The history of Ceilings

To understand the history of ceilings, we first need to know how ceilings are defined in common dictionaries. 

A ceiling is the lower surface of horizontal slab covering a room or internal space. A ceiling is generally not structural but is a shell concealing the details of the structure above. However, the ceiling might be holding up building material such as heat or sound insulation. The join between a ceiling and a wall is often covered by a molding which serves to disguise and decorate the join.

In history, the ancient Egyptian temples the underside of the flat stone roof was generally painted blue with yellow stars, bands of hieroglyphs, and emblems of the heavens. In Greek temples the pitched timber roof was sometimes left uncovered and sometimes hidden by a coffered (deeply paneled) ceiling, often decoratively painted.

According to Roman history, ceilings were similar but also included flat ceilings of planks and plaster, as well as vaulted and domed ceilings of brick, concrete, or stone, such as the coffered dome of the Pantheon in Rome.

In the Middle Ages, churches and important secular buildings usually had pitched roofs, left open to show the structural timbers or, later, covered by barrel, groined, or rib vaulting in stone. Some ceilings were flat and made of boards, plaster, or coffering, and others incorporated structural beams.

Many ceilings were painted in all-over patterns or with biblical scenes. In the Renaissance, most roof structures were hidden behind flat or domed ceilings, which might be richly ornamented. Some had carved and gilded coffering or molding, often framing paintings by great masters such as Titian and Veronese, as in the Doges' Palace in Venice.

Others had elaborate carved or molded plaster decoration sometimes extending into pendants, as in 16th- and 17th-century English country houses.

Ceilings in the 18th century were sometimes coved, or curved into the walls where a right angle ordinarily would be. Decoration in paint and plaster was generally more delicate in rococo or neoclassical buildings.

Ceilings in the 19th century repeated older styles or in less pretentious buildings used such new materials as pressed tin. In the more austerely functional buildings of the 20th century, ceilings, of plaster or acoustical tile, tended to be flat and unadorned. Frequently they hid elaborate heating, plumbing, air-conditioning, and electrical systems.

In many public buildings, however, architects, such as the American Louis I. Kahn and the Italian Pier Luigi Nervi, revealed both structural members and mechanical equipment as part of the architectural design.

Palaces usually had vaulted or domed ceilings, which were often decorated with mosaic, painted  inscriptions, or carved stalactite (honeycomblike) ornament. Simpler buildings had flat ceilings of beams and plaster or flat or concave ceilings with artesonado work—delicate coffering richly painted and gilded.

Temples were often domed and decorated with rich stone or stucco carving. In Chinese and Japanese temples the roof beams, supported on elaborately carved painted wooden brackets, were revealed.

Ceilings have frequently been decorated with paintings or other effects. While hard to execute, a decorated ceiling has the advantage that it is largely protected from damage by fingers. In the past, however, this was more than compensated for by the damage from smoke (from candles and cigarettes).

Many historic buildings have celebrated ceilings. Perhaps the most famous in the world is that of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo.

Popular depictions show Michelangelo working on his back on the top of a scaffold, but it was more likely that he stood on top of a platform.

In modern buildings, electric lights are commonly attached to ceilings. Sometimes elaborate lighting schemes are used, such as with chandeliers. Other times, recessed lighting is used to reduce the partially hide lights in the ceiling. 

Other things commonly found attached to ceilings include smoke detectors, security cameras and now our natural Thatch Reed Panels.

Many offices and some homes may implement a drop ceiling where a grid is hung from a ceiling, and panels are placed in the grid. This is useful for allowing wiring to be changed relatively easily, whether electrical or for other technologies like computer networks.  An inverse of this would be a raised floor.

Believe it or not, the history of ceilings also stated that sometimes, whether for art or just practical joke, furniture that is normally found sitting on the floor of a room was attached to a ceiling.