Hello AT,
Help! I'm moving into a great, rented, small space, but two-thirds of the main room (12' X 32') has drop-ceiling! Since I can't get rid of it, what ideas do you have to disquise/hide/dress-up the skyward eyesore?
Love your site!
Thanks!
Tim
Hey Tim- Drop ceilings are like vacuums- they suck. We think that the only real way to hide them is with a big ol' art project, Like carefully removing each panel and covering with
A) colored tissue paper that could go on with an adhesive spray, or
B) carefully wrapping each panel in a thin fabric, and taping them on the top side. You could use two different colors or patterns and take advantage of the drop ceiling’s built-in grid,
or
C)If you are a fan of the kitsch, you could get ribbon and evenly staple foot long curling strands over the entire ceiling, which, when done right can be pretty spectacular (we’ve seen it with bright silk flowers hanging down like vines as well. This could be done with subtle tones to make it less "wack-a-doodle".
Anyone else?
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How about replacing the old dodgy tiles with some slick ones?
Allpro
http://www.alproacoustics.com/alpro/
Has some pretty slick corrugated and metallic drop in tiles that would create a very modern look
Also, try this link on for some very cool sculptural drop ins:
http://www.empirewest.com/store/series.cfm/SeriesID:15/CategoryID:2
The "Dart" style almost makes me want to have a drop ceiling to work with.
Hildi on Trading Spaces -- or was it Vern Yip? I forget -- once took out all the panels in a dropped ceiling and replaced them with sheets of wood veneer. Nice.
If you have the big panels you can replace them with old (my choice) or new tin cieling panels-- I used them in a commercial space this way. (They can be cut down with tin snips but it's kind of a pain in the ass.) I love the wood-veneer idea-- if the panels are 12" squares could you find wood, vinyl or lino floor tiles that would fit?
This would only work with a very specific aesthetic, still...you could take pictures of the sky with a decent digital camera and print the photos (or get them printed if your printer is too small) sandwich the pics between the original tiles and plexiglass and replace in the drop ceiling frame. Probably more expensive than wood veneer but, also a lighter, airier look. Disclaimer - I have never tried this and have zero experience with drop ceilings.
Just make sure the non-ceiling parts of your apartment are sooooo gorgeous, you just can't take your eyes off of them.
And keep your furnishings and art as low and horizontal as humanly possible. Keep rugs and furniture dark to weight your eye, to keep it form drifting upward. Maintain a consistent horizontal with chair bcks and lamp heights.
Hideous ceiling? What ceiling?
whoops...
form = from
bcks = backs
I'd even go to the extreme of doing "top down" Roman shades, to totally take the focus off the top third of the room.
I'd be afraid that "gift wrapping" the squares would end up looking like someone gave you a really big, really bad birthday present.
I HAVE THE SAME PROBELEM WITH MY APT!!! I TOTALLY NEEEEED HELP!!!!
Realize these are old posts BUT ..
*never* put ordinary fabric on your ceilings! Fabric is a fire hazard, particularly since heat rises. The low flash point of fabric makes even the smallest flame a genuine hazard.
An alternative .. drywall mud. It will work with the stapled acoustic tiles, you can tint it to any color and create any pattern (particularly if you are artistic). It will also hide damage on walls, when applied like stucco.
If you have insulated tiles with fiberglass on one side and thin vinyl on the other simply replace the thin covering with a more flame-proof, heat resistant covering like speaker cloth or Therma-Flec (the material used in ironing board covers, pot holders etc).
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