Secrets of the Perfect Suspended Ceiling: Tips from a Professional

"You can not only make a perfect ceiling, but also combine it with cornice and even a socket. But for this you need to find builders with hands and brains," explains interior decorator Oksana Panteleeva. And the most important thing is to think about whether you really need a suspended ceiling before installation begins.

Oksana Panteleeva, an interior decorator and stylist by profession, graduated from the "Details" school. She constantly renovates and repaints her apartment and shares her experiences in her blog "On the Wave of Decoration". Arguments against

1. Chemical film – there's not enough chemistry and various gadgets in our lives, so we're also bringing it home.

2. Glossy and colored – this is not trendy, not in style, we're not living in a sex club, but in the most normal dream homes.

3. Low-quality ceiling reveals itself by its appearance, while a quality one costs money.

Arguments for

Fast. Simple. Cheap. Protects from leaks.

Personal Experience

In 2010, I installed a suspended ceiling in my St. Petersburg apartment on the kitchen and hallway precisely for these reasons. Do I like it? No. But at that time, I had no alternative. It's not very realistic to restore a ceiling 3.5 meters high with cornice on your own in a week, so I ordered a white, matte, fabric ceiling. It looks okay, but I want the ceiling to look as it did before.

This is what I mean: I only accept white, matte, fabric suspended ceilings. All other films go in a direction I'm not fond of. Actually, most colleagues feel the same way. Because wanting to do something cheap later can reveal hidden beauty and turn your dream home into a dull creation.

The Decorator's Nightmare

How it's done

Everyone knows how to install a suspended ceiling? Two strong men come to your house with a heat gun and a roll of future ceiling. They lay the profile around the perimeter, stretch the ceiling, and then cover visible gaps with plastic contour tape. In 2–4 hours, the ceiling is ready. Note for yourself:

1. Suspended ceiling will consume several centimeters of ceiling height. Depending on its flatness, you’ll get a certain result.

2. You cannot make a suspended ceiling and save your historical cornice. The profile must be fixed to the wall – thus, if you live in a house from the 19th century with unique cornice, either you forget about this history or you lose the cornice.

About Cornice and Suspended Ceiling

They can be combined. But! There is always the dreaded "but" and it relates primarily to the professionalism of your builders who took on this project.

Option 1: make a gypsum box for future cornice or built-in lighting. On the photo, you can see the sequence of actions: a gypsum box is made, the ceiling is stretched, and the gypsum cornice is mounted.

Option 2: choose cornice where the wall height significantly exceeds the ceiling height.

On the illustration, you can see a profile that is almost equal in dimensions to both the wall and the ceiling. We need to find a cornice profile where the wall height is much greater.

All main load should be placed on the wall surface. You shouldn’t glue gypsum or polyurethane to a suspended ceiling. Imagine how much work is needed to achieve the perfect result? Carefully mount and paint the cornice, without soiling the ceiling.

What about a socket for a chandelier? You make a pre-installed bracket or special platform in the right place. During installation of the suspended ceiling, holes are made for future mounting of a gypsum socket to the pre-installed brackets with screws.

Remember that all technical openings in the ceiling for lights or anything else should be made exclusively by professional installers. Do not try to do it yourself.

And here’s another secret: go to Google, type "beautiful suspended ceiling," and see a hundred or thousand photos of how never to do it!

Read also:

• How to Create a Modern Interior in an Old-Style Apartment: 24 Examples
  
• How to Cheaply and Quickly Repair a Destroyed Apartment: Tips from Pros
  
• Chronology of Renovation: Sequence of Work