Vaulted ceilings are a tasteful and aesthetically pleasing addition to almost any house. The inclined surfaces and exposed vaultings provide a rustic and homey look. Due to the unlevel ceiling, however, certain light fixtures might end up looking out of place.
Lighting options that either conform to the level of the floor below or recess inside the ceilings are great for vaulted ceilings, explains a local home renovation company, FlooringtoCeiling. However, one should consider where the eyes are drawn and the geometry of a room when choosing a light fixture.
In this article, we’ll talk about a couple of different types of light fixtures, and how they fit in with the one-way and two-way vaulted ceilings.
What is the Room’s Geometry?
Geometry refers to the shape of things in a given space. So, if your room has a flat, even surface all across the floor and ceiling, it has a flat geometry. If it has steps and elevated areas, it has an inclined geometry.
Vaulted ceilings tend to introduce an inclined geometry to the room. Vaulted ceilings often tend to incline in one or both directions. In one direction cases, the tallest spot on the ceiling will meet at the wall. In cases where inclines go in both directions, the ceiling will slope up to a central point.
The type of light fixture you use will depend on the incline of the ceiling and how it affects the room’s geometry. You want things to line up and be even, and to achieve a level of symmetry.
Two Types of Lighting That Work Well for a One-Way Incline
A one-way incline on a vaulted ceiling meets at the wall and makes the room more eye-catching on one side. This can be worked with in a few different ways.
Pendant Lighting
Pendant light fixtures placed at the higher end of the ceiling can lend an air of symmetry by matching up with the lower end of the wall. One should take into account which way cable lights cast to avoid unappealing shadows above.
Fixtures without shades, or with otherwise exposed light sources can prevent this problem, and lend the room a rustic and delightfully unfinished look that goes along with the theme of the vaulted ceiling.
Pendant lights also match up with the level floor of a house, which can lend symmetry. When designing an interior space, symmetry should be taken into account. It is one of the biggest factors determining the aesthetic appeal of a space or object.
Recessed Lights
Recessed lights are light fixtures that recess into the surface on which they are placed. Whereas a rigid fixture on an inclined surface might look intrusive or awkward, these lights blend into the incline and let its natural shape shine.
Recessed lights can also be adjusted, and often point in the direction of the ceiling. This fixes the problem of shadows, which can sit heavily in overhead places like the recessed thinner portion of a vaulted ceiling.
Recessed lights will give a room an even look while fixing the problem of unwanted shadows while lending more prominence to the vaulted ceiling.
Two Types of Lighting That Work Well for a Two-Way Incline
Two-way inclines are easier to pick lighting fixtures for because they are already symmetrical. Because of this, more showy or rigid light fixtures tend to fit in very well.
Chandeliers
Chandeliers provide a pretty centerpiece for a two-way incline on a vaulted ceiling. They also cast light evenly.
A chandelier can lend the look of an old chateau or a rococo theater, depending on which one a designer buys. They come in many colors and styles and can hold many different types of bulbs.
A chandelier should be placed in the center space of a two-way incline so that it hangs above the middle portion of a room. This way, the room looks symmetrical and is divided by a beautiful centerpiece. This type of lighting works extremely well in a dining room or library.
Track Lights
Two-way inclined vaulted ceilings often meet at a center vault or beam which traverses the length of the room from one end to another. In this case, track lights will fit right in as they will divide the room and install well on the flat surface of the center beam.
Some sources say that track lights should be placed along the sloped sides of a vaulted ceiling. This, however, draws the eyes inward toward the center of the ceiling, which the inclined surfaces already do just fine.
Just like with chandeliers, track-lights work to ornament the place that two-way vaulted ceilings emphasize the most- the center or the highest point of the room
Lighting Works Best if you Consider a Space’s Shape
All in all, you want to look at the overall shape of a room and ask yourself, where does my ceiling draw the eyes? How can I accentuate or ornament that space? And can I lend symmetry or evenness to this space with a different light fixture? The fixtures we’ve listed can do just that.
