Encyclopedia of Fire Safety

How to decorate a wooden beam on the ceiling. Wooden beams on the ceiling: choosing a style. Types and materials of their manufacture

Everyone wants to be closer to nature and have the opportunity after everyday work to relax from the hustle and bustle and sit near the family hearth. Therefore, everyone approaches interior design very carefully.

Often used to decorate ceilings decorative beams. After all, they are exactly like that simple elements decor creates a feeling of comfort in the room.

Peculiarities

Many owners decorate the ceiling with beams with their own hands. They are installed around the entire perimeter of the room. They are secured with special fasteners. To line the ceiling, you can use plasterboard or OSB boards. They are made from wood or polyurethane.

Decorative wooden beams are usually installed in a country house, and for finishing garages and apartments will do their imitation is polyurethane slabs. They are stylish decoration for houses with high ceilings. The beams emphasize how spacious the room is, plus they also support load-bearing walls. They are often used to support a loft or loft. Previously, this design was also often used in the construction of houses and was called one of the most important details the buildings.

A ceiling decorated with beams gives the house a cozy feel, especially if it is made in contrasting colors and looks unusual against the background of a plain ceiling surface.

But even if the tones are the same, the beam ceiling will attract the attention of guests, as it is the central element of any room.

Also with their help you can decorate various communications. These include electrical wires and pipes. Will look great between beams or on them pendant lamps. In addition, they have a low price. They visually reduce or, conversely, increase the size of the room. With their help you can divide the space in the room into several zones.

Kinds

For the manufacture of such structures they use different materials, which can be divided into natural and artificial. If they support the entire roof frame, then it is necessary to take stronger floors, which can be metal, wood, or even concrete. The most commonly used wood is oak or pine.. These structures are installed mainly in private homes, but they have a small drawback - they are heavy.

Beams made from natural wood are environmentally friendly. They are used in houses with a predominance of wood., however, they can often be found in more modern interiors.

Since the fastening of the structure is easy to do with your own hands, finishing with protruding beams can save the family budget.

For city apartments, materials that imitate natural wood are suitable. These can be polyurethane or plastic structures or plasterboard beams, allowing you to hide all imperfections and communications.

Polyurethane is artificial material, which imitates any real surface, including wood texture. It is light in weight and low price compared to other materials.

Very often, to create an interior in a modern, beloved by many loft style uses iron open beams to divide the room into different zones. They can be decorated with burlap or made in the form of a lattice..

If it is not possible to open a structure made of decorative beams, but you want to do this, then use modern false beams. They are quite light and have a wide range of colors.

They can also be used to install backlighting. To do this, it is necessary to build lamps into them and at the same time hide the electrical wiring.

Also often use artificial false beams to decorate old floors, which are easier to decorate than to redo. This is the easiest way to make them attractive. You can improve any type of ceiling: stretch ceiling, classic ceiling, or plasterboard ceiling.

Using false beams you can divide any room into zones or make a window with stained glass inserts.

Styles

In the old days, the use of concrete or wooden beams was important only to support the ceiling, but in modern world their purpose is more decorative. They are very often used to create interiors in rustic or “northern” styles. They are also suitable for modern directions, for example, loft or hi-tech.

Chalet

This style combines warmth and real comfort. Chalet-style buildings are located mainly among the mountains, where there is a lot of snow and clean air, although in last years Modern city apartments are decorated in a similar way.

The interior includes only natural materials, which give a person a feeling of security and calm. On the ceilings made of wood are beams made from coniferous species. Often ceiling beams intertwined with structures made of logs or beams on the walls. Over time, they darken a little because the wood releases resins.

Scandinavian

The main attribute Scandinavian style often it is wooden beams on the ceiling. Their shades should be light. Thanks to this, the room looks very spacious and cozy. It seems as if the sun itself fills the room.

Provence

In french style Beams are often used as a decorative element. However, its main color will be white or other light colors.

Country

IN rustic style Natural materials predominate. This includes both wood and stone. For decoration, beam structures made of natural wood or with imitation wood. Very often they are artificially aged. Colors can be light and dark. All this together creates a homely atmosphere.

Classical

Classic is always strict and simple, but at the same time a certain pomposity. However, nowadays this style does not look as pompous as in the old days, when it first appeared.

To decorate such a room plain beams of the opposite color to the ceiling are suitable that will add sophistication to the interior.

To emphasize luxury, you can decorate them with carvings or paint them with beautiful patterns.

Loft

In this direction, such techniques as defiantly left unfinished communications or finishing are often used. The main material for ceilings is metal. With the help of such beams it is possible to divide the room into several zones and install lighting along them.

