We all know that a vaulted ceiling can instantly make your room appear big and airy and add much-needed depth to your room. Vaulted ceilings were first started using in churches and basilicas. But later on, architects around the world started incorporating the concept of vaulted ceilings into cottages, farmhouses, and party halls.
Today the time has finally arrived that it’s not very uncommon to see vaulted ceilings in a usual home. A simple vaulted ceiling will look plain and boring. However, when you add many beams to the vaulted ceiling, it can give your ceiling character. Not only the looks but even practically adding beams on vaulted ceilings gives your ceiling much-needed support and strength.
If you are interested in knowing what are the different ways you can add beams to your vaulted ceiling. Just keep on reading to know more!
Different Beams on Vaulted Ceiling Ideas
1. Accentuate a Vaulted Ceiling
To accentuate a vaulted ceiling, it’s crucial to play around with the placement of wooden beams. For instance, if you place the wooden beams vertically to the vaulted ceiling, it will highlight the shape of your ceiling. This will add much-needed details to your room. As shown in the picture above, the shape of the entire room gets highlighted, and your roof gets multiple supporting beams as well.
To go the extra mile, you can consider hanging string lights with vintage bulbs to really make the place come to life. It might take a bit more space, but that space can very well be used for hanging TV, scenery, photos, etc.
2. Add One Central Beam
You don’t always have to go to extreme lengths to make your vaulted ceiling look good. For instance, in this idea, you can simply add one central beam on the vaulted ceiling to draw the attention of your guests. Having done so will provide the much-needed functional support to the vaulted ceiling as well as give a sharp view of your ceiling.
For purely increasing the aesthetic, you can consider hanging a rustic chandelier from the beam. This will give a vintage look to your room. Hanging a chandelier would also make your ceiling appear a little higher, making your room look cozy and inviting.
3. Paint a Pattern
To make the vaulted ceiling look exquisite, you can absolutely consider painting a pattern all over it. You don’t have to go all out and paint every inch of your vaulted ceiling because this will look childish and will crowd your room. However, you can use the beams on the vaulted ceiling and try having a pattern on them to give your roof a character.
For starters, you can match the pattern on the beam with your wall decor and color. This will make your room look cohesive. Or if you’re a fan of certain fiction like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, etc., then you can draw the patterns related to that, making your room highly personalized.
4. Adding Crown Molding
A vaulted ceiling usually blurs the border. In other words, it’s much harder to differentiate where the ceiling end and will start in the vaulted ceiling as compared to normal straight ceilings. For this reason, you should add crown molding to your vaulted ceiling. Having a border of crown molding on your ceiling will highlight the corners of your room, adding rich details to your vaulted ceiling.
To further deepen the distinction between ceiling and walls, you can try using different color moldings. This will outline your entire roof, giving your room a very sharp and well-put-together look.
5. Choosing Minimalism
Sometimes even doing the bare minimum will triumph over going all out on your vaulted ceilings. Simply letting the beams on the vaulted ceiling shine can give your room a complete makeover. Even then, if you want to do something, try using decorative beams for your vaulted ceiling. Make sure all the beams follow a similar pattern. Beams should also complement the color of your ceiling and the walls.
The only drawback of this idea is there is nothing much you can do if the beams on your vaulted ceiling are already installed. This idea is highly suitable for those whose ceilings are still being constructed.
6. Add a Playful Wallpaper
This is one of the easiest ways you can make your vaulted ceiling look attractive. The good thing is this idea can be easily applied even after the ceiling is constructed. You just have to avoid the beams on the vaulted ceiling when applying the wallpaper. To apply the wallpaper, take inspiration from your home decor aesthetic, existing wall color, and the color of your beams. Having the vaulted ceiling covered with wallpaper will turn every eye to your ceiling.
There are several benefits of applying wallpaper. Firstly, you can hide any bad patches on the roof without repairing them. Second, it can be done all by yourself by just putting in a little effort. Lastly, if you don’t like or get bored with it in some time, you can easily replace it.
7. Go Large and Architectural
To go large on the vaulted ceiling is a great idea to draw attention. The only prerequisite is having a higher ceiling. Otherwise, the large beams on your vaulted ceiling will cover the most area of your room, making your room look small and cramped up. Having large beams installed on your vaulted ceiling gives you functional benefits as well as improves the aesthetics of your room.
Being large in size, they will obviously support the ceiling in a better way. Also, on large beams, it’s easier to add patterns, wallpapers, hang a chandelier, etc, than on small beams. You can consider installing beams in a slanted way, as shown in the above image, to have a personalized look.
