Ceilings are often one of the emptiest spaces in a room – often they only have lights and sometimes smoke alarms or fans. Walls and floors, on the other hand, tend to appear quite busy. It is unusual to find homes where ceilings have been decorated very interestingly, or are thought of much when interior décor is decided, but there are ways in which people can make the most of ceiling space, and an example of this is using ceiling brackets for televisions.

In the past some buildings, such as homes owned by very affluent people, large public buildings and churches occasionally had highly decorated ceilings. Even small churches and chapels tend to have high ceilings with beams or pillars, which act as support, but also encourage worshippers to gaze upwards – the direction associated with God and heaven. It is very unusual for everyday households to have decorated ceilings, though some rooms for children may have murals which extend that far. In truth, ceilings are sometimes one of the ugliest aspects of a room. Some are used purely to attach lighting systems which are not very aesthetically pleasing, and are otherwise ignored, despite the fact that there are numerous uses for ceiling space. Some people have ingenious ways of making use of this often overlooked space, using specialist shelves to store books, DVDs or videos. This both saves space on the floors or walls, and if assembled with care, looks great.  It is important to make sure any item placed on a ceiling shelf is secure so it doesn’t fall, and this is why many use them purely for light weight items. Some pin up art work on ceilings, or hang chimes, mobiles and other ornamental objects from them. Read the rest of this entry »