Design

When creating any interior, you need to be as attentive as possible to small details. You just have to look at how you can beat the surface with the help of strict or fancy designs.

Using ceiling beams you can divide the room into several zones. If you take the kitchen and living room, it will not be difficult to zone them using a bar counter. And the beams located above it will perfectly complement the composition.

They also add texture to the room. All this is achieved thanks to weaving different colors and the correctness of their location.

Beams running parallel to each other look very nice. It is good if they have a color opposite to the base of the ceiling. Or, conversely, you can use wooden beams of the same tone as the ceiling.

When choosing shades of such materials, you can fantasize as you want. After all, their color palette gives designers great opportunities.

You can combine light ceiling finishes with dark wooden beams or their imitation. Walls covered with colored wallpaper are in harmony with ceiling structures of the same color. Antique-finished beams will look very beautiful against the background of white walls.

How to choose for different rooms?

Ceiling beams are suitable for decorating any room in the house. They diversify the interior and give the room some originality.

Bedroom

If you take a bedroom located in the attic, then a ceiling with wooden beams is suitable for its decoration the best way. After all, they are not so much decorative elements as load-bearing products to support the building frame.

But they are rarely used to decorate ordinary bedrooms. Such designs are more common in European countries. However, if the height of the walls in the room allows you to decorate it in the form of beams, then you should not neglect this opportunity. They will add comfort and warmth to the bedroom interior.

White beams will look great in any interior style, even if it is a room with a low ceiling. Here they will look original and light, even if you use wide ceilings.

Ceiling beams will look very appropriate in a house made of wooden beam. This decoration will give the room a natural feel, allow you to relax and feel at one with nature.

Kitchen

If the kitchen is small in size and has a white finish, then so that the room does not seem like a hospital ward, it can be diluted with wooden beams in dark shades. Cabinets that reach straight to the ceiling will look beautiful. They seem to be a continuation of the beams.

To decorate a kitchen in Russian traditions, wide beams are often used to decorate the ceiling. This option will give it originality. Materials such as stone are often used to decorate kitchens. It can be used to decorate both stoves and columns. You can play with this technique using beams made of wood.

Living room

Most often, it is in the living room that beams are used to finish the ceiling. After all, this is where the whole family gathers for gatherings or a simple tea party. This design at the dachas or country houses You won’t surprise anyone anymore. But their use in apartments is not yet treated very well.

However, many creative owners still decide to take such a step, using beams from both natural materials, and from their imitation. This gives the apartment a warmth that is so lacking in a noisy city.

In private homes or country houses, wood is often used to decorate beams. It not only gives a feeling of warmth, but also serves as a curtain for ventilation and electrical wires.

For small living rooms, it is better to look for pure white beams, which will prevent the effect of a pressing ceiling and visually increase the space.

Bathroom

Beams in the bathroom are almost impossible to find in city apartments. Especially if it's multi-story houses, built in the last century. In such houses, bathrooms were not only small in size, but also had low ceilings.

But in country houses built now, where is the bathroom reserved? big square and the ceilings are high, you can use beams. However, it is worth remembering high humidity such a room. That's why It’s worth either using polyurethane beams, or treating the wood with special substances that will protect from moisture.

If the owner of a house or apartment wants to finish the ceiling with beams with his own hands, you need to listen to the advice of experts. They will help you place the beams correctly without damaging the room.

If there is a need to make the room wider, then it is better to place the beams on the “short” side. Conversely, to increase space, beams can be placed along the entire perimeter of the ceiling. When laying logs crosswise, the room visually expands.

The most important role is played by the density of their location. If the ceilings are high enough, it is better to place the beams next to each other to reduce them. Placing indoors low ceilings, it is necessary to increase the distance between them.

Long gone are the days when beams on the ceiling were exclusively rural houses. In addition, it is worth noting that today they perform not only the role of support for the roof, but also a decorative function. It is because of the latter that many people prefer to install decorative beams not only in country houses, but also in city apartments. They will look original and unusual, but only if they are played correctly. We will tell you in this article exactly how to decorate beams on the ceiling in an apartment or an old house.

To complement the interior, it is absolutely not necessary to redo the roof and undertake expensive repairs; it will be enough to buy decorative beams and install them on the ceiling. In a specialized store you can find three types of beams:

  • wooden;
  • metal;
  • made of polyurethane.

The classic option is wooden beams for the ceiling. They are made from ash, pine and oak. They can be solid or hollow inside, which will allow you to hide various communications.

