Exposed beams in the attic, 5 furnishing ideas to enhance the ceiling. Truss styles, faux wood materials, better colors for painting: find out which solution is best suited to your style of furniture.
The exposed beams are a characteristic element of the attic with the sloping roof, but they can also be installed on a flat ceiling to give more character to the environment. Indeed, the exposed beams are an architectural element that gives great charm to the house, and for this reason it is worth enhancing them when you are already lucky enough to have a ceiling with load-bearing wooden beams.
However you can also opt for a decorative truss, using cheaper materials but always of great aesthetic impact. The laminated wood, the plasterboard or the polyurethane they offer the beauty of a beamed ceiling, but don’t need the same care that real wood does.
Read also: Wooden roof
In recent times have made their appearance even the steel beams, a material that, compared to wood, can be painted in any color and it has the advantage of not being scratched or aesthetically damaged, due to the action of woodworms.
In this article we suggest 5 ideas for the attic with exposed beams: find out which solution is best to adopt for your home, what are the truss styles more suitable for the attic and how to enhance them with painting.
1. Inclined beams
The sloping beams have mostly one carrier function: serve to support the weight of the tiles and form the skeleton of the structure. In an attic room they give a unique charm when combined with other wooden elements, such as parquet or door frames.
Also with a terracotta floor they give a touch of rusticity to the rooms and are perfect if left in the raw state, as opposed to a white wall or with stone cladding.
You can enhance the color with a layer of protective stain, which gives the wood even more character. The beams inclined have one thickness very broad and usually the truss is made up of a few elements. For this reason it’s best to paint the walls and ceiling white, to create a clear cut that highlights the exposed beams even more.
2. Lamellar roof
The glulam roof consists of long-limbed beams that cover the entire surface of the ceiling. The beams form of the rectangular portions parallel, made of planed wooden planks juxtaposed to each other seamlessly.
You may be interested in: Prefabricated roof
The lamellar roof gives warmth and style to the rooms and it is the most valid alternative to reinforced concrete. It is obtained by pressing and gluing the wooden slats: therefore it is a material ecological, which offers all the beauty and warmth of real wood. Furthermore it is lightweight, anti-seismic and highly insulating.
The advantage of this type of wooden roof is thewide choice of colors, ranging from the most classic shades of beige to gray with light or dark shades, depending on the style of furniture.
Another advantage not to be overlooked is the possibility of painting the beams: with dark wood it is not always possible to do this, especially when it comes to very dark colors, difficult to cover with paint.
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3. Wooden trusses
The wooden trusses are an idea absolutely indicated in a rustic style attic, because they enhance the structure of the sloping roof thanks to avery elaborate warping. It is a wooden ceiling with exposed beams of small thickness that cross each other, forming triangular or trapezoidal portions of great furnishing impact.
The trusses are particularly indicated in the presence of windows installed in the roof or skylights. In the case of a dormer window, however, it would be preferable to opt for the lamellar roof that supports the structure of the attic in a more minimal way. The wooden trusses should be left always in the raw state.
However, in the presence of a dense intertwining of beams and with a dark floor, it would be better paint them white to lighten the environment. It is also possible opt for the pickled effect, in order to create a slight chromatic detachment that highlights the pattern of the frame with respect to the ceiling.
4. Coffered ceiling
The coffered ceiling is ideal for uniform open environments and allows you to play with colors and light. It is a forming rafters lattice of the square or rectangular portions on the roof. The beams can be more or less protruding from the ceiling and painted in contrasting colors.
With a coffered ceiling it is always advisable to choose modern lighting, like spotlights with warm light, which create an interesting plastic game that avoids the flattening of volumes.
5. Steel beams
Among the most popular materials for decorative exposed beams are polyurethane and steel, very suitable in large and modern environments. The steel, in particular, is perfect for to furnish an industrial style attic and creates a very suggestive combination with a dark wood furniture. Also you have the possibility of resorting to darker colors, such as the gray or the black, which create very current contrasts.
Exposed beams for the attic: images and photos
Which of these styles is the most suitable for your attic? Here is a photo gallery with many exposed beam solutions for attic rooms. Find the most suitable style to enhance the ceiling of your home!
