the canvas is stretched with the help of a special expensive gas gun, which is not practical for you to buy for one repair.
