Ceilings

A ceiling is the common name for the upper portion of a room. Ceilings are made from different materials depending on the construction type and desired appearance. Domestic ceilings will most often be plastered and painted over a substrate of plasterboard. Commercial ceilings are most often made of tiles with frames of aluminium.

Ceilings are not generally a structural element but are a finished surface which conceals the underside of the floor or roof situated above. Ceilings are described according to their appearance and construction, both of which aspects continue to have both practical and decorative purposes. Suspended or floating ceilings are common in office and commercial buildings and in older buildings which have been converted for domestic use. Suspended ceilings provide space for utilities and fire insulation, and also allow an exact ceiling height to be chosen for purely aesthetic reasons. Cathedral ceilings, named for the rib-vaulted stone roofs of churches, are now popular in modern homes as a way of providing a visually striking high-pitched ceiling.

Mouldings and cornices are terms for the usually decorative elements fitted at the joining between a ceiling and a wall. Crown mouldings are one of the most popular types of moulding and are designed to gracefully flare out to a finished top edge, and are mostly decorated plaster or wooden trim sections. A ceiling rose is a decorative element affixed to the ceiling from which a chandelier or light fitting is often suspended. They are typically round in shape and display a variety of ornamental designs, most often dating from the late 19th to early 20th century in style.