Adding a sense of space as well as creating instant wow factor, these architectural ceiling designs can transform the look and the feel of your home. Get inspired with these fantastic examples
Although self building is the perfect time to incorporate avaulted ceiling into your home design, it’s not the only opportunity to incorporate them. Anyone thinking about adding an extension, or those carrying out conversions to barns, former industrial buildings or in their own lofts, can all create stunning vaulted ceilings. While we tend to be more accustomed to flat ceilings in our homes, with some forward planning, vaulted ceilings can add so much interest and volume to any interior —plus they can inject wow factor to both doubleand single-storey spaces. From curved forms to angular shapes, these types of ceiling design can suit both contemporary and traditional homes, too.
While there are several different types of designs you could choose from, the term vaulted ceiling is generally used to describe aceiling that extends up from the walls of a room, angling upwards. This creates amuch greater ceiling height than the standard flat ceiling in the UK, which is usually around eight feet.
Vaulted ceilings can also be used to create double-height spaces, extending right up from the ground floor to the underside of the first floor roof, or in rooms on the upper storeys of the house.
OPT FOR A BARREL VAULTED CEILING
Barrel vaulted ceilings provide an eyecatching, unusual feature that helps maximise light and increase ventilation. Less traditional than vaulted ceilings with a classic peak apex, their curved design makes them a favourite with those building modern homes.
The glulam arches of this barrel ceiling – created in a self-build designed by Andrew Birds of Birds Portchmouth Russum – were treated with Fiddes wood oil to give them a white tint. They were inspired by a French wine barrel with two wings either side for the living and bedroom spaces.
DESIGN IN A ‘BRIDGE LANDING’ TO LINK FIRST-FLOOR SPACES
When it comes to converting a barn successfully, there are several important factors to bear in mind.
Barn conversions can often boast breathtaking voluminous vaulted ceilings, but while these look amazing, providing access between the first floor rooms above can prove troublesome. Designing in a ‘bridge’ landing can prove the perfect solution for linking up the first floor accommodation within a dramatic vaulted space.
In this award-winning barn conversion project (left) designed by Hudson Architects, the bedrooms are located at either side of the building and are connected by a central bridge landing that doesn’t interfere with the large glazed openings or the impressive original trusses.
COMBINE WITH A GALLERIED LANDING
Galleried landings are brilliant design
