Building With Style: Some Thoughts About Ceilings

Ceiling design is sadly neglected in most houses. The reason for this, I suspect, is that most people design houses as two-dimensional jigsaw puzzles, which they simply extrude into the third dimension. Thinking of houses in 3-D from the outset will always get you involved in ceilings. Separating The Ceiling In ordinary houses, the joint between wall and ceiling is simply a paint break, and one of the greatest occasions for drama in architecture is thrown away. The simplest way to differentiate a ceiling from the walls is with moldings. In fancy architecture derived from Roman and Greek precedents, the wall is subdivided with pilasters, paneled, and topped with crown molding. The ceiling then becomes a separate element resting atop the