Previously, beams were disguised, but now designers include them in the interior different rooms where they fit organically. It can be:

  • living room;
  • bedroom;
  • cabinet;
  • corridor.

One more original solution will be the zoning of the room. This is especially true for a studio apartment or country house With large rooms. It is enough to correctly position the beams on the ceiling. If we consider the styles in which wooden decorative elements occupy a leading position, then we can highlight:

  • Scandinavian;
  • rustic;
  • country;
  • Mediterranean.

You can also attach lamps or chandeliers with chains to the beams.

Design Features

When planning the interior, you need to pay attention to all the details, even the most insignificant ones. When it comes to beams, there are several options: to beat the entire surface or to decorate it partially, making strict structures. You can lay beams in a wide variety of ways, relying on your own taste and discretion, so you shouldn’t be limited by the rules.

There are a few current methods finishing wood beams on the ceiling:

  1. Brushing. This technology will highlight the wood texture. Masters even imitate marks from the bark beetle. As a result, the beams are transformed beyond recognition, and outwardly it will seem that the residents are in an old house that is more than 200 years old.
  2. Fire treatment. This is a technology for artificial aging of wood. For this method you will need blowtorch and special brushes.
  3. Vintage style. You can make a ceiling with load-bearing beams look like an old one using special paints and varnishes.
  4. Ethnic style. It is necessary to include forged elements and twine in the interior.
  5. Traditional style. Distinctive feature– simplicity, this is what allows you to create an atmosphere of comfort and warmth.

Some designs involve transitions from ceilings to walls. At the same time, beams can give a refined European style to the room.

In an old house

Quite often, in country houses that are used seasonally (in summer), the finishing quickly deteriorates and loses its attractive appearance. This happens especially often in wooden house, since the wood is exposed to moisture and dampness. To return the beams to a presentable appearance, you can:

  • dismantle old beams and install false beams made of polyurethane (this material imitates the texture of wood well);
  • decorate the structure with ropes, creating an interior in a marine style;
  • hide imperfections on the surface with paint or varnish;
  • if the defects are too obvious, putty and prime the surface, after which paint should be applied;
  • not just paint the beams, but also paint them manually or using stencils.

There are also several recommendations regarding the interior style of the room. For example, the high-tech style goes well with metallic shades; wires that are not hidden and simple light bulbs for lighting will add originality. If we talk about country or Provence style, then a whitewashed ceiling against a background of bright beams would be most appropriate.

When painting beams, it is not necessary to give preference to natural (brown) and pastel shades. By choosing bright colors, you can get bright accent on the ceiling.

Masking a concrete beam

Now let's look at the basic methods of how you can beat the beams on the ceiling in a house in different situations.


The option of installing LED strips is suitable for a modern style or for a teenager’s room.

What to do if you can’t disguise a concrete beam? In this case, you should do suspended structure from plasterboard or stretch ceiling. You can make a box in the shape of the letter “P” from drywall. Such a box should be fixed directly to the ceiling and adjacent wall. It is not recommended to drill into the beam, as it may lose its technical characteristics.

Moreover, if the concrete beam is located vertically, then this disadvantage can be turned into an advantage. For example, make a built-in wardrobe. This will completely hide the existing beam while creating plenty of storage space.

Full or partial camouflage

Quite often, owners decide to completely hide the beams from view, but you can only cover the space between the beams by making a ceiling. In this case, the following types of ceilings and materials are used:

  • tension;
  • plasterboard;
  • caisson;
  • lining.

The most expensive and sophisticated is the coffered ceiling. In addition to beams, this design involves the creation of other elements, for example, cells, recesses and cornices. The cassettes can be of any shape:

  • polygon;
  • rhombus;
  • square.

Using partial masking, you can hide flaws and defects on the ceiling and at the same time leave beams in the interior of the room.

If your home has ceiling beams, then getting rid of them would be the worst decision. After all, you can add zest to the interior of a room with minimal financial and time costs, just by correctly playing with the existing design features.

Previously, beams under the ceiling solved a completely functional task - they supported ceiling. Now this purely decorative element is most often found in interiors made in a rustic or Old English style, in Provence, country and chalet styles. It’s a good idea to integrate beams into modern styles interior: loft, modern, minimalism, hi-tech.

Decorative ones look most advantageous in rooms with high ceilings, which dictates their placement mainly in houses with a ceiling height of three meters or more. Wooden beams under the ceiling are a stylish element of home decoration, emphasizing the spaciousness of the room, and in some cases also carrying a functional load (for example, they are used to hide communications). Most often, beams are placed in kitchens, hallways, halls and offices.