8. Experimenting with Thin Beams
Experimenting with thin beams is a fair option that you can consider, especially if your ceiling is a little low or if the room is not big enough. Installing thin beams on the vaulted ceiling will make your room appear bigger and more sophisticated. This will also give your room a more subtle and minimalist look without drawing too much attention to the ceiling.
Having thin beams highlight the color of your vaulted ceiling even more because the ceiling itself takes center stage. This gives you the opportunity to play with the contrasting colors of your ceiling, as shown in the image above. Try having a gray-colored ceiling with creamy walls to have a neutral shade all over your room.
9. Go Bold with Black
There are some colors you can never go wrong with! Black is one such color that is versatile enough to blend in everywhere. Choosing black beams on your vaulted ceiling is bound to look classy, even more so if we are talking about a white ceiling. The combination of white and black is timeless and requires no introduction. It’s the minimalist, clean, and contrasting setting of the roof which attracts most eyes toward the ceiling.
You can have a matching black fireplace or a big black drawer cabinet to complement the black beams on the white vaulted ceiling. You can also do the same with the fireplace. Pairing similar tones in a room always elevates the aesthetic.
10. Border a Room
Well, moldings can be used to border a room. Similarly, beams on the vaulted ceiling itself can be placed on the borders where the ceiling meets the walls itself. This is a common misconception that the beam in the vaulted ceiling can only be placed at the center. This technique of bordering with beaming places as much importance on the corners of the ceiling, shifting the focus from the center to the corners.
Bordering accentuates the space making the room look bigger, sharper, and more defined. You can even decorate the borders with string lights that can help you guide your way at night when all other lights are switched off.
11. Matching the Fireplace
Combinations really make the room look more well-put-together and thoughtful. Even if it’s a very subtle one, matching the colors, aesthetics, and decor really takes your room to a whole other level. When it comes to the beams on the vaulted ceiling, consider matching the beams with the fireplace itself. To make the look of this color matching more apparent, extend the fireplace towards the ceiling, as shown in the image above.
You just need to use the same wood for the beams and the fireplace. If you have a vaulted ceiling and fireplace already, but they are not matched, try adding the same pattern or wallpaper to them. This will be an easy, cost-efficient, and quick way to get the job done.
12. Vaulted Ceiling with Skylights
If you are lucky enough to live on the topmost floor of the house or have a single-story house where the sunlight falls on your roof, then the vaulted ceiling will be a boon for you. You wonder why? Simply because you can use the sunlight to light up your room in the daytime. This will not only save you money from the whopping electricity bills but also elevates the beauty of your room.
In the image shown above, the ceiling is carefully planned and executed with the goal of letting the natural light inside. This makes the roof look sophisticated and brings the vibe of nature closer to your living space. Even though it will be harder to construct, we are sure that with this one tweak, the aesthetic of your whole house will become unmatchable!
13. Vaulted Ceiling Arch Designs
A vaulted ceiling with arches opens a plethora of options for you. From simple arches to complicated ones, it’s up to your creativity, space, and budget how far you are willing to go for decorating your vaulted ceiling. Creating arches on vaulted roofs requires complex woodwork skills. In the above image, you can clearly see how arches and ceilings are placed into a gravity-defying design.
To go the extra mile, combine an arched ceiling with skylights, and make your room nothing short of a cottage. Turn your windows and doors into arches and have a palace-like feel in the comforts of your home.
14. Drywall Vaulted Ceiling
Sometimes it’s not at all essential to go all out with expensive home decor and time-consuming makeovers. Even simplicity can do wonders for your vaulted ceiling. Actually, the beam on the vaulted ceiling might look absolutely gorgeous when they are naturally exposed out in the open. The concept of a drywall vaulted ceiling simply implies that the beauty and natural strength of the wood should be celebrated as natural architectural elements.
The wood beams on the vaulted ceiling having a slightly light shade with a white ceiling will bring out the natural and neutral tones. This kind of simplicity in the vaulted ceiling is sometimes better than spending huge amounts of money on the ceiling. Having natural elements in another part of the room, like flooring, walls, and furniture, really adds to the whole aesthetic.
15. Using Log Beams
It’s not always necessary for the beam on the vaulted ceiling to look beautiful only when it’s accurately cut out. Log beams, for instance, are rounded and, by nature, are not too sharp. However, they still manage to look aesthetic and bring a more natural vibe to your living space. Log beams seem like a DIY-made option that makes the whole room look more inviting and cozy. Hanging something from a long beam is easier than rectangular beams.
Not only the vaulted ceiling, but you can also use log beams on various places like walls and windows and make different cabinets. This will help you to really tap into the log beam aesthetic and bring a sense of symmetry to your room.
16. Exposed Horizontal Beams
It’s not always about decorating and going out of the way to make the beams on the vaulted ceiling look pleasing. Sometimes, the exposed beams do the job better, especially when it’s the horizontal beams. These beams add much-needed dimension and appeal to your room. This helps in making your room look bigger and airy as well. They also make the ceiling appear bolder, attracting attention from your guests.
Exposing the thick horizontal beams is a minimalist way of decorating your room. Make sure that your entire room decor adheres to the same theme. Using neutral colors, exposed wood, and a limited number of furniture will add to the whole rustic theme.
17. Half Vaulted Ceiling with Beams
Half vaulted ceiling works extremely well if your ceiling area is not large. This is because to have a full-fledged vaulted ceiling, you need to have a slanting roof from the mid going on either side. To make this look aesthetic, the slanted roofs should go a considerable length. Otherwise, your room will look like a tent, and try hard for a vaulted ceiling. What you can rather do is go for a half-vaulted ceiling, i.e., covering the entire roof with a single slanted roof.
To design this perfectly, the window area should be when the ceiling is at its lowest. And your room layout should ideally be done from higher to lower ceilings. This will make your room look much bigger as well as cozier.
18. Distressed Gray Vaulted Ceiling
Having neutral colors in your interior home decor is a sure-shot way of matching different aesthetics. Being a versatile color, it can easily blend in and look exquisite as well. Moving away from the typical brown vaulted ceiling, you should definitely consider gray beams on the vaulted ceiling to have a more distressed and rustic look. You can even apply additional paint coating to your gray beams for a more aged look.
To master this distressed look, consider having neutrals and shades of gray in your entire room. For instance, match walls and furniture with gray beams on your vaulted ceiling. Have the flooring of a lighter shade too. This will make your entire room look more cohesive.
19. Antique Pine Vaulted Ceiling with Oak Beams
Probably one of the most well-designed and traditional-looking ceilings on this list. The combination of the ceiling made of pine with oak beams truly feels like you are in the embrace of nature. Hang a big vintage chandelier from the vaulted ceiling, and your room will be set for a cottage-type feeling. Using antique pine is going to enhance the rustic feel of your room. Solid oak beams promise unbridled support to the vaulted ceiling.
The benefit of using all wood on the ceiling, other than the looks, is no requirement of paints, or water treatments, saved from adding wallpaper or creating patterns. Both of these iconic woods have a certain texture to them that you will not want to disturb.
20. Having Engineered Trusses
Having Engineered trusses on your vaulted ceiling is a perfect way of combining a traditional look with modern architecture. It not only provides your room with a modern feel but also adds a gothic touch to it. Engineered trusses as beams on the vaulted ceiling are also known for providing optimum foundational strength to the vaulted ceiling. It looks sharp and seems perfect for a medium-sized room too. However, do ensure that you have a high ceiling, as the trusses take a bit of space to work their magic.
To have it done in your home, it’s advisable to hire a professional if you’re retrofitting it. Also, consider choosing the same shade of wood as the ceiling but a little darker for the beam to strike an accurate contrast.
21. Cris Cross Willow Beams Vaulted Ceiling
A mixture of complicated, highly sophisticated, and stylish at the same time. The crisscross beam on the vaulted ceiling really takes the vaulted ceiling up a notch. It is a little harder to get it right and requires a considerable amount of calculation. In short, it’s better to leave the execution of this idea to the professionals. Having a beam crossing each other would only look good on large ceilings with enough height. Not just the aesthetic, it will also provide diagonal support to the vaulted ceiling as well.
Remember that when you are crisscrossing the beam, it’s highly likely that the beams might seek a lot of support from the wall, which might be a deal breaker for you if your house is already constructed.
Summing It Up!
All in all, the beams on the vaulted ceiling are essential, not just to elevate the aesthetic sense of the roof. Rather, to provide the much-needed support and stability to your vaulted ceiling. These types of ceilings, in general, are hard to construct and are impossible if you live in a multistorey building. However, you can consider the balcony if that allows you to enjoy the beauty of the vaulted ceiling.
Remember whatever style of the beam on the vaulted ceiling you choose. It should match the decor, requirements, and color of your room. The ceiling should attract the attention of your guests. Having a very farmhouse-style room and installing modern-type beams will be a complete disaster and won’t look good at all.
Since it requires a huge time investment and money, take your time with the decision and choose wisely what kind of design, style, and beam on the vaulted ceiling you would like to have!
