Coffered Ceiling Ideas

If you’ve ever seen a coffered ceiling in person then you now how beautiful they can be. Coffered ceiling ideas and pictures are easy to come by online but before you go and build one there’s a lot of things you should know.

For whatever reason, ceilings are ignored even in some high end custom homes. We spend so much time thinking about trim, tiles, flooring, cabinets and custom trim that even us home builders sometimes forget about the ceiling. Crown molding is the standard way to cap a wall and it does touch the ceiling, however it’s not really a ceiling finish. A custom built coffered ceiling can add style and sophistication to any room. And the good news is, you can built them in just about any room. Coffered ceilings bring that wow factor that you want when people first walk into your home.

Although a coffered ceiling can be built in any room, you do need the right home for one and the ceiling height. There are some definite limitations to what you can do with a coffered ceiling and you shouldn’t think of them as a go to design for every home. But if you’ve got the right home, with the right ceilings and the budget, a coffered ceiling can make an impact like few other design choices can.

This article is all about coffered ceilings, the pros and cons, cost, pictures and our favorite coffered ceiling ideas and designs.

Dark wood coffered ceiling beams with white coffers in a beautiful rustic living room.

What Is A Coffered Ceiling?

A coffered ceiling is made up of dropped beams secured to the ceiling frame that make a design. They’re generally built out of wood into shapes that form a grid. Each area of the grid is called a coffer. They’re three dimensional, in some cases up to a foot thick, and generally include multiple layers of trim pieces, crown moldings, and even recessed lights and fixtures. Most coffered ceiling designs are square or rectangular but some are round, triangular, hexagonal, octagonal, etc.

Each coffered ceiling design is unique so you have total freedom to design whatever style you like.

Coffered ceilings provide a rich, grand style no other finish can match. For hundreds of years, coffered ceilings have been used as a luxurious ceiling finish in some of the most prominent estate homes.

In today’s modern architecture, many designers have adapted the traditional coffered ceiling design to match a more contemporary style. Coffered ceilings have undergone a transformation from using ornate, thick layers of trim with gold inlay, to clean, minimalist designs.

Today’s coffered ceiling designs are most often finished with either white paint, a stain, or sealant.

Coffered ceilings can be summarized as having these 4 main features.

1. A coffered ceiling has series of dropped beams secured to the ceiling frame which creates a pattern.
2. Coffered ceilings are generally in the form of a grid but can be made into any shape.
3. A coffered ceiling can feature elaborate trim or simple clean designs.
4. Generally finished with wood stain, white paint or a sealant.

Coffered Ceiling Designs

A coffered ceiling adds dimension and detail to a room. It lowers the ceiling by the depth of the beams which totally changes the feel of the room. When designed and built by a professional, coffered ceilings should look like a part of the home’s original design and not an add on or afterthought.

You can build a coffered ceiling in a variety of designs:

• Boxed: A boxed coffered ceiling design features boxes (coffers) that run parallel to the edges of the walls to form a grid.
• Diagonal: Turning the coffers 90 degrees creates a diagonal coffered ceiling so the boxes resemble diamonds. This can still be done in a grid pattern.
• Polygon: Polygon coffered ceilings usually feature a large shape in the center of the room with straight beams or coffers reaching out to the edges of the room. The center shape can be an octagon, hexagon, or any other polygonal shape.
• Round: Coffered ceilings can even be built to include round shapes. In the construction industry we call this radius work. Itcan be a circle, oval, or some other rounded design. Round coffered ceilings are the hardest and most expensive to build.

Coffered ceilings are generally finished in one of three ways. Painted all the same color, generally white. Stained with painted coffers. Or painted beams with coffers painted a second color. Adding in a contrasting colors creates a more dramatic look because the beams stand out more against the coffer.

You also have to decide if you want to match the existing trim in the room or to use a different finish. For example, a stained wood coffered ceiling in a room with white trim.

In some cases, coffered ceilings can serve a practical purpose. You can run wires or cables through the beams to speakers or recessed lighting. They can disguise imperfections in an old ceiling and can even add resale value to some homes.

Coffered Ceiling Style

Because you have total control over your coffered ceiling’s style and design, you can create something tailored to fit your home.

Several features can change a coffered ceiling’s style:

• Depth: Deeper beams add depth which makes the recessed panels, called coffers, more pronounced.
• Molding: Crown molding or other decorative trims can be varied to fit a wide variety of home styles. Trimless beams with square edges look more modern. Solid timber beams look more rustic.
• Size: The size of the coffers makes a big difference. Smaller panels makes the ceiling look busier and more textured, while larger panels gives the illusion of space.
• Shape: Squares, rectangles, polygonal, round, or a combination of shapes. The design is totally up to you and drastically effects the look and feel of the ceiling.

You have almost limitless options in terms of your coffered ceiling’s design and aesthetic. Consider allowing your home’s style to dictate your coffered ceiling’s design. Ideally your new ceiling should look like it was always part of the design and not something thrown in later.

Luxury kitchen with stained dark wood coffered ceiling.

Benefits Of A Coffered Ceiling

There are so many benefits to building a coffered ceiling and they’re not all about looks.

They’re used to create a sense of depth and detail in a room. While coffered ceilings were once extremely ornate and highly detailed, some even adorned with silver and gold, modern designs are simpler and much cheaper to build. A coffered ceiling can be used in just about any size home and in a wide variety of styles. And on top of being a beautiful look they add value when built in the right home, offer some sound deadening and give a room the illusion of greater height.

Pros

• Looks: The main reason customers build a coffered ceiling is because they look so good.
• Height. Since a coffered ceiling is three dimensional they can create the illusion of a higher ceiling.
• Sound: Because of a coffered ceilings shape they absorbs sound. This eliminates echoes and deadens some of the sound in the room. You’ll notice this most in homes with high ceilings. The coffers eliminate the ceiling’s large flat surface so sounds doesn’t bounce off as much. If you have trouble with echoing in your home then a coffered ceiling might help.
• Value: When they’re built in the right home, a coffered ceiling can increase your resale value.

Cons

• Price: Because coffered ceilings require a profeesional to build expect to spend at least $25-30 per square foot.
• Height: A room with low ceilings will feel even lower if you build a coffered ceiling.

How Much Does A Coffered Ceiling Cost?

No matter the size, style or finish, all coffered ceilings have one thing in common, they’re expensive. But prices do vary quite a bit depending on the style and complexity of the design. In general you can expect to pay between $15-75 per square foot. Although we’ve built them cheaper using faux wood beams and a lot more expensive. When you get into elaborate custom patterns and round shapes, prices can really escalate. Below we’ll list 3 example at varying price points for your reference.

Luxury kitchen with exposed wood beam coffered ceiling. White and gray with marble.

Wood Beam Coffered Ceiling DIY

There are some good options available to you if your looking to build a coffered ceiling DIY. We recommend using an exposed ceiling beam design. You can use a simple layout as shown above or one with a grid. The benefit to a layout like this is that there are no complicated miter cuts to make and a lot less pieces to worry about. As you can see in the pic shown above, even though the design is very simple it looks fantastic in even a high end luxury kitchen.

All the cuts are right angles so a basic chop or circular saw is enough.

The beams are cut to length and then screwed into the ceiling frame. You’ll need at least two people because the beams can be long and heavy but it’s not a difficult project.

The Wood Beam Coffered Ceiling Look For Less

If you want the look of a wood beam coffered ceiling but want to save a few bucks then consider using faux wood beams. They look just like real wood only they’re hollow, which makes them a lot cheaper and much easier to install.

There are two main types of faux wood beams.

1. Composite: Faux wood beams can be made from a composite material which is formed in a mold taken from real wood then then colored. They’re made to look just like real wood and are the most affordable option.
2. Real Wood: Three slices of real wood are glued together to form a beam that look solid. They’re more money than a composite beam since they’re made from real wood but are still a lot less money than solid wood. And because they’re hollow, which makes them lighter, it’s a lot easier to install them.

Sheetrocked coffered ceiling in this beautiful living room.

Do Coffered Ceilings Add Value?

Coffered ceilings have been proven to add value to the home. However, that added value isn’t universal. Make sure your home is right for a coffered ceiling before you build one. We broke it down by various price points.

• When you look at the most expensive real estate in the world, coffered ceilings are in just about every one. Some of the homes even include them throughout. If your building a multi million dollar mansion here in NJ, most likely in the town of Aspen, then you’ll need some coffered ceilings. These homes can range from $30 millions all the way up to $150+. These home typically use stained wood and the most elaborate designs.
• In the $10 million – $30 million range coffered ceilings are still a standard in most homes. There are some ultra modern or older homes that don’t have them but in general, if your building a new home, then you should include them. We tend to see a lot of stained real wood varieties and some nice designs.
• $5 million – $10 million. These homes generally include at least one or two in the formal dining, kitchen, bedroom or great room. Deigns tend to be more standard as the price of the home gets lower and we start to see more painted white designs.
• $1 – 5 million. Think Mcmansion or a Toll Brothers home. We see a lot of painted white coffered ceilings in the great room, dining room or kitchen.
• $500 grand – $1 million. We see one or two simple design, generally painted white, in the dining or great room.
• $250 – $500 grand. We see them in the dining or family room. Generally a simple grid design and white.
• Below $250 grand we never see them. They won’t add enough resale value to justify the cost of building one.

Make sure to look at the homes around you for some guidance.  You never want to overdo it because the cost to build a coffered ceiling may not be justified. However, as prices climb they get more and more common.

Are Coffered Ceilings In Style?

Yes. If you have the right home a coffered ceiling is definitely in style. Just look at all the example found throughout this page. They look fantastic in just about any room of the house. However, you have to have the right house.

Make sure you tailor your coffered ceilings style to match the home. Ideally the ceiling should look like it was always a part of the design. The last thing you want is a ceiling that looks tacked on.

The best coffered ceilings are seamless. They fit into the room and homes overall style and color scheme.

A coffered ceiling is the only way to truly have a room finished from floor to ceiling. They add depth and style to the home like no other finish can.

Is Your Home Right For A Coffered Ceiling?

A lot of people think coffered ceilings are only for mansions or super expensive custom homes, but that’s not the case. While it’s true that a coffered ceilings aren’t right for every home, they do work in a wide variety or home styles, sizes and price points.

The main types of homes they don’t really work well in are:

1. Homes with a low ceiling. In general we recommend a ceiling height of 8 1/2 feet. This is due to the size of the dropped beams that create the coffers. If you use a 6″ beam then your essentially dropping the height of the ceiling to 8 feet. Any less and the room can start to feel claustrophobic. There are slim coffered ceiling designs that can work on low ceilings but we’d still try to keep the finished ceiling height around 8 feet.
2. Less expensive homes. If your living in a home that’s worth 80 grand it wouldn’t make much sense spending 10 grand on a coffered ceiling. And since homes at the lower end of the market tend to have a standard 8 foot ceiling they’re not really a good candidate anyway.

Keep in mind that even though a coffered ceiling may not be the right choice for you, there are other nice ways to finish a ceiling. Consider options like bead board, ceiling tiles or some low profile trim.

Where Should I Install Coffered Ceilings?

Coffered ceilings add style and sophistication to just about any room. You can build one in any room of the house however some rooms make more sense than others. We wouldn’t bother installing one in the pantry or mudroom unless you live in some sort of palace.

The rooms a coffered ceiling can make the biggest impact include:

Additional Ways To Style A Coffered Ceiling

Coffered ceiling are basically just a series of dropped ceiling beams. It’s the design of those beams and all the other decorative elements that can make your ceiling more unique. Although these extras add to the cost, they can make a big impact.

• Tin Tiles: Installing tin tiles inside the coffers adds some additional texture and detail. This part of acoffered ceiling makes a great DIY project.
• Medallions: If you want to hang a chandelier or other light fixture from your coffered ceiling, consider including a ceiling medallion. Just make sure it fits the style of the room.
• Moldings: Give your beams more dimension with decorative moldings. Crown molding is a great addition to any coffered ceiling.
• Paint or Stain: Pick the perfect paint colors or wood stain as the final touch.
• Recessed Lighting: Recessed lights can be installed inside the coffers or the beams themselves.
• Variation: Keep in mind all the coffers don’t have to be the exact same shape or size. You can vary it up a bit.
• Combination Ceilings: You can combine a coffered ceiling with a tray ceiling. Build the coffers in the tray ceilings high, flat center.
• Soffits: Many sheetrocked coffered ceilings include soffits around the edges. It gives the illusion that the coffers are recessed into the ceiling rather than dropping down.

If you aren’t sure what type of design is best for you then look online at example pictures or hire a professional. In many cases, the design of the room will effect what you can do with your coffered ceiling. For example, if you have a fireplace bump out or built ins then you’ll have to take these into account when designing the ceiling.

DIY Coffered Ceilings

If you want to build a coffered ceiling, we recommend hiring a professional. It’s a complicated process that takes experience and skill to both design and build. However they’re are some DIY option that are a lot cheaper. Consider these factors before you start building:

• Safety: Working on the ceiling means you’ll either need a ladder or scaffolding. And the taller the ceiling the more dangerous the job becomes
• Quality: While it is a lot cheaper to DIY, will the finished product be good enough to warrant the effort and cost.
• Tools: You’ll need power tools to build your coffered ceilings. If you don’t own them already then you’ll have to buy or rent them. It won’t be cheap.
• Timing: Unless your highly skilled, building your own coffered ceiling will take a while. Even for a pro it’s a time consuming job.
• Weight: Working over your head while on a ladder or scaffolding all day is heavy work.

If you still want to take the DIY approach, there are plenty of plans online or books and magazines that detail the process. There are also a bunch of good videos you can follow.

We recommend using pre-built, faux, or solid timber beams. It’s a much easier job if you don’t have to make all the beams yourself.

Living Room Coffered Ceiling Ideas

Two Toned Living Room Coffered Ceiling

You can use a two tone color scheme to create some additional depth with your coffered ceiling design. It’s an easy thing you can do to add some more detail. And all you’ll need is a gallon of paint.

All White Living Room Coffered Ceiling With Wall Paneling

A living room should be a cozy space where you can relax. But many people also want them to be more formal. A coffered ceiling can really do the trick here. Including one elevates a casual living room into something sophisticated. A bright white coffered ceiling is a contemporary style. Carry the coffered ceiling style throughout the room with wall paneling and a barn door.

Gray brown hardwood floor stain flows perfectly with the rooms color scheme.

Dark Wood Living Room Coffered Ceiling

This is where a coffered ceiling can really shine. A dark wood stain  paired with white trim, cream colored walls and hardwood floors. In a luxurious turn of the century home a coffered ceiling is the perfect fit. The dark wood coffered ceiling flows nicely with the real stone fireplace and lighter brown wood floor stain.

A chandelier and recessed LED lights inside each coffer provides ample lighting for the room.

Recessed Panel Coffered Ceiling Design

This beautiful living room is elevated to a whole new level with a coffered ceiling. Coffered ceilings can work in a wide variety of styles, including this traditional design with brown walls, hardwood floors and stained wood trim. This living room already already has a ton or personality thanks to it’s brown color scheme with matching brown leather sofas and splashes of lighter cream colors. The all white recessed coffered ceiling with recessed lighting is icing on the cake.

This rich living room design would still be very nice even without the coffered ceiling. However, by including it the design is carried from floor to ceiling.

A coffered ceiling adds another dimension and personality to the room like no other finish can.

Living Room Coffered Ceiling Design With Real Wood Timber Beams

Here we see a beautiful coffered ceiling design using real wood timbers and knotty wood bead board inside the coffers.

The design is harmonious with the surrounding room design like the antique hutch, wood floors and real stone fireplace surround. What makes this room so special is the contrasting style of the wall paneling, trim, window treatments and decor. Many designers carry a theme throughout the entire room but I love when they contrast. It makes the room so much more interesting.

The room’s color scheme is neutral with warm undertones which works very well with all the real wood and brown stones.

Modern Living Room With Gray Coffered Ceiling Design Idea

When deciding on the look and tone of your coffered ceiling, you should consider the size of the room.

A smaller room looks better with a shallow ceiling and simpler design. With a larger room you can use a more dramatic design with deeper coffered panels and a two toned color scheme. Choosing harmonious colors is also a nice idea. It draws the room together creating a singular floor to ceiling look.

Here we see gray walls with a white and gray coffered ceiling with blues, purples, pinks, silvers and cream decor. It’s a really cool looking room the ties the coffered ceiling into the rooms style perfectly.

Coffered Ceiling In An All White Living Room

All white rooms with black accents are a trend that’s gaining popularity each and every year. This transitional design is made even more impressive by including a coffered ceiling.

White is the overall color of the room but you can vary the sheen a little. The walls here are flat  with matching flat built in cabinets but the designers went with an egg shell for the ceiling to match the door and base trim. Varying the sheen just a little adds a bit of separation between the various elements, it’s a good idea when everything in the room is the exact same color. You don’t want things looking flat.

The hardwood floors use a semi gloss finish.

Real Timber Coffered Ceiling Beams

A coffered ceiling can be as simple as installing some exposed real wood ceiling beams in the right pattern. Here we see a fantastic design featuring octagons, hexagons, squares and rectangles.

Most coffered ceilings use a grid pattern but many designs are more creative. A style like is much simpler to design and build because you don’t have as many complicated cuts and trim pieces to install. And since the beams are left natural you don’t have to worry about stains or paint. Best of all, because your eliminating so many things from a traditional coffered ceiling design, it’s a lot cheaper to build and makes a good DIY project.

The look can even be replicated using faux wood beams in place of real timber which cuts costs even more.

Living Room Coffered Ceiling Design

A well styled room is a pleasure to relax in for both the homeowners and guests. Living room designers try to create an inviting aura throughout the room. A well designed living room should be comfortable but also polished and well thought out. When doing this, the ceiling is often left out of the decorative process. This is a big mistake.

Including a coffered ceiling is a way to add sophistication to the room so you don’t have to do it with your room’s decor. The ceiling, flooring, trim and wall colors can all bring that structured design you want while the furniture design can be relaxed and even a bit messy.

Simple Coffered Ceiling Design

You don’t have to go crazy with your coffered ceiling design. Using all sorts of elaborate angles with multiple layers of trim can bring some fantastic results, but so can something more simple.

Here we see a very basic coffered ceiling design. Dropped beams painted white create long rectangular coffers running the entire length of the living room. Rcessed LEDs and a center chandelier along with sliding glass doors provide ample amounts of light. I love how they’ve used lightly colors decor, paint and real stone fireplace veneer along side the dark wood hutches, black framed doors and darkly stained hardwood floors.

The rectangular, modern gas fireplace is a beautiful touch.

Transitional Coffered Ceiling Design Idea

Transitional white and black homes with splashes of color from some simple green plants are an extremely popular trend at the moment. And for very good reason, they’re beautiful. But don’t let the design stop when you hit the ceiling. Incorporate a coffered ceiling into your design.

A simple coffered ceiling design works best in a transitional living room. Avoid all the overly fancy trim designs and elaborate layouts in favor of something clean and modern. White paint with a subtle sheen mirrored by a dark wood floor works best.

The painted white brick with shiplap fireplace surround is my favorite part of the room. The white surround with black fireplace insert really fit the theme of the room and help tie it all together. Even with a coffered ceiling, a fireplace is the center of the room and gets most of the attention. If you’ve got one in the living room make sure to take this into account when designing the ceilings grid layout.

White Coffered Ceiling In An All White Living Room

This simple coffered ceiling grid design is perfectly suited to the style of the room. The clean lines and white finish are harmonious with the surrounding white walls and trim which includes the beautiful built ins and fireplace surround.

When deciding on a look for your own coffered ceiling, consider the size and style of the room. Do you want a harmonious feel or would you rather add some contrast.

Here we see a white room with light, neutral decor. The only dark colors come from the fireplace, a black gas burning insert with gray tile surround. Since the fireplace is the centerpiece of the room it makes sense to make it dark in a light room. Your eyes is immediately drawn to it no matter where you are in the room.

Carry this into your coffered ceiling layout. Notice how the ceilings grid pattern is centered on the fireplace. The same is true of the rooms furniture. Everything keys off the placement of the fireplace. Whether your remodeling a room with an existing fireplace or designing a new home from scratch, carefully consider where the fireplace is and how the coffered ceiling relates to it.

Kitchen Coffered Ceiling Designs

Luxury Kitchen With Dark Wood Coffered Ceiling Beams

Whether you decide on a DIY coffered ceiling design or are working with a professional, the first step takes place on paper. You need to decide the number of coffers you want, as well as the depth and width of the beams, the style, color and materials you’ll be using. Make sure to figure out the ceiling dimensions and style of the room first. Taking your time during the planning phase will result in a much better finished product.

The design above mirrors the dark wood floors on the ceiling. With a white and gray kitchen, the dark ceiling beams and flooring create a sort of boarder effect. The contrast makes the light and bright kitchen design even more prevalent.

Dark Wood Island With A White Coffered Ceiling

The above kitchen uses a dark wood center island to create contrast. The walls, cabinets, countertops and coffered ceiling are all white with a lightly stained hardwood floor. Something in the rooms needs to have a bit of darkness or the room can look flat. A dark wood island is the perfect choice. Since it’s in the center of the room it adds the contrast you need to all the lighter elements around it.

Wood Cabinets With A White Coffered Ceiling

Above we see another variation of the same basic concept. The coffered ceiling is white with wood cabinets and center island with a dark granite countertop and tan tiled backsplash. The floors are tiled with a shade of tan than matches the backsplash. Even the walls are a shade of tan so the room really needed some brightness. A white coffered ceiling is the perfect choice.

Stained wood dropped beams or real timber wood have looked great too as long as the coffers were painted white.

Exposed Real Wood Beam Coffered ceiling

You can add contrast in a modern kitchen with more than just color and tone. Contrasting styles work great too. Here we see exposed real wood beams installed to form a coffered ceiling. The style is generally considered rustic but in a kitchen like this it stands out even more. Since the design of the ceiling is so much different than the kitchen both elements pop.

Dark Brown Kitchen Coffered Ceiling Design

This dark brown coffered ceiling is a beautiful design. Notice how the surrounding soffits make the center coffered ceiling look recessed into the ceiling rather than dropping down below it. It’s an illusion that really looks fantastic when you build it in a kitchen. And when you install it above a center island with chandeliers the island becomes that much more defined as the center of the room.

I really like how the coffered ceiling stain exactly matches the one used on the wood island. They’re meant to feel connected, only separated visually by the marble countertop.

All White Kitchen With Coffered Ceiling

With an all white kitchen, which is very trendy at the moment, it can be hard to add contrast with the main elements. White cabinets with white countertops, white walls, light gray backsplash tiles and a white coffered ceiling. What your left with are the accent pieces.

Adding in stained wood chairs is a nice choice. If these were white too the whole room would start to look flat.

Another great element of these transitional all white kitchens are the plants. A simple green plant in a white pot can go a long way. That small splash of color can make a big impact.

Another thing to consider in the hardware. The trendy option is using black but other metallic finishes work fine too. I’d recommend you don’t use white here too. If you do the hardware will get lost.

Beautiful Kitchen With Sheetrock Coffered Ceiling

You don’t have to use wood or trim to build a beautiful coffered ceiling. Sheetrock and splackle are more than enough. Even with an all white kitchen, which is what we see above, you can still use a different white on the ceiling as you do on the cabinets. Even when your working with all white there are still plenty of variations to choose from.

Modern Kitchen With Dark Brown Steel Coffered Ceiling

Modern kitchen designs can use a coffered ceiling too. They can be designed to meet a wide variety of home styles which includes contemporary. Even though the style is different than the traditional home the coffered ceiling should still be designed in the same way. here we see a beautiful high end modern kitchen with dark brown coffered ceiling built out of steel beams.

Coffered Ceiling Design Style Gallery

Coffered ceilings can be built in just about any room of the house including dining rooms, living rooms, hallways, bathrooms, home offices and even the outdoors. Take a look through our gallery and find dozens of fantastic examples of beautiful coffered ceiling designs.

Summary: Coffered Ceilings. Are They Worth It?

Coffered ceilings are a ceiling design that’s been around for centuries and they’re not going away any time soon. They’re beautiful, work in a wide variety of homes and add value, if you’ve got the right home for one. Their style can be custom design to match anything from a rustic farmhouse to an ultra modern custom home. While they are expensive to build, the benefits can far out weight the cost. And there are DIY option available if you want to save a few bucks. Overall, coffered ceilings are definitely worth it.

We hope the coffered ceiling designs, styles, ideas and pictures shown above will help you with your next project.

If you have any questions or comments e-mail us any time.