Ceilings just don’t get the attention they deserve. When people look around, they look around, usually not stopping to look up. On the other hand, we do notice bad lighting—much of which emanates from above. My point is that ceilings should get some serious consideration, since they affect how we feel in a space. Yet, one of the greatest markers of a good ceiling—and of good lighting—is that we don’t notice it immediately. The ceiling recedes, and the lighting radiates, and we are left with all the other interior elements, our focus appropriated by furniture, flooring, and surfaces. However, for ceilings to be unobtrusive, they need not be invisible.

Loop. Designed by Durlum.

Cool, Curvy Ceilings

Durlum, for example, offers an open metal ceiling that is both elegant and versatile: Loop. The screen suspends round openings above your head, which “define the jointless ceiling image and provide optimum gearing of the individual ceiling elements with their soft rounded contours.” In other words, you can put together the pieces of Loop in any number of shapes. Their 5 mm openings give depth to the ceiling, creating a “three-dimensional visual effect” that helps to hide the “ceiling void.” If you need less openness and more acoustical efficiency, you can insert metal blanks or acoustic felt into Loop’s loops. Naturally, Durlum makes the ideal LED light to work with the Loop system, Punteo. These downlights work both to illuminate entire rooms or as accent lighting. And they won’t interrupt the smooth expanse of Loop’s metal dots, so thankfully there will be no “visual disruption of the ceiling image.”