This Ceiling Trick Makes Any Room Instantly Feel Bigger
While renovating his 1920s house on Philadelphia's Main Line, designer and House Beautiful contributing editor Eddie Ross knew that he wanted to keep the master bedroom intact despite its modest (by modern standards) proportions. "Our architect wanted to move the bedroom into the new part of the house, but we liked the view from the original room better-a just because it's the master doesn't mean it needs to be gargantuan," explains Ross. "Still, we wanted to find a way to open it up without changing the floorplan."
With nothing but unusable attic space above the bedroom, Ross decided to expand upwards-not outwards-by installing a tray ceiling. Also known as a recessed or inverted ceiling, it involves raising just the inner portion of the ceiling, adding architectural detail while also making the space feel more expansive.
Before sitting down with his architect, Ross did some research to make sure that the dimensions of the tray would work with the space. "It's important to think about the scale of the room and keep the tray in proportion," he says. "In old houses, you typically have a wider tray with a steeper pitch, so we tried to mimic that." Ross also made sure that the corners weren't at exact 90-degree angles. "Perfect corners would have made it look just-installed, and I wanted it to have some character, like it had been done 100 years ago when the house was built," he adds.
If you're planning to use overhead lighting, Ross recommends a chandelier or pendant. "Recessed or cove lighting, combined with a tray ceiling, has a tendency to look McMansion," he warns.
Now, with just a couple of feet of added space up top, the room feels like a true master bedroom, says Ross. "It changed the entire feel of the room!"
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