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Every architect and interior designer has, at least once, faced the task of designing low ceilings in offices, galleries or retail spaces.  And we, by virtue of our profession, solve such problems every day.

Traditionally, the set of techniques to "correct" the situation with low ceilings is quite simple and monotonous. Light color and well-designed lighting. And the flow of light should be directed both from top to bottom (ceiling - floor) and from bottom to top (floor - ceiling).

So, now we will share our knowledge and design solutions that we have been using for more than 13 years.

1. Choice of material.

The materials used to design a ceiling space with insufficient height should be lightweight and have good light transmission. It is strictly forbidden to use heavy and opaque materials. Visually, you will "drop" the ceiling on the heads of your visitors.

For these purposes our most used super lightweight material Drop Paper® is ideal since it's virtually non-flammable (compliance with the requirements of the Russian fire certification class M1), it's density is only 60 g per m2, and it's light transmission capacity of 60%. Therefore, all decorative ceilings made of architectural paper are visually very light and luminous.

2. Color of the material

Just like we wrote a little bit about already, as a rule - use light colors to design low ceilings. Well, we are happy to report that this is not always the case. In the palette of the manufacturer of non-flammable architectural paper Procedes Chenel® International there are 15 standard and 42 additional colors "alacarte" of Drop Paper®. Thus, you can also use the colored material to design low ceilings, because even in the colored version of our ceiling will remain luminous and light!

3. Weight of material

It is no secret that heavy and complex interior materials require rather strong and heavy framing systems to install them.

In the case of Drop Paper®, which has a density of 60g per m2, there is no need for any massive systems for fixing the material. Thus, when you design a ceiling in the Paper Design® format, you will not have any significant impact on the load-bearing structures on your site, because the weight of even very bulky and high (more than 1 m) decorative paper ceilings usually does not exceed 200 g per m2. When we design rooms with low ceilings, where the height of the decorative systems does not exceed a few centimeters, the weight of the overall ceiling structure is insignificant.

4. Lighting.

The variability of lighting options for our decorative ceilings is simply extraordinary. And the final visual outcome very much depends on the type of lighting you choose. The ceilings can act on their own as a separate lighting element. Examples are Paralume® decorative ceilings or Honeycomb® ceilings. Another option is for paper ceilings to consist of lighting elements to illuminate the decorative ceiling itself as well as the room itself, or spotlighting workstations in an office, as an example. In this case, the lights can be located in a level above the paper ceiling, within it, or below it. Typically, this type of lighting is used in Drop Stripe® ceilings. When extra centimeters of height are at a premium in the case of low-ceilinged rooms, lighting fixtures can be combined, hidden within the lamellas or within the paper ceiling itself.

Honeycomb® ceiling systems are ideal for low ceilings, with cell sizes of 7 cm, 12 cm and 25 cm. So if you use track or cable-mounted lighting fixtures, you can perfectly fit them inside the "pattern" of the paper ceiling.

There are so many nuances in this matter, so it is best when we make recommendations for each project individually in the process of our cooperation. But the three basic golden rules we would formulate are as follows:

The first key rule is to remember that when working with designer paper ceilings, you need to increase the amount (intensity) of lighting the area where the architectural paper style is used compared to normal (if you were to light that part of the facility without using decorative paper ceilings) by 40-50%.

The second golden rule for lighting low ceilings in combination with decorative paper ceilings is to NOT paint the ceiling space a dark color. During our collaboration with the famous chain of fitness clubs "World Class", one of the facilities had insufficient lighting due to the dark ceiling space. When another facility, with the same design, simply painted the ceiling space white, our design ceiling immediately got elevated and bloomed, delighting with its lightness, airiness and beauty.

And the third rule in lighting - you can use the simplest and most economical types of lighting equipment. LED strips, spotlights, built-in spotlights, any variants are great friends of the paper ceiling. The main thing is that it is always better to "over-light" than under-light the ceiling.

5.Economics.

Now especially, more than ever, "cost matters". Therefore, in addition to the designer man-made Wave® ceiling and the expressive Drop Stripe® ceiling, we have in our arsenal the amazingly simple, economical Honeycomb ceiling solution.  In the size of standard heights it can be 4, 8 or 16 cm. And if the design area is more than 80 m2, in this case it is also available in colored variants. But for a more accurate answer, we need to ask you for the plans of the room with the dimensions and height marks.

Making beautiful ceilings is our job. We know all about it!

If there are areas of insufficient height in your project or in your existing facility, or if you need to visually "raise" an existing ceiling without drastic interventions and complex construction works, please contact us, give us a call.  We will help you design and make beautiful ceilings even in rooms with low heights!  We offer good terms of cooperation for architects and designers!

Dubai, LabArtCeiling -FZCO
Phones: +971 55 173 9503, Pavel Semenov
WhatsApp +7-925-393-39-05

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