MAY JLC 1997
I build out on the West Coast, and most of the custom homes
I frame contain one or more coffered ceilings. By "coffered"
ceiling, I mean any angled ceiling recess — a design detail
that's often called a "tray" ceiling in other parts of the country.
By contrast, the traditional coffered ceiling — a gridwork of
beams in the ceiling — is usually
referred to out West as a "box-beamed"
ceiling or a "library" ceiling.
With a soffit around the perimeter of the room and a crown
molding around the top of the recess, this detail looks like a million
bucks. But it's not expensive to build, as