There are several design elements that were criticised badly when they first were launched in Interior Designing, False ceiling is at top of that long list since 2011. But now that people are somewhat aware about it, there is a major segment of crowd for whom, false ceiling is still a bad element with loads of cons.
Well, Scientifically and aesthetically speaking, there are a lot of myths about false ceiling and today we will be discussing on the major myths and try and explain to an extent that how is that wrong.
Well, what makes a room look beautiful? Is it the furniture? The decor? The wardrobe? or the ceiling?, Truly, its all of these elements combined. A good ceiling (designed while keeping in mind the size, shape and decor of the room, can transform even the most boring rooms.
Amongst False ceiling, there are different materials that can be used: Wood, MDF, Aluminium, POP, Gypsum. So that was the basic introduction on false ceilings, now lets discuss the myths about them:
1. DECREASES THE HEIGHT OF THE ROOM
Firstly, there are certain parameters to be considered while designing false ceiling of your home? The clear height of the room obviously matters, if its less than or equal to 7 feet then it should be avoided, but since in modern society, the flats are planned so close to each other and are so small is size, that there is no natural lighting and ventilation. Keeping that in mind we need lighting on ceiling to avoid the shadows that make the space look even smaller when the lights are on the walls. For lights to be provided on ceiling, we need minimum 6 inches of space for easy working and embedded wiring in the ceiling, so that the room ends up looking bigger and spacious rather than looking small and cluttered.
2. ROOM LOOKS SMALLER
Another myth is that false ceiling makes your room look smaller, but lets see the other side, when the lighting fixtures are on ceiling instead of walls, it leads to less shadows, more focused light and when there are less shadows and unhindered light, the space ends up looking bigger and not smaller, also it leaves clear walls, free of any lighting fixtures and shadows, which can be used for decor or even left plain, and this gives you more space on walls and makes the room look bigger and spacious in size.
3. INCREASES THE CHANCES OF FIRE
Another Myth is that, since there are lights on the surface of false ceiling, the wiring is underneath it, and you cannot fix or see if something is wrong and the chances of fire increases. Well, First of all, the same wiring is on walls, and we are not able to see and work around if something is wrong in that case as well, Secondly, false ceiling provides voids, in case of fire that increases the time for fire to spread, so basically making it friendly whenever there is fire, and lastly, POP Material in its true nature is resistant to fire and will never catch fire, but on the other hand will prevent it from spreading
4. IT IS NOT FOR HOMES BUT COMMERCIAL SPACES
It has been believed for almost a decade that false ceilings are a perfect fir for commercial spaces like Malls, Offices, etc, but in actual it plays the same role in houses, the idea of false ceilings is to make the room look ambient and provide enough lighting for it to function properly, so having a false ceiling at home, so that you have ample light will in actual enhance the mood of the room and the energy of occupants, less light leads to less focused energy and the occupant don't feel motivated enough to work or function under less light.
5. IN CASE OF DAMAGE YOU NEED TO CHANGE IT COMPLETELY
It is also believed, that in case of any damage in the false ceiling, we would need to change it completely as a part of it cannot be taken down and replaced. Lets burst that myth bubble, as shown in image above, false ceiling is fixed in panels on metal supports hanging or either fixed on ceilings, which makes it clear that at times of any emergency if one part of it is damages you can easily remove that panel and replace it will a fresh one, also if you go ahead with Gypsum false ceiling, it always comes in specific sizes, and can be replaced by you only, there wont be any need to call in your carpenter to help you.
6. YOU CANNOT DO FALSE CEILINGS IN BATHROOMS
Yes, it is true that POP is not very water friendly material, but false ceilings on the other hand
can be done in bathrooms easily as the only material that is not water friendly is POP, you can use gypsum panels in bathroom ceilings, it also houses the light fixtures so seamlessly that once the lights are off, you wont be able to make out easily that which panel is light and which panel is gypsum. Also, false ceilings can house your bathroom exhausts and are very good material or way of sound proofing till some extent as well. The exhausts can be fixed in the ceiling panel, and it will not be visible as an exhaust and this way you can have your favourite spa/steamer in your bathroom with an internally fixed exhaust in the same.
7. IT MAKES THR ROOM BULKY RATHER THAN BEAUTIFUL
It is also believed that false ceilings make the room look bulky, but in reality, the rooms with false ceilings end up looking larger and spacious rather than bulky, for an instance, if we have false ceiling in our Living area, the lights are all in the ceiling, leaving walls, completely a clean canvas for the user to decorate as they wish and makes the room spacious, as when we have wall lights, there are shadows casted on opposite walls, and floor also, leaving behind an image of small area in one's mind, So if you want your home to look spacious, you should definitely opt for false ceiling.
We hope that these Myth Busters will help you make an informed decision on whether you need false ceiling at your home or not.
Adding a false ceiling to an existing or new interior design plan enlivens the space. It also creates a cosy ambience and earns brownie points for supporting lower energy bills! And if you love to see more designs or posts, visit MillarQ Design
Happy Designing..