Types of beams

Of course, modern houses are rarely decorated with real wooden elements under the ceiling. Although there are connoisseurs of natural things who prefer real heavy beams for ceiling decoration, usually in a country house.

Building materials stores offer huge selection false beams made of lightweight and easy-to-install polyurethane. Visually, such elements are indistinguishable from natural wood, and in practice they even surpass it in some ways.

The advantages of polyurethane false beams include the fact that they:

  • are not afraid of dampness, do not swell from excess moisture;
  • do not crack or deform;
  • very easy to attach to the ceiling (including suspended ceilings).

However, lovers of naturalness can opt for false beams made of MDF or chipboard, hollow inside. Veneers made of wood are glued onto such beams. valuable species tree. You can find options made from lamellas. Beams come with sharp and rounded edges, U-shaped and L-shaped (to decorate joints).

Table. Comparison of polyurethane and wooden false beams.

To design a high-tech style, some designers use metal beams, however, such elements are more difficult to install and require professional installation.

How to make decorative ceiling beams with your own hands

Some craftsmen make beams with their own hands, which takes a minimum of time and is inexpensive. For example, in order to make false beams, you can use ordinary foam plastic, which is left over from insulating a garage or loggia.

Step 1. Cut sheets 4-5 cm thick into strips of the required width.

Step 2. Glue the strips liquid nails into a U-shaped beam.

Step 3. After setting, cut the beams into pieces of the required length.

Step 4. Cover the beams with self-adhesive wood-like film (except for the side that will be glued to the wall).

Using the same technology, you can make beams from plywood or even regular boards. The boards can then be aged, covered with stain and varnish.

If you want to make beams from natural timber, you can buy edged polished timber, for example, 70x50. When choosing, be sure to check that it is smooth and dry. Then you need to treat it with stain and varnish and cut it to the required length. This is also an inexpensive and accessible option.

Decorating beams

Each interior style will require its own style of beam design.

  1. For classical and Victorian styles, you can decorate the beams with gold carvings, decorate them with patterns and vignettes. You can find such ready-made polyurethane beams on sale.
  2. White, black, brown and also colored beams will be ideal solution for modern interiors.
  3. For the high-tech style, the design of beams to look like metal is suitable.
  4. To create a country style, the wood will need to be aged.
  5. The rural style (country) is characterized by a distinctly rough texture.

Options for placing beams on the ceiling

False beams can be used to decorate any type of ceiling: suspended, plasterboard, regular painted, etc. With their help, you can zone a room or create such a popular decorative element as a false window on the ceiling with imitation of stained glass. Decorative beams can imitate window coverings, between which, during the work process, a canvas with photo printing, mosaics, frescoes and even mirror panels are glued. The modern European trend is very interesting, when beams go onto walls.

Beams can be decorated on top LED backlight, which will give a special decorative effect. The beams in which the ceiling lights are mounted look amazing. All wiring in this case is hidden inside the hollow structure.

In general, beams on the ceiling will give a feeling of warmth and comfort to the living space, add zest to modern interior styles and allow you to create the necessary authenticity in public institutions such as clubs or pubs.

How to position the beams

If the room needs visual expansion, then when positioning the beams the following points must be taken into account.

  1. If you need to make the room wider, then the beams need to be placed on the short side.
  2. If you need to increase the length, the beams should be placed along the entire length of the ceiling.
  3. A criss-cross arrangement will give the room visual volume.
  4. One beam can highlight a separate area: for example, a bar counter.

The frequency of location also plays a big role. For example, if the ceiling height is very high (which happens on the first floors of buildings), placing the beams close to each other helps to reduce it a little. If the ceilings medium height, the beams should be fastened at a greater distance from each other. Beams can also be laid in a herringbone pattern. Attic rooms without a ceiling they look especially impressive if the ceiling beams pass through the columns and are attached at the ends to the walls, creating the effect of a hut.

How to attach beams to the ceiling

The specifics of the procedure depend on the material from which the false beams are made. Let's take a closer look at each of the options.

How to glue foam false beams to a regular ceiling

This is the simplest option for placing false beams in modern apartment. If you want to decorate your kitchen or living room quickly, inexpensively and on our own, best option can not found.

Step 1. First, marks are made on the ceiling and walls to indicate the places where the false beams will be glued. The sticker areas need to be primed for better adhesion.

Step 2. Then the beam is coated with liquid nails and glued to the required place. Foam products are practically weightless, and liquid nails set literally instantly.

Some instructions advise to apply it to the wall at the same time, but if there is too much glue, the beam may begin to slide down the wall. Therefore, the golden mean must be determined experimentally.

