Soaring stretch ceilings: backlit, photos, views, reviews, installation

Many who are to be repaired have repeatedly heard about soaring stretch ceilings, but few people know that soaring structures are ordinary stretch coatings, but with a little modification, which makes them fantastic.

The mystery of soaring ceilings

New finishing technology named floating due to its appearance. The illusion is created that the structure does not touch the walls, as if it were suspended in space.

The feature of the hovering effect is well-organized lighting with secret illumination around the perimeter of the vault.

The bright luminous flux of the led strip, mounted between the tension plane and the walls or tier (for a multi-level structure), does not allow you to concentrate your gaze there, so it seems as if the ceiling is flying.

The floating effect of the ceiling became available thanks to the appearance of translucent stretch canvases, behind which the builders successfully hid the backlight.

The scattered light rays breaking through the translucent materials served as a cut-off barrier, allowing you to see only the composition that was intended. For example, a window in the ceiling with blooming sakura and clouds, a traveler's map, a porthole, etc. d.

Manufacturers of tensioning systems met the designers halfway and developed a special profile with ready-made slots for LEDs, which made it possible to use matte and satin films when arranging soaring ceilings, in addition to translucent canvases. Glossy textures must be used carefully so as not to create glare that irritates the eyes.

New technology is not limited to installing LEDs only around the perimeter. It is possible to create dividing light strips along the canvas and highlight individual ceiling fragments or figures, which visually makes them soar in space and opens up huge opportunities for the designer's imagination, as evidenced by the photo of the soaring ceilings for the hall.

Do you need floating coatings

Floating constructions:

Fabulously attractive. However, their advantage over stretch ceilings tied to the walls is mostly purely aesthetic. Therefore, each owner decides for himself whether to invest more for beauty.

Expand space illusory. The absence of corners visually raises the ceiling, makes the arch light and, one might say, frivolous. Sometimes it seems that the fabric will hang a little, and it will fly away after the wind, leaving behind an endless sky. However, this effect is possible only with a properly designed and installed system.

Do not forget that the hovering effect is achieved thanks to lighting, which is why it appears only in the dark, and during the day it will be ordinary tension structures.

To expand, reduce or adjust the premises, alternative techniques will be needed.

The cost of floating structures

The costs of arranging an elementary suspended ceiling are calculated simply: the cost of stretching cloths + the cost of a supporting profile laid along the perimeter of the walls + the cost of arranging additional corners (if there are more than 4 of them in the structure) + the cost of lamps + installation work.

When calculating the costs of installing hovering systems, to the costs of installing ordinary tension structures, you need to add the cost of a led strip of the required footage equal to the perimeter of walls and power supplies (transformers) to protect against overloads and voltage surges at the rate of 1 device per 10 m of tape. It should be noted that:

multicolor (RGB) ribbons are more expensive than white ones;

when choosing tapes with colored LEDs, you will additionally need a remote control for adjusting the brightness of the luminous flux and color.

Each owner can calculate the cost of a new super-fashionable ceiling and decide on a budget in advance.

Types of floating structures, advantages and disadvantages

According to the complexity of the device, hovering coatings are:

Single-tier systems. Profiles for such elementary stretch ceilings can be installed independently if you purchase a ready-made baguette with led strip. It is only important to make measurements accurately.

Multilevel planes with many curved shapes. For the installation of such structures, experience or the involvement of specialists is required. Designers for the second and subsequent stages use ready-made panels from various light-transmitting materials, fixing them in profiles hidden under the stretch fabric. Due to this, the tiers create the appearance of those suspended in the air. The same mirage is provided by the illumination on the first level, due to which the whole composition makes an indelible impression.

Stretch ceilings using floating technology differ in the material of the canvases, among which the most in demand is vinyl film, wrapped around the edges with a special tape (harpoon), which ensures ease of fastening. Industrial soaring profiles for stretch ceilings are mainly provided for such a connection.

Benefits of illuminated stretch ceilings:

Clean and quick installation in 1 day (it will take about 4 days to create such a drywall construction, which is necessary for puttying, priming, painting, drying the box).

A variety of textures and colors of stretch fabrics: white, red, gray, blue, yellow and even black shades.

The possibility of photo printing - this makes it possible to choose an image of any kind and make the ceiling unique.

The transition of lighting from the ceiling to the wall and even to the floor, which makes the interior of the room extravagant. This transition is not suitable for all styles. It is chosen for modern interiors (high-tech, avant-garde, minimalism, Art Nouveau, etc.).

The disadvantages of soaring ceilings include:

higher cost compared to standard tensioning structures;

slight underestimation of the base overlap.

DIY installation of a floating ceiling

The high cost of floating coatings, according to consumer reviews, is due only to the popularity of the trend, although the work of installing them is no more difficult than installing a polymer film, it consists of the following stages:

Draw a floor plan and a detailed sketch of the future ceiling, not forgetting to mark the location of electrical wiring and communications.

They clean the ceiling plate from defects, putty, level and take out or move furniture.

Ceiling markings are made, for which all lines and figures are transferred from the sketch, and with the help of a laser level, points of attachment of the floating profile are marked along the perimeter of the walls so that the distance between the lowest point of overlap and the future stretch ceiling is at least 5-6 cm.

The profile is installed starting from the corners and joining it only on straight sections in order to avoid damage to the baguette and subsequent rupture of the canvas.

A separate wire for the backlight is taken out so that it turns on regardless of the central lighting.

A led strip is glued to the profile, transformers and, possibly, amplifiers are screwed to the base ceiling, they are checked again with the sketch and the operability of the lighting system is checked.

Having successfully overcome the installation of the backlight, which is the main difference in arranging soaring ceilings, they warm up the room with a heat gun and hang the film on the clamps at the corners in the diagonal direction.

They begin to work with corners: remove the clamp, heat the film to elasticity, fill it with a special spatula for stretch ceilings into a baguette and snap into place.

After working out the corners, they act as if they were hanging curtains: fix the film to several locks in the center of the wall, then in the middle of each segment, etc. d., alternating working walls.

Install a translucent plug to mask the profile and diffuse the light flux.

There is nothing difficult in installing a floating ceiling. Detailed installation instructions are included in each tensioner package.

The main thing is to make sure that distortions, wrinkles and folds are not created. If they appear, then eliminate it in time by warming up the problem area and smoothing it with your hand.

Minimum film handling skills required. But it's better to hire craftsmen. Sometimes the services of specialists are cheaper than correcting mistakes.

Backlight color change

How to change the color of floating structures? Elementary. With the LED control panel, you can:

reduce to a minimum the intensity of the ceiling glow, using floating technology in the form of a children's night light or creating a romantic atmosphere in the hall or bedroom (such photos can be found in magazines and on the Internet);

increase the radiation intensity and get diffused light in the room;

choose any shade of lighting: white, light green, blue, orange, red spectrum, cream, yellow, etc. d.;

turn on blinking mode or color rainbow.

In addition to the aesthetic function, color substitution can affect mood. With white lighting around the perimeter, the mental attitude will be business, work, everyday. Yellow light pouring on the walls will add warmth and comfort. Red will stir up, and green will create a sense of mystery.

While floating ceilings have a stunning effect, there is nothing special about their design. This applies even to highly complex multilevel tensioning systems. But it is worth noting that the work of professionals will not cost much more than self-installation, but the result will delight not only you, but also your guests.