While most residential ceilings are left unadorned for the span of their lifetimes, many homeowners choose to decorate this surface with tin tiles; wood beams, planks, panels, and beadboard; or wood-look laminates. Matching ceilings with a room's wainscoting and molding is common, according to Craig Flynn, vice president of sales and marketing for WindsorOne.
Wood is a common choice for decorative ceilings because of its natural qualities and traditional appearance. "There's a rekindled desire for natural materials, and wood brings a warmth and a beauty to a space that is popular again, whether it's for flooring, wall paneling, or ceilings," says John Crowley, CEO for New England Classic. Products that simulate wood also are popular for their low maintenance requirements.
High-ceilinged homes can appear cold and cavernous, and ceiling treatments in wood tones can help add warmth and reduce the scale of a room by bringing the high ceiling down a bit, in addition to adding interest. Some homeowners want to carry existing wood ceiling treatments over into other rooms of their homes but want to use a lower-maintenance or more affordable material. Designs can run the gamut from basic beams to planks and moldings, from beadboard to panels and coffers. Prefinished products, such as Armstrong Ceilings' Woodhaven laminate planks, BHK's Moderna Logo laminate planks, New England Classic's WallFurnishings veneered paneling system, and others, can be used to achieve simple or ornate styles, depending on the remodeler's skill and creativity. Using prefinished products also eliminates the lingering fumes of staining -- important if an owner is living in the home and using the rooms affected during the remodel, says Derick Rainey, of Rainey Bros. in Atlanta.
Prefinished wood-veneered and laminate ceiling treatment packages are designed to make selecting options, estimating materials requirements, and installing the products simple. Several options are available that allow the customer to choose from different styles and configurations, and many of these products can be customized by the end user and combined with different effects -- such as paint, stencils, tin tiles, ceiling medallions, murals, and more -- to create an individual design statement.