Step 3. If the room is narrow, you can stick 2 beams along long walls rooms, and simply place the cross beams perpendicular to them. Such simple ceiling will help hide the unevenness of the usual concrete ceiling and it will look very advantageous.

How to quickly secure wooden beams to a wooden or concrete ceiling

This is also not very difficult or expensive to do.

Step 1. We draw lines on the ceiling for placement.

Step 2. We drill holes in the timber with a 12 mm drill no more than 0.5 centimeters deep every 30 cm.

Step 3. In the same holes we drill 8 mm holes into which we drive 120 mm self-tapping screws.

Step 4. We apply timber and mark the locations for the holes in the ceiling.

Step 5. Drill 8 mm holes on the ceiling in the marked places using a hammer drill.

Step 6. We drive chopsticks into them.

Step 7 We screw the beam.

Since the head of the screw is hidden, we cover these places with wood putty. After drying, tint with stain, then varnish. You can cover the screw heads with wooden plugs or special decorative overlays that imitate the heads of forged nails. You can attach nails to regular dowels - this is an even faster option.

If cross distribution of beams is planned, unevenness may occur at the joints. The design of these units depends on the style in which the room is decorated. If it is country, for example, then these places can be covered with leather decorative belts or large twine glued in several rows.

Installation of polyurethane decorative beams on beams

This professional way installation

Decorative beam B1 made of polyurethane (wenge, cherry, oak, olive, walnut, light oak)

Step 1. For polyurethane false beams, wedge beams are made of wood, which completely correspond to the internal cavity of the beam.

Step 2. The ceiling is marked: lines are drawn along which the beams will be attached.

Step 3. The wedge bars are installed along a line every 1 meter using screws or dowels.

Step 4. When installing a false beam, polyurethane adhesive is applied to the ceiling. This is necessary not for fixation, but for more tight fit to the ceiling so that there are no gaps.

Step 5. The beam is tightly placed on the beams and screwed through the sides with screws.

Step 6. The screws that attach the false beam to the beam and the joints of the beams are covered with decorative leather straps with imitation rivets.

Features of the installation of beams on a suspended ceiling

To do suspended ceiling and decorate it with decorative tanks, you should install embedded parts, similar to those installed for hanging chandeliers. Embedding for a decorative false beam is easy wooden block required thickness. It is attached to the main ceiling, and the suspended ceiling is stretched in such a way that it passes touching the lower plane of the bar. Then false beams are attached through the ceiling to the beam.

You can use fastening of beams using hangers. Suspensions are attached to the base. and after tensioning the ceiling, slits are made in the canvas. Specific actions depend on the type of material.

If the suspended ceiling has been hanging for a long time, but you want to somehow diversify the interior without dismantling the canvas, you can use external consoles with fasteners to the wall or internal bars screwed to the walls. Beams will be attached to them with self-tapping screws.

Features of the installation of beams on a plasterboard ceiling

Because plasterboard ceiling It is suspended, you can’t just attach beams to it. You will have to remember/tap the places where the frame profiles go and attach the beams to them. You can fasten it in any convenient way: with a long anchor through the beam, gypsum board and profile, or on a block attached with a self-tapping screw to the gypsum board and profile. A self-tapping screw screwed exclusively onto drywall will not hold the beam for long.

Some nuances

The joints of beams or the exit points of self-tapping screws are covered various kinds decorative overlays, among which are the following:

  • camouflage with decorative rope;
  • masking with wax pencil;
  • masking with forged copper plates;
  • decorative leather belts.

To decorate the space, you can use decorative consoles, which are sold together with beams and create an imitation of supports on the walls. If cables will run inside the polyurethane beam for lighting fixtures, then they must be hidden in corrugated protection.

Video - Installation of wooden decorative beams on the ceiling

This way you can get a very beautiful unusual interior with an emphasis on wooden beams under the ceiling. This interior does not require a large investment of money, and you can fix the beams with your own hands literally within a few hours.

Final stage overhaul or any redecorating includes finishing work. In progress finishing works arise additional ideas and the desire to decorate the living space with modern decorative elements. Today, one of the popular techniques to change the design of a room is to decorate the ceiling with wooden beams.

The pinnacle of design is, of course, the ceilings made of natural wood. The level of humidity in the room does not significantly affect their design.

Wooden ceiling beams are divided into supporting and supporting beams. Both can be mounted in such a way as to remain open. Load-bearing beams, if they are in multi-storey building floor beams, experience a certain load on the structure, since they are located in the space between the attic and the room.

