How to Design, Build And Finish a Dome Ceiling
Location
First thing to think about when planning for a dome ceiling is location. When thinking about the best location remember you will need adequate room above your ceiling to build your dome ceiling. A dome ceiling pops up in your attic space so keep an eye out for any interference with your roof and 2 nd floor living areas.
Most Popular Areas For A Dome Ceiling:
- Foyer
- Master Bathroom
- Master Bedroom
- Kitchen
Lighting
Before you begin to build your dome ceiling ask yourself about lighting. You can light your dome ceiling 2 ways. The traditional method is to simply add a chandelier from the center of the dome. But by adding a little extra step you can give your dome ceiling an architectural detail by adding a light ring.
What is a light ring? Inner light rings are an easy way to add indirect lighting to your dome ceiling. The inner light ring creates a 6” trough around the inside of your dome ceiling to add lighting too.
Popular indirect lighting options:
Rope Lighting: Pro- More Affordable. Con- Not as bright
LED Lights: Pro- Very bright. Con- Expensive
Build
Now that you figured out where your dome ceiling will be located and how you are going to light your dome ceiling you can now begin to build it. It’s simple! Get a dome ceiling kit here , follow simple instructions/videos on how to install and presto!! Your dome ceiling will be built perfectly and be ready to finish. Watch the “How To” video here .
Finish
Now that you have your framed dome ceiling in place it is now time to think about what method you are going to apply to finish out your dome. Depending on what part of the country you are from may help you decide on which method works the best for you. We have learned that people in certain parts of the country are more used to using certain methods and these are the 3 most popular ways.
- Stucco
- Plaster
- Drywall
Here in Texas and by far the most popular is drywall. When you drywall a dome ceiling you leave yourself a multitude of options on where you want to take your dome ceiling next. So how do you drywall a dome ceiling? Watch here .
Once you have finished drywalling your dome ceiling it is time to think about the particular finish to add.
- Venetian plaster
- Slick Finish
- Spray texture
- hand trowel textured finish
- Solid Color
- Faux Finish
- Mural or Stenciled art
Trim
The last step in finishing your dome ceiling is deciding on whether or not you would like to add a custom feature like trim to your dome ceiling. Some of customers don’t add any trim at all to the dome ceiling because it looks great with out it but some do. So which is the best option for you? Thinking about your budget and the price level of your home will help decide the best solution. Adding custom features like trim can become expensive but there are several ways to add trim at different price levels.
3 ways:
- Add a bendable rubber mold to the inside radius of the dome ceiling is the fastest and most affordable way to add trim.
- Have access a good trim carpenter that can build it onsite for your dome ceiling
- Call your local millwork shop and have them fabricate the molding to match the radius of your dome.
If you can make it through all of these steps then you can safely say that you will have a beautiful dome ceiling that will be the topic of conversation when prospective homebuyers or guest visit your home.
…..So Remember! We are Archways & Ceilings Made Easy and we make it easy every step of the way.