It’s not often that the space above a room gets more than a passing glance. We’re looking at décor, flooring and windows without giving due consideration to what’s overhead. It’s just a ceiling: It’s white, it’s flat – what else could it be?
The options, it turns out, are plentiful.
“We are all about mixing our ceilings up,” said Ben Lively, vice president of sales for Arthur Rutenberg Homes, a custom builder based in Buckhead. “We’re all about details.”
Those details turn plain ceilings into eye-popping attention-getters with rounded, vaulted, coffered and beamed accents, highlighted by scalloped trim, contrasting paint colors and strategically placed lighting. But those elements often begin with height.
“I’ve been building for 40 years, and I remember when all ceilings were 8 feet,” said Lively. “Then they were nine; now we’re seeing 10 mixed in with nine. Ceilings aren’t automatically the same.”
Lively also remembers the days when every new home in Atlanta had a tray ceiling in the master bedroom. “There’s still some interest in trays, but they don’t look the same,” he said. “In the ’90s, they were 2 feet in from the corners and then flat again. Now they may be angled for six inches then go straight up for a foot. There are many more interesting details.”
One popular style that provides plenty of detailed options is the coffered ceiling, in which beams form a crisscross pattern. That design affords room for recessed and back lighting, various color palettes and intricate moldings that comes with a considerable price tag.
“A coffered ceiling has a lot more detail, so there’s more material and labor,” said Lively. “It’s probably the most expensive way to go, but it does depend on the type of beam. Say you want to put in a coffered, 22-by-22 feet area; that probably adds about $4,000 to the price.”
Another unusual and stunning option is a barrel ceiling. Rutenberg Homes features options that include inlays with wallpaper that mimics the look of stone. Vaulted and beamed ceilings are popular in dens or club rooms. Beams can also be added to flat ceilings to add visual appeal.
“We do a lot of false beams; in a kitchen with a flat ceiling, we can nail 8-by-8 beams to the ceiling so you get a rustic look,” said Lively.
Builders with Fortress Homes are also seeing an uptick in requests for detailed ceilings. At Stone Mill Creek, a development in Powder Springs priced into the low $500,000s, floor plans come with several ceiling options.
“We offer a mix of ceiling styles,” said agent Tammie Calhoun. “In master bedrooms and family rooms, we have vaulted ceilings. We offer coffered ceilings in the kitchens and some masters. Some plans have 9-foot ceilings up and down.”
Even if homeowners opt for the basic flat ceiling, Lively said more attention is being given to the way the space can be enhanced.
“Even flat ceilings are now being done in different colors that are paired to the walls; that warms up a room and makes the ceilings seem taller,” he said. “We use a lot of transitional colors – a stone gray with white trim, for example. That color contrast also lets you see the crown molding and its details against a darker backdrop.”
And no matter what style the ceiling takes, one thing is currently true, Lively added: White is out.
“In our houses, which start in the $700,000s and go up to $2.5 million, almost every ceiling is now painted a color. It may be a few shades different from what’s on the walls, but it’s never white.”
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