Matte or glossy ceiling - photos, features, which is cheaper.

Home / In the bath / Ceiling design / Is it possible to install a wooden ceiling in a bathroom?

Many people strive to create a unique interior in their home. For this, a variety of non-standard solutions are used. One such example of non-standard design is a wooden ceiling in the bathroom. The solution is more than original, but at the same time luxurious.

Matte or glossy ceiling: differences and features

Glossy ceilings are more expensive than matte ceilings because they are more functional than matte. This is noticeable when choosing colors, lighting lamps and ceiling installation. Not every room will look good with a glossy or matte ceiling, which is influenced by the area of the room, the height of the walls and ceiling, the characteristics of the wall and ceiling coverings, the presence of natural lighting in the room, and other factors.

To make the right and healthy choice, you need to consider the options in more detail.

Features of ceilings

Characteristics of materials;
Ceiling lighting options;
Advantages and disadvantages of matte and glossy ceilings.

The glossy finish has reflective properties and mirror effects. By reflecting light, the coating visually increases the space of the room, the height of the walls and ceiling, and expands the room. Due to this, even in the darkest rooms, basements and rooms with no natural light, the glossy coating adds 50% of light. Glossy canvases have a wide range of colors and a variety of shades.

Caring for a glossy ceiling is quite difficult. The surface must be washed systematically; dust and stains after washing are clearly visible on it, which are difficult to remove on your own. The matte coating for a stretch ceiling is inferior in color to the glossy coating. The colors of matte coatings are not as bright and natural as glossy ones. But on the other hand, the matte surface ideally hides all the unevenness of the ceiling, gives the room comfort; even the unevenness of the walls with a matte coating is especially invisible.

The matte ceiling is very easy to clean; it just needs to be treated with detergents as needed.

The first cleaning of the ceiling after its installation can be done after 4-6 months, according to the guarantee of quality of appearance. Then cleaning is carried out as the surface becomes dirty, which determines the function of the room. The ceiling in the kitchen and club rooms needs to be cleaned more often than in the nursery or bedroom.

You can learn about how to wash stretch ceilings without streaks from the material: Tips and recommendations: how to wash stretch ceilings without streaks

Main characteristics of suspended ceilings

Years of operation have allowed us to gather enormous experience in using suspended ceilings in practice. As a result, in addition to the advantages of this ceiling covering already described above, its other positive characteristics should be mentioned:

Durability. This is a truly durable coating. Its service life, even in such extreme conditions that are created in any bathroom, can exceed 20 years. At the same time, it does not lose its visual appeal and does not need cosmetic repairs, which allows you to save money.
Aesthetics. The surface of the coating will be smooth and neat. All defects in the main ceiling will be securely hidden under the stretch ceiling. If you also use photo printing and other possibilities of this coating, then its external attractiveness will not cause debate.
Environmental friendliness . The only nuisance that remains for a short time after installation is the smell. Otherwise, this coating is considered completely environmentally friendly.
Maintainability. It is in the bathroom that troubles typical of apartment buildings most often occur - leaks. A stretch ceiling is able to retain all the penetrating water on its surface, and it will not harm the apartment as a whole. The same technician who installed the ceiling will help drain the water and restore the coating to its original form.

Now let’s remember the disadvantages of this ceiling covering:

"Not breathing." Yes, a suspended ceiling will not “breathe”, but if you have concrete floors above your head, all other coverings cannot be called “breathable”.
Subject to mechanical damage. If you don't swing a chainsaw while cutting something in the bathtub, then this drawback won't matter to you.
Reducing volume. But this is a significant disadvantage that is worth paying close attention to: the ceiling will drop by about five centimeters after installation, and the lamps will be even lower.
High prices and complexity of installation.

All of the above circumstances must also be taken into account before making the final choice. If you are still determined to install a suspended ceiling in the bathroom, let's finally decide on the choice.

Even this small combined bathroom looks so bright and spacious largely thanks to the glossy stretch ceiling

Of course, when using such photo effects, you should remember to use a sense of proportion, but this is exactly the case when the result is pleasing to the eye

Matte or glossy ceiling: which one is better to choose?

Stretch ceilings have recently become the most convenient, practical and stylish way to decorate indoor ceilings. Stretch ceilings are suitable for any premises, be it a house, apartment, club or restaurant. Any room takes on a very beautiful look if it has a suspended ceiling. Both glossy and matte ceilings are very durable and have a service guarantee of more than 15 years, because the quality of stretch ceilings is very high. This allows you to provide the room with a good look for a long time and save the cost of annual painting, gluing or whitewashing the ceiling.

When choosing the type of ceiling covering for a room, you need to consider some factors:

Ceiling height;
Availability of natural light in the room;
The meaning of the room.

A glossy ceiling looks good in both small and large rooms. The space is visually enlarged due to the mirror effect of gloss. The white and light color of the ceiling increases the height of the ceilings of the room, the dark and black color of the glossy stretch ceiling, on the contrary, reduces the visual height of the ceiling.

Gloss is ideal for ceilings in small rooms, expanding its area. Glossy ceilings can only be installed in well-heated rooms, because gloss does not react well to low temperatures. In addition, glossy canvas cannot withstand heat from lamps, so it is impossible to create sufficient ceiling lighting on glossy ceilings. The lamps on the ceiling should be low-intensity.

The optimal lighting option for a glossy stretch ceiling is spot lighting or a starry sky. Ceiling lighting on a suspended matte ceiling can be lamp, chandelier, spotlight, or with powerful lamps.

Matte stretch ceiling is suitable for decorating both large and small spaces. Any room, bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, looks good with a matte stretch ceiling. The durability of the matte canvas allows you to create any ceiling lighting; the surface is not afraid of low temperatures and heating, so the ceiling can be installed in poorly heated rooms, and the lighting can have powerful lamps.

Read more about choosing lamps for a stretch ceiling here: Choosing lamps for a stretch ceiling

Artistic ceilings in the bathroom - what's special?

A stretch ceiling with photo printing of images with a resolution of up to 360 dpi is called artistic. It is applied to the surface of the canvas using ultraviolet or solvent printing. Ideas for decorating artistic ceilings are drawn from photo stocks with hundreds of thousands of photos and illustrations in a variety of categories.

Separately, it is worth noting the not new, but still relevant idea of decorating the ceiling in the “starry sky” artistic style. The design feature is in the supply of light - from one hidden source it goes to predetermined points through channels. The result is an optical illusion of a real sky with stars overhead and a completely unique atmosphere in the bathroom.

In conclusion, we note that a suspended ceiling in a bathroom is convenient, practical and beautiful. Even in the simplest interpretation, the canvas is distinguished by a flat, perfectly smooth surface. Variations on the theme of colors, photo printing and texture do not limit the possibility of implementing bold ideas.

Matte or glossy ceiling: consumer reviews

Both glossy and matte suspended ceilings have positive reviews about their service life. If the ceiling and lighting are installed correctly, the room is maintained at the required temperature and the ceiling surface is properly maintained, the warranty period for the ceilings will increase.

More positive reviews from clients about the care of suspended ceilings have matte ceilings:

The matte surface of the ceiling is better than glossy in care and is unpretentious to temperature and detergents for processing;
Does not require additional maintenance, which cannot be said for the glossy ceiling surfaces;
The gloss is difficult to wash off from stains that are left even by drops of water.

On a large area of the ceiling, water stains, traces of rags, and detergent residues are more noticeable. To care for glossy ceilings, it is better to involve specialists from cleaning companies, especially if the ceiling area is large.

There are more positive reviews about the price of the ceiling for a matte suspended ceiling; it is cheaper and inferior to a glossy ceiling in price, but not in quality.

Recommendations on how to choose the right color for a stretch ceiling

Brightly colored stretch ceilings always create contrast in the room, so choosing the right color is easy. The same cannot be said about the shades of the stretch fabric.

It is difficult to choose the color of a stretch ceiling to match the color of the wallpaper:

The height makes the ceiling darker by half a tone;
Wallpaper that is too light merges with a light ceiling or gives a strong contrast in combination with a dark ceiling;
A stretch fabric with a pattern looks much darker on the ceiling.

To prevent the ceiling color from coming out too saturated after installation, you need to choose a canvas that is a tone lighter than the intended color. And in order for the shades of the canvas to match the color of the wallpaper or paint on the walls, the color of the wallpaper and paint should be chosen a tone darker than intended.

Material on how to choose a harmonious combination of ceiling and wall colors will also be useful: Proper combination of ceiling and wall colors: 7 interesting options

Designer fantasies in the bathroom

As a rule, the authors of bathroom projects include tensile structures with several purposes. One of them is to obtain a practical, low-maintenance coating that can, if necessary, protect the room from flooding from above. In addition, canvases are chosen in order to realize bold fantasies regarding the creation of a unique interior.

Stretch ceilings really allow you to create a bathroom design in any style without any extra effort, setting the tone for the interior. For example, if you dream of a contrasting room, you can use a white stretch ceiling in combination with a black floor.

A black stretch ceiling with a white or red floor, light walls and matching accessories will look no less impressive.

When decorating a bathroom in folk Russian style, you should pay attention to canvases stylized as wooden floors. Such a room will visually have the maximum resemblance to a traditional Russian bathhouse, where peace, comfort and warmth always reign.

If you want to recreate an oriental bathroom in a house or apartment, you can use ceilings with a mosaic effect or luxurious velvet (there are also such). It’s enough to choose the right color palette and texture and you’ll have a mini palace of the eastern sultan in the bathroom!

A prerequisite for a stylistic bathroom led by a stretch fabric is details that correspond to the chosen direction:

tile;
heated towel rails;
containers for shampoos and soaps;
rugs, etc.

Accessories and design elements, harmoniously woven into the interior and echoing the decoration of the walls and ceiling, will make the picture of the room holistic and harmonious.