Application of wooden beams multi-level ceilings nevertheless, it is better to provide for it at the general construction stage during the development period project documentation(design project), observing strict sequence construction work so as not to disrupt the already achieved results in finishing the room. This will allow you to take into account the location of electrical equipment: electrical wiring, lighting fixtures, air conditioning and ventilation devices indoors, etc.

Ceiling beams give the home a certain comfort and sophistication of a country house. Such work may require significant financial investments, so, of course, a lot needs to be thought through and weighed so as not to install low-quality decorative elements. Let's talk about it.

Exposed ceiling beams

Ceilings in the form of open beams are logs, most often of coniferous wood species - spruce, pine, cedar. They are carefully cleaned and processed by various means to ensure their durability and give them a modern decor. Larch wood is also used less frequently (due to its high cost). In addition, deciduous trees (except oak) are inferior to coniferous trees in terms of strength.

Ceiling beams made of solid oak, despite the high quality of the material, are quite difficult to install: the large length and thickness of the beams leads to their cracking during drying. Therefore, hemmed oak beams are made in the form of boxes made of thin boards.

Over time, coniferous wood acquires a beautiful color; the resin of coniferous species “preserves” the mass of the future beam, extending its service life.

Antique open beams are made from expensive wood species: mahogany, ebony, etc.

The successful visual effect of a beamed ceiling depends on the design chosen for the entire floor. This can be an option for the entire ceiling area, or for just one part of it.

The main goal is the visual perception of the entire interior. Beams can be laid in a herringbone, lattice, or other pattern, creating coffers on the ceiling. Parallel installed beams create the effect of severity, a certain quality factor. Exquisite European style is achieved by the method of transition of beams from the ceiling to the walls.

Decorative ceiling beams in combination with textiles, stone, ceramics allow designers to create ceiling structures in different styles: rustic, country, eco-style, Scandinavian, Victorian, Provence style, Mediterranean.

Techniques for laying beams

Brushing: Provides a clear outline of the grain of the wood grain.

Texturing processing: creates artificial aging of wood (small cracks, notches on the surface of beams). Achieved by using special brushes, protective compounds, rough planing.

Vintage style: artificial aging of wood material in combination with “crumbled” paint. Paints and varnishes are used.

Ethnic style: use of forged metal elements, woven twine, ethnic items, etc.

Traditional style: creates a feeling of simplicity and good quality. To process logs, oil-wax or varnish materials are used, which are applied to the surface of the logs.

Brushing

Brushing is more often used for coniferous species. The technology for preparing a product for installation has several “secrets”, knowledge of which will allow you to achieve good results. Firstly, the beams must be dry and of high quality (without blue stains, rot, etc.).

Angular angles are used to work with workpieces. Grinder, electric drill. Three types of brushes are used for brushing: metal - for initial brushing, synthetic - for intermediate brushing; sisal - for polishing logs.

If such a beam is treated with stain and varnished, it will give the impression that it is two hundred years old. Actually, not so much complex work, which you can do yourself, will significantly reduce the cost of work. Well, what if you set a goal to completely impress your guests? appearance beams, then you can imitate traces of the bark beetle on the surface of the beams. The technology for such work is as follows: tools are used - an awl, an engraver with an engraving attachment; the so-called mark from the entrance of the bark beetle is created with an awl, and the furrow of its advance is “drawn” using an engraver.

This video will tell you how to “age” wood.

False beams

In dachas or country houses, ceilings with wooden beams are often used. U-shaped, which are actually pseudo-beams. They are also called false beams. Hollow inside, quite light in weight, such beams facilitate their installation and have a number of advantages:

  • Application for ceilings in too high rooms, since the beams are mounted on mounting strips or decorative metal fasteners.
  • Masking electrical wiring.
  • Opportunity good location soffits along the entire plane of the beam.
  • Convenience of creating the appearance of an attic (metropolitan or provincial) thanks to a pitched ceiling (the transition of beams to walls).

When creating an ethnic style, artificial carvings, vignettes, and lamps are applied to wooden hollow beams open type, hanging lampshades on chains, kitchen utensils, photo frames, bunches of herbs and flowers (in the form of a herbarium) and even hanging air chairs or swings. Any imagination gives the room its own unique design and originality.

Using false beams, you can create a high-tech style if you use steel beams with a metal or stone finish (for example, marble).

Methods for arranging open beams

The location of the beams visually significantly changes the geometric parameters of the room. Beams installed along the width of the room can visually expand it, and those located along the room will lengthen it. The crosswise “lattice” beams imitate a coffered ceiling, which visually adds volume to the room. Attic rooms with a hut-shaped ceiling look especially creative if the hanging ceiling beams are attached at their ends to the walls, piercing the columns that “arise” along their path.

