We have a drop ceiling in the kitchen of our 100 year old house, and for good reason…

Here are 7 reasons why you may want a drop ceiling too!

1. Hide the mess!

We had a lot of electric, plumbing and venting that ran the length of the kitchen ceiling. If we would have put in a standard sheetrock ceiling, it would have actually of had to be a little bit lower.

2. Access to what’s above

It is super easy and ‘non-invasive’ to slide up and over a ceiling tile to take a peek at what’s above, or to move several tiles out of the way and be able to have full access, in case of plumbing leaks or issues, as well as to the electric or venting.

3.  Cost Effective

Drop ceilings are not expensive, check out these prices.
We found that it was more cost effective for us to install this decorative drop ceiling in our kitchen than it would have been to hire a sheetrocker and deal with all the dust and mess and days to get it finished, compared the the afternoon this took.

4.  Install is fairly easy for DIY

Even though we did hire our carpenter to install the drop ceiling in our kitchen, as we were heavily involved in a whole house renovation and needed to move in, and had plenty of other things to be doing, I feel confident that it is a project we could have handled.

There is a lot of grace to adjust the wires that hold the strips across the ceiling.

On the pieces around the edge of the ceiling, on the walls you do need to be a bit more accurate the first time. Here you can see the pencil line for the level. (our carpenter used a laser level to get it level all the way around the room. Then used staples in his nail gun to install border strips in wall.

5.   Can still mount standard lights

In this picture below you can see the framing our contractor built to mount the lights to. The electrical box is mounted to the framing and it totally holds all the weight of the box, as well as the light fixture.

The drop ceiling tile is basically just sandwiched between the electric box and the cover plate of the fixture, with an accurate hole cut in the tile for the box to fit through.

Here you can see the track lighting we have in the kitchen and the screws that hold the face plate cover over the power box of the track lighting is screwed through the electric box, just like normal.

6. Tile choices are fantastic!

Both the styles and color options for ceiling tiles are amazing. I love that there are vintage looking styles, which seemed fitting in our kitchen, but there are also more contemporary styles available too. And the colors! Gorgeous different metal finishes, and ones you can paint yourself, wood finishes… so many options it really is inspiring. (click here for several lovely faux tin ceiling tile choices!)

 7. The details

The final reason we chose to install a drop ceiling is because with the details, the finished installed ceiling really looks like a tin ceiling.

The support strips or grid were available in the same color as the tile. I did get the grid pieces in the same silver color as the tile and could have stopped there and it would have been OK.

However, I upped the ante, for just a small fee, and purchased the self-stick decorative strips that cover the support grid strips.

Here you can see the vertical strips are now covered and the horizontal ones are not done yet.

To me, they are what make the ceiling look believably like a tin ceiling. They have the same raised line and bump to continue the pattern of the tile.

The tiles and the strips are made from thin, rigid PVC or plastic material, some of the pieces I needed to trim shorter, like at the edge of the ceiling, I did so with a heavy duty scissors.

The waxed paper back easily pulls off to reveal the very sticky back.

Simply position it and push it up onto the plain strips.

So have I convinced you too? Do you see how a drop ceiling can be a terrific option for a ceiling installation? They are not the old ‘pin prick’ design with fluorescent lighting that one may think of from the dentist’s office…

I think the options, cost and feasibility of drop ceilings make quite compelling reasons to consider them for a ceiling treatment.

UPDATE Click here to read more: Since writing this post, we’ve moved to a new house and once again I needed to install a suspended ceiling… this time it was a surface mounted suspended ceiling.

Did you know I now offer e-decorating? I can help you with your decorating needs via email, without having to step foot in your home. If you’re interested in more information, visit my e-decorating site: Frame and Frills. I’d love to help you with your project!

Here are more of my ceiling and wall treatment ideas:

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This post is linked up at the following other sites: Designer Trapped, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Posed Perfection, My Thrift Store Addiction, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, The Handmade Hangout, Design, Dining & Diapers, Be Inspired, Chic on a Shoestring, I Should be Mopping, Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, The Scoop, Inspire Me Monday, Project Inspired, HomeStories A to Z, Tweak it Tuesday, Savvy Southern Style, DIY Dreamer, Pocketful of Posies, My Repurposed Life