What's up there: Get to know popular ceiling types

Panel ceiling

Look: Planks or panels are precisely cut, installed side-by-side and then stained or sealed to adorn flat or vaulted ceilings. They provide an elegant or cozy cottage feel.

Home styles: Colonial, contemporary, Craftsman and Georgian.

Pros: Although this ceiling is quite traditional — think New England farmhouse — it can work in a contemporary home, depending on the wood style, paint or finish. 

Cons: Unless this ceiling is in a room that's separated from others with walls, "the special feeling of this ceiling is lost," says Lou Manfredini, a home-improvement expert and Ace Hardware's "Helpful Hardware Man."

Price to install: $2,000 to $3,000 for a traditional wood-paneled ceiling in a 10-by-12-foot room, depending on the wood used, Manfredini says.

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Cove ceiling

Look: A gracefully curved arch that unites the ceiling and the upper walls and corners, eliminating sharp transitions and offering soft lines.

Home styles: Most, though they're often found in Tudors.

Pros: As a touch of simple grace with multiple finish options, coves offer design flexibility. If painted white against white walls, this ceiling matches almost any décor. To add flair, Manfredini says, paint the ceiling and walls different colors to accentuate this classy finish.

Cons: Traditional cove ceilings were made with plaster, and adding one in a newer home means lots of drywall — which can be pricey. Many contractors create a "synthetic cove," Manfredini says.

Price to install: $1,500 for a 10-by-12-foot room, Manfredini says, and more if room entries are arched to match the ceiling.

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Drop ceiling

Look: Also known as a false or suspended ceiling, a drop ceiling features a grid of thin metal channels filled with lightweight, 2-foot-wide tiles.

Home styles: Any with a finished basement, which is where this ceiling makes the most sense.

Pros: Basement ceilings often are laced with unsightly mechanical clutter, such as ducts, electrical wires and water pipes. Hiding these components with drywall can require creating soffits and become pricey, Manfredini says. Drop ceilings are an easy and inexpensive way to soften that space.  

Cons: Initially invented for commercial spaces, drop-ceiling design can scream "old school," "boring" or "cheap."

Price to install or remove: $10 to $12 per square foot, for professional installation, and about $6 per square foot to do it yourself, Manfredini says. Dismantling is simple, requiring but a few hours of labor and a trip to the dump to dispose of the tracks and tiles.

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Tin ceiling

Look: U.S. homes adopted this metallic, ornate finish in the late 1880s. Traditionally, sheets of thin tin plates are stamped with a design and snugly meshed. Today, a faster way to achieve the tin look is to use a hand-painted finish or aluminum or plastic panels.

Home styles: Craftsman and Tudor.

Pros: These add a hip quotient to your room. Consumers can choose among many styles and finishes, Lowe's spokeswoman Colleen Maiura says.

Cons: Your ceiling must be at least 10 feet high to pull off the look, Maiura says. In today's 8-foot-ceiling rooms, tin ceilings can seem claustrophobic.

Price to install: $1,452 for a "nail-up" ceiling, which attaches to wood substrates, for a 10-by-12-foot room, including labor and materials, AmericanTinCeilings.com says. Lowe's sells 48.5-by-18.5-inch stainless-steel tiles for $76.77 each, and 2-by-2-foot floral tiles for $17.14 each.

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Tray ceiling

Look: This ceiling has a recessed midsection that's higher than the perimeter, which provides a sense of spaciousness. This style has a clean, simple finish with an extra layer of crown molding. It can be dressed up with recessed lighting and other features.

Home style: Contemporary.

Pros: These ceilings give a spacious feel with the extra few feet of height. "They also provide a custom look," Maiura says.

Cons: Adding one of these is possible only if your home has higher ceilings. It may entail rerouting air ducts and can be costly

Price to install: $8.69 to $11.50 per square foot, according to Homewyse.com, a home-repair reference website. Redoing a 10-by-12-foot room would cost $1,042 to $1,380.

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Popcorn ceiling

Look: These lumpy off-white or gray ceilings were commonly sprayed on from the 1950s through the early 1980s.

Home styles: Typically, homes built or renovated in the aforementioned time frame.

Pros: Applying this finish to a ceiling was quick and often cheaper than painting. The thick spray could cover flaws such as uneven ceiling lines, shoddy workmanship or watermarks. They were billed as fire-retardant and as more soundproof than other ceilings.

Cons: "It looks like a motel ceiling," Maiura says. Popcorn ceilings also are messy to remove. Some were manufactured with asbestos, until the production was banned in 1978. Exposure to asbestos fibers is known to cause lung cancer.

Price to remove: 78 cents to $1.04 per square foot, Homewyse.com says. For a 10-by-12-foot room, that adds up to between $93.60 and $124.80 — not including ceiling replacement or asbestos abatement.

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Beam ceiling

Look: Exposed beams or joists, often in a dark finish to contrast with a white ceiling. They're arranged horizontally and generally intersect at various points. They provide a masculine or rustic elegance.

Home styles: Craftsman and Tudor. 

Pros: "This ceiling can give your home historic detail and provide a sense of warmth," says Lori A. Rowley, associate marketing manager for Armstrong Building Products.

Cons: A true wood-beam ceiling usually requires custom installation, which can be costly. Some potential buyers may dislike the look, too.

Price to install: $128.48 for 4-by-4-inch "vintage" poplar beams that run 8 feet long, from AIC Millworks in Tampa, Fla. The type of beam material, thickness and width will affect price; AIC Millworks also sells a 20-foot-long "sawmill faux beam," made from high-density polyurethane, for $130.

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Acoustic ceiling

Look: Often utilitarian. These ceilings are typically covered with muted, light-colored square tiles. Of course, this ceiling feature isn't about "look" as much as it is about absorbing noise in a home theater, gym or office.

Home styles: All. These ceilings are often in specialized media or music rooms.

Pros: Acoustic ceilings are judged, in part, by their noise-reduction coefficient, which measures the average percentage of sound energy that a material absorbs. An NRC of 1 indicates perfect absorption. Consumers can choose from multiple designs, Rowley says. Acoustic tiles can be different colors, shapes and elevations.

Cons: An acoustic ceiling may reduce your ceiling height.

Price to install: $500 is the national average for a professional to build an acoustic ceiling in a 10-by-12-foot room, Rowley says. It's $300 if you do it yourself. Material costs vary based on style and NRC value.

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• How much are homes worth near you?
  
  
• Tell us on Facebook: What do you think of this ceiling style?

Coffered ceiling

Look: Considered by some designers to be an "Old English" touch, these ceilings often are found in home libraries or studies. This architectural finish actually has its roots in the stone coffers of ancient Greece. In today's homes, coffered ceilings contain sunken panels, often squares or rectangles.

Home style: Modern.

Pros: "These create a ceiling focal point and add a sense of height to a room," Rowley says. Armstrong's Easy Elegance Coffer, at left, comes in 2-by-2-foot units that can be painted and installed in a grid.

Cons: Custom installation is required and is costly.

Price to install: $8.69 to $11.50 per square foot to frame a coffered ceiling, according to Homewyse.com. For a 10-by-12-foot room, that adds up to $1,043 to $1,380, depending on the materials and your location.

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Cathedral ceiling

Look: With tall, steeply pitched angles that meet symmetrically at an overhead crease, these ceilings take on the shape of a traditional church interior. They offer a dramatic, airy feel.

Home styles: Contemporary and Tudor.

Pros: "Cathedral ceilings give additional openness to your room and greater opportunity for daylighting," Rowley says.

Cons: This isn't an option for rooms with another floor above them. Rooms with this type of ceiling also can be noisy, Rowley says.

Price to install: $20,000, plus labor, for vaulting a ceiling of a 15-by-20-foot room, according to eHow.com.

• Video: Installing a tin ceiling with Bob Vila
  
  
• Bing: Tips to get rid of popcorn ceiling
  
  
• MSN Living: 6 daring optical illusion wallpapers
  

Read:  Mastering crown molding