Beams can be installed on a small section of the ceiling above a specific area - corner or central, above a large bed or kitchen furniture. One long beam can “divide” a room, for example, creating a dining table area and a bar counter area. Lighting equipment on beams will give such areas a special coziness and comfort. Above the kitchen area, all kinds of holders and hooks for dishes, wine glasses, baskets and any utensils can be attached to the beams. Modern loft interiors include elements of metal plate lamps attached to the beam or casually thrown with eclectic wire over the table, which also creates a coziness and intimacy of the area illuminated by such a device.

The color of the beams can radically change the emphasis of the ceiling design. For example, dark beams (which is more common in modern construction), look heavy, even cumbersome, bring their own rhythm and graphics into the interior, making it tough and dynamic.

Exposed beams in light shades look weightless, serene and calm. Ceiling beams “bring” special coolness and freshness into the room light gray on a light ceiling.

The contrast of the color of the beams with the color of the area of ​​the ceiling itself creates an expressive effect. Therefore, it is preferable to see dark beams on a light ceiling and vice versa.

The use of ceiling beams ensures the exclusivity of the home, creating in any room the impression of unusualness and a certain mystery that always attracts and surprises. Exposed beams, one way or another, add coziness, comfort and a feeling of a warm home.

Photo of beams on the ceiling

Beam to beam

Regardless of the geographic location of a rural home, most people associate it with a live fire in the stove and wooden structural elements: beams, rafters. Although nowadays houses are built not only from wood, but also stove heating is not a priority, but many owners country houses they prefer to install a stove or fireplace and decorate the ceiling with open beams. These details add a special charm to the home, creating the atmosphere of a solid, traditional home.

Ceiling beams are used to decorate ceilings even in city houses and apartments made of concrete and brick. These elements of an authentic interior are very attractive for a resident of the “concrete jungle”.

Thus, open beams in our time are, as a rule, not functional, but decorative. This part is called a “decorative beam”. How are decorative beams used in the interior? What effects can this interior element achieve and how is it constructed?



What are the benefits of ceiling beams in the interior?

If the ceilings are high, beams will emphasize the volume of the room. If the room is too high, which deprives it of comfort, the beams can be placed low under the ceiling - this will visually reduce its level, and the volume of the room will feel more comfortable.

In attics and attics, decorating a pitched ceiling with beams helps bring order to the space - the room becomes more harmonious.

“Hollow” beams (or “pseudo-beams”, false beams) can disguise wiring and other communications running along the ceiling. Structures that imitate beams are also used as boxes for mounting lamps.

And, of course, it’s worth saying that decorative beams are simple, easy to install and very inexpensive way make the ceiling original.

What styles are ceiling beams suitable for?

Beams can decorate the ceiling in the interior in almost any style: from historical classics to ultra-modern. Well, if we are talking about interiors in ethnic styles, then beams are exactly what the designer ordered.

If this is a classic with a claim to luxury, the beams can be decorated with paintings, vignettes, and carvings. Suitable for coloring soft color or even silver.

In strict classic interiors Smooth varnished beams - dark or white - look great.

Smooth white, dark and gray beams are also suitable for modern interiors. Here this element looks no less impressive. The difference is that in a modern interior creativity and bold decisions. For example, beams can be painted not only white, dark brown or black, but also bright color- let's say, make them red, blue or even pink.

In loft and high-tech interiors, beams can be metal or painted with metallic effect paint. By the way, in modern interiors, beams on the ceiling are often adjacent to those on the walls. This is an “industrial aesthetic”, an appeal to the theme of old abandoned factories and warehouses turned into modern luxury apartments.

Elements of this style (“loft”) can be repeated in an ordinary small apartment. A few beams, a little facing bricks, a little glass and metal, a few “bare” light bulbs and exposed wires - and you can enjoy the loft atmosphere.

For a rustic-style interior, of course, it is better to choose beams that imitate aged wood. Moreover, the beams here can be either light or very dark. They are distinguished by their roughness and texture. The color of the beams can be very contrasting to the entire interior and not be combined with anything.

Beams in rustic interiors

If we are talking about the French rural style (Provence), then the beams here are often quite neat and “elegant”. Preference is given to light, bleached beams.

Ceiling beams in the interior: color matters

Beams that contrast with the ceiling attract a lot of attention. If you want to focus on the beams, let them be very contrasting with the ceiling and the entire interior.

Most often, the contrasting beams are the color of dark wood, while the ceiling is white. But the opposite solution is also possible: a dark ceiling and light beams, although it is not nearly as impressive.

