Before I moved into my current home, I perused a number of home decorating magazines to get ideas. One look that I loved was the diffused effect of indirect lighting in a tray ceiling. Installing a lit tray ceiling looked extremely complicated and expensive. However, after some investigation, I found that lit tray ceilings look extravagant but are fairly easy to install.
Indirect lighting in a tray ceiling creates an interesting architectural feature in a living room, dining room or bedroom. This look can accentuate a high ceiling and make a small room appear larger. The warm glow produced by indirect lighting can solve lighting problems by getting rid of glare and distribute light evenly around the room. An up lit tray ceiling can also highlight an interesting ceiling.
How to Create the Look
You can create the look of a tray ceiling with up lights with simple elements. Most tray ceilings are built from scratch using only decorative molding and LED rope lights. If you already have a tray ceiling in your room, so much the better. If you have a flat ceiling, create the look by installing molding several inches down from the ceiling and place rope lighting inside. Lighted tray ceilings have become so popular that some stores carry special molding for the purpose, making it even easier to place the rope lights.
Choosing Molding
Think about the finish you want to put on the molding before you buy. Stain-grade molding is designed for translucent finishes that show the grain and are typically made of maple, pine or oak. Paint-grade lumber is designed for an opaque finish, and engineered molding is made of compressed fiberboard covered with vinyl or wood veneer. You can also find polyurethane molding, which is extremely lightweight. Remember to select molding that fits in with your décor. Crown molding is often used to go along with traditional or a soft contemporary look.
To find out how much molding you need, measure the room carefully and then add approximately 10 percent for waste. Molding is sold in lengths, so divide the number of linear feet you need in the room by the molding length. So if the molding is sold in 10-foot lengths, divide the number of linear feet by 10 to find out how many lengths you need.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Install the molding approximately 6 inches from the ceiling. Unless you are very proficient at installing molding, hire a professional to miter the corners of the molding and abut molding that does not cover from wall to wall. A professional can also check to see if the patterns match up correctly. To adhere the molding to the wall, apply a continuous ¼ -inch bead of construction adhesive to the back of the molding along the top and along the bottom. Make sure you have the electrical capability you need, and lay the LED rope lights inside the molding.
