Low ceiling
Thanks for all the help on the rental kitchen reno and the hardwood floor recommendations! I’ve got another question: We’ve got a low ceiling on our garden level (haven’t measured it, but probably 7 feet). The floor is just one big room (living, dining, kitchen). Any tricks to making the ceiling seem higher? Does removing…
Thanks for all the help on the rental kitchen reno and the hardwood floor recommendations! I’ve got another question: We’ve got a low ceiling on our garden level (haven’t measured it, but probably 7 feet). The floor is just one big room (living, dining, kitchen). Any tricks to making the ceiling seem higher? Does removing the drywall from the ceiling and exposing the beams help or does that make it look more cluttered? Has anyone on this forum exposed the beams on a low ceiling? Any good pictures? Any tips on lighting? Recessed lighting seems the standard, but I am not much of a fan, it seems like it concentrates the light down too much where I’d like something that just makes the space look brighter.
A 7 ft ceiling height does seem real low for the garden level. You can look for clues for a dropped ceiling by going to the stair and measuring the parlor floor level to the underside of the garden floor ceiling. Anything above a foot might indicate a dropped ceiling.
Agree that the floor joists above are not going to be pretty and there might also be plumbing pipes, electrical wires and ductwork within the ceiling. A crisp white ceiling, recessed down lights with a wide spread, uplights or perimeter cove lights may help it not seem so low.
All the points above have real merit, there could be fire code issues, and there’s no telling how much plumbing and electrical you might be exposing.
You could steal the proto-tytpical retail trick of painting all the exposed beams and ‘services’ black – which could be even more startling with bright walls, this should help expand the space.
Also when installing recessed lighting, it’s always better to wash the walls and let this bounced light, light the room. It’s always the best looking light (I think there’s a Seinfeld reference here). Don’t install recessed lighting on a strict grid across the entire space, try to group the lights in to discreet pools/areas – this would be a way of getting the effect described by jmcg without building walls.
If you are really ambitious you could build concealed light coves up in the space between the joists, too much of this would be tacky but if done in a restrained way it could add a nice polish to the space.
Best of Luck,
Drew Stuart
Incorporated Architecture & Design
http://www.incorporatedny.com/
I have low ceiling height on garden level and did remove and expose beams. Sanded the beams lightly and between beams add sheetrock rather than looking at underneath of subfloor above and gave space to run wiring thru.
Sorry , I don’t have pics.
That level is kitchen dining and sitting room. Brick is exposed on fireplaces(nonworking) so look is country-ish, rustic. Cherry cabinets, soapstone countertops, black appliances.
House is probably from 1850’s.
It seems counterintutive but having one big space may make the low ceiling seem even lower. You might want to think about dividing the space in some way – even a large square arch – to stop your eye and give the illusion of some height and reduce the bowling alley effect.
As far as removing the drywall on the ceiling – if it’s a multiple dwelling (3 apts or more), you need to protect the joists with a fire rated material such as gypsum board. Exposing joists is not always an aesthetic improvement. These joists are structural lumber – 2″ x 6″ or 8″ or 10″ (depending upon the span). They are not robust timber like you might find in a barn or heavy timber structure. The joists are usually cross braced with a smaller dimension wood. And it doesn’t really make the ceiling feel higher – probably the opposite since the wood ends up making the ceiling darker.
Are you sure it’s not a newer drop ceiling? If this is a brownstone and there are no crown moldings and at least 12-18″ above the window casings it may have been dropped in which case the typical thing to do is cut a hole large enough for your head and your flashlight to see what the situation aove is.
If there is apt above you, then the ceiling is fire rated and cannot be taken down, nor recessed light fixtures installed. 7′ seems prety low for a ground level.
7′ for a full floor is pretty low… ru sure? Exposing beams would make the ceiling more interesting and give the perception of additional depth. Makes it more noisy.
I hate recessed lighting, especially too much of it (the norm as setup by so-called lighting standards). I think wall-washers would be better, but again with your low ceiling they’d be very visible. The key is to not have uniform lighting, or too much. Personally I’d use table & floor lamps only. Or how about wall sconces?