If the beams blend in with the color of the ceiling, they attract much less attention, but their influence cannot be ignored. Remaining in the shadow, the beams add volume to the ceiling, make it structural, and introduce dynamics. By the way, when talking about beams that merge with the ceiling, they usually mean either white or “wooden” beams on the corresponding ceilings. However, other solutions can be found: for example, both the ceiling and the beams can be blue, lilac, etc.

In the case of contrasting beams, the most different palettes. For example, the beams may be white and the ceiling blue.

The choice of color for the ceiling and beams is made based on the style, color design interior, shades of furniture and textiles, etc. What should the beams in the interior be in harmony with? With anything. They can match the color wooden floors or furniture. They can be contrasting with the ceiling canvas, but match the color of the walls. There are no strict canons here.

You just need to keep in mind that dark beams look bulkier and heavier. White beams seem weightless. Light colored beams gray wood They make the interior cold, but at the same time calm and serene. Black beams add graphics, introduce rhythm, making the interior dynamic and “hard”.

How to arrange beams in the interior?

Beams can visually change the geometry of a room. To visually expand the room, you need to arrange the beams in width. Well, placement along the wide side will make the room more elongated in appearance.

In order not to change the geometry, the beams can be placed crosswise (in a lattice). Will come out imitation coffered ceiling . This finishing with beams adds volume to the ceiling.

Small sections of the ceiling are also decorated with beams. It can be a “lattice”, or a “herringbone” of beams, or other shapes.

Beams are also used to decorate niches in ceiling structures from plasterboard.

One large beam on the ceiling can divide zones: in this case it is mounted at the junction of zones - for example, above dining table, and so on. This dividing beam is equipped with lamps.

Beams from the ceiling can go to the walls. Moreover, there may not be a beam at all running along the wall, but a thin strip in the color of the beam. This technique can be used to visually correct a drawback such as a low ceiling.

If the ceilings are very high, the beams can be lowered by securing them to opposite walls. This visually organizes an overly voluminous space.

Beams and decor

In the kitchen, you can mount various hooks and holders on the beams, hanging utensils and baskets on them. The beam above the bar counter can be equipped with glass holders.

In country-style kitchens, bunches of herbs and dried bouquets are hung from beams.

In rooms, lamps are built into beams or light sources, including chandeliers, are suspended from them. In modern loft-type interiors, lamps on wires or even chains are simply thrown, tied or hung on beams.

In fact, you can hang anything on the beams - from photo frames on chains or shelves on ropes to a TV panel on a special ceiling bracket. If these are real beams, they can even hang swings or “air” chairs on them.

Beams in the interior: what and how?

Real solid wood beams are a luxury available mainly only to those who live in own home. Moreover, the presence of wooden beams as architectural structural elements should be provided for in advance, even at the construction stage. In most cases, it is not advisable to install wooden beams for the sake of aesthetics: they are too heavy and expensive. It is much easier to create an imitation of wooden beams, since these imitation are indistinguishable from the original.

Imitations of wooden beams are usually made of polyurethane. Polyurethane beams weigh very little, which greatly simplifies the installation process. Their cost is not high. They can look different: like beams made of old, cracking wood or smoothly sanded, polished and varnished.

Another advantage of polyurethane beams is moisture resistance. They can be actively used in the kitchen and bathroom without fear.

The U-shaped shape of the pseudo-beams is also a big plus. The beam is hollow inside, so it successfully performs the function of a so-called cable channel, in which wires, cables and even pipes can be hidden. Such beams are easy and simple to install.

Such false beams are installed in different ways. First, you can build a kind of lathing made of wooden or metal profiles, and then secure the beams to the sheathing with self-tapping screws. However, if the beams are not too large, they can simply be mounted on liquid nails.

For fairly heavy beams, use combined method. First, wooden blocks (small bars) are fixed to the ceiling. The edges of the beam are coated with glue and applied to the ceiling. In this case, the beam is additionally connected with self-tapping screws to a wooden block fixed to the ceiling. The beam, secured with screws and glue, will sit securely in its place.

You can make an imitation of beams yourself - for this it is not at all necessary to buy beams made of polyurethane or plastic. Pseudo-beams can be constructed from plasterboard or light plywood.

First you need to decide on the size and location of the beams, then make markings on the ceiling and install frames from metal profiles according to the markings: a separate frame for each false beam.

After this you need to cut out the parts the right size from plasterboard or plywood and screw them to the frame with self-tapping screws. In essence, you will end up with long narrow boxes. When all the structures are ready, all that remains is to putty them, then sand them, prime them and paint them.

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