Do-it-yourself ceiling lighting: the best options

Ceiling lighting will create a special coziness and atmosphere in the room. Unique interior design elements are presented in many variations, which not only add extra volume to the room, but also visually lighten plasterboard and stretch ceiling structures.

In the article we will look at popular types and give tips on how to make ceiling lighting with your own hands.

In addition to aesthetic functions, a similar technique:

  • Visually increases the height of the room.
  • Gives a soft diffused light that will not distract you from watching TV in the evening or while getting ready for bed.


Before you decide to include lighting in the interior, you need to understand that such a system can take the height of the room by about 10-15 cm. When developing the future design of the room, consider these points. Use the suggestions below. They will help you make the right choice.

  • Installation of the backlight should be provided at the stage of installing the ceiling frame, so that it is possible to hide electrical wires, platforms for lamps, etc. in advance.
  • Plasterboard, rack, stretch ceilings can be made in several tiers, and using complex geometry, give them originality. In this case, your imagination is not limited by anything. Which of the ways to design the ceiling surface to choose is up to you.


  • On multi-level plasterboard structures, you can combine different types of lighting. For example, a starry sky in the middle and halogen lighting at the edges.
  • For stretch ceilings, due to their originality, it is worth limiting yourself only to LED strip around the perimeter of the room. Please note that different textures give completely opposite effects.
  • The main disadvantage of stretch ceilings is that not all light bulbs are allowed to be mounted on it, but only a certain power.
  • To visually increase the space, you can hide the backlight in the recