Storage furniture is a major investment in any home. The living room in particular, needs to be organised to cope with the diverse nature of its contents and activities.
Apr 09, 2010
To many of us, a ceiling is just an overhead interior surface on the upper part of a room. Ceilings are above your head so everytime you look up, you are likely to lock eyes with the ceiling. Ceilings are also an opportunity to create an attractive and unique home.
By Joyce Nyakato
To many of us, a ceiling is just an overhead interior surface on the upper part of a room. Ceilings are above your head so everytime you look up, you are likely to lock eyes with the ceiling. Ceilings are also an opportunity to create an attractive and unique home.
But a ceiling can define a room.
Ceilings are classified according to their appearance or construction. Numerous designs have evolved over the years. In addition to their distinctive appearances, each has some positives and negatives associated with them.
Joyce Nalule’s, a hardware dealer, says concrete ceilings are the most popular because of their durability and heat insulation.Her hardware shop on Luwum Street shop sells more wire mesh, a material required for concrete ceilings, compared to ceiling boards which she sold more in the 1990s.
She says her customers obviously prefer concrete and only opt for the ceiling boards because they are cheaper. The use of ceiling boards has worn out over time but still being used by some people because of their affordability.
“One of the purposes of a ceiling is sound proofing: concrete is better at it than the ceiling boards,†she says. Roselyn Karungi, a Bukoto resident, says her house has a concrete ceiling and she likes it.
“Although ceiling boards are much cheaper, they are plain and it is hard to add any decoration to them,†she says.
“With concrete ceilings, you can compose different design, creating uniqueness for every room†she says. “Concrete also gives you an opportunity to customise the ceiling- for example designing a name of the room’s occupant,†she says.
Nalule adds that another reason for the popularity of concrete is durability as opposed to the ceiling boards which need regular repair.
Boards get soaked if there are leaks on the roof and get large brown marks.Alex Muhumuza of Planning Design and Associates adds that because ceiling boards are becoming less commonly used the pricing is also rising.
The ‘Tongue and Groove ceiling’, a nice wood furnishing and work of art is also gaining popularity. It adds a touch of elegance and warmth to the room.
Rich in design, it takes a would-be plain room and dresses it up with details. Most people use cypress wood as raw material because mahogany and mivule cost a fortune.
The suspended ceiling system is also breaking ground into the construction industry. The ceiling is mounted or ceiling crew fixed to a metal grid that may not be exposed. Panels and soft coated soft boards are dropped or inserted into the ceiling grid to form a suspended ceiling system.
It is common in commercial homes like apartments and also houses with high roofs. The use of papyrus reeds and mats is often an alternative in rural areas.
Though with the traditional ceiling, there is no sound proof the great display of handiwork adds some touch of class to the room. The use of plaster boards is also gaining recognition by many. The thick, soft boards acquired the name ‘plaster’ because they are often used in UK and US as a quick alternative to plastering walls.
Muhumuza says plaster boards, like Tongue and Groove, are also limited to a few because of their higher cost. He however adds that they are worth the cost because they can be cut into any shape which is not possible with the other ceiling types. Ceiling types cannot carry the same visual impact but they are a fundamental feature that contributes to the overall presentation and feel of a house.
To many of us, a ceiling is just an overhead interior surface on the upper part of a room. Ceilings are above your head so everytime you look up, you are likely to lock eyes with the ceiling. Ceilings are also an opportunity to create an attractive and unique home.
But a ceiling can define a room.
Ceilings are classified according to their appearance or construction. Numerous designs have evolved over the years. In addition to their distinctive appearances, each has some positives and negatives associated with them.
Joyce Nalule’s, a hardware dealer, says concrete ceilings are the most popular because of their durability and heat insulation.Her hardware shop on Luwum Street shop sells more wire mesh, a material required for concrete ceilings, compared to ceiling boards which she sold more in the 1990s.
She says her customers obviously prefer concrete and only opt for the ceiling boards because they are cheaper. The use of ceiling boards has worn out over time but still being used by some people because of their affordability.
“One of the purposes of a ceiling is sound proofing: concrete is better at it than the ceiling boards,†she says. Roselyn Karungi, a Bukoto resident, says her house has a concrete ceiling and she likes it.
“Although ceiling boards are much cheaper, they are plain and it is hard to add any decoration to them,†she says.
“With concrete ceilings, you can compose different design, creating uniqueness for every room†she says. “Concrete also gives you an opportunity to customise the ceiling- for example designing a name of the room’s occupant,†she says.
Nalule adds that another reason for the popularity of concrete is durability as opposed to the ceiling boards which need regular repair.
Boards get soaked if there are leaks on the roof and get large brown marks.Alex Muhumuza of Planning Design and Associates adds that because ceiling boards are becoming less commonly used the pricing is also rising.
The ‘Tongue and Groove ceiling’, a nice wood furnishing and work of art is also gaining popularity. It adds a touch of elegance and warmth to the room.
Rich in design, it takes a would-be plain room and dresses it up with details. Most people use cypress wood as raw material because mahogany and mivule cost a fortune.
The suspended ceiling system is also breaking ground into the construction industry. The ceiling is mounted or ceiling crew fixed to a metal grid that may not be exposed. Panels and soft coated soft boards are dropped or inserted into the ceiling grid to form a suspended ceiling system.
It is common in commercial homes like apartments and also houses with high roofs. The use of papyrus reeds and mats is often an alternative in rural areas.
Though with the traditional ceiling, there is no sound proof the great display of handiwork adds some touch of class to the room. The use of plaster boards is also gaining recognition by many. The thick, soft boards acquired the name ‘plaster’ because they are often used in UK and US as a quick alternative to plastering walls.
Muhumuza says plaster boards, like Tongue and Groove, are also limited to a few because of their higher cost. He however adds that they are worth the cost because they can be cut into any shape which is not possible with the other ceiling types. Ceiling types cannot carry the same visual impact but they are a fundamental feature that contributes to the overall presentation and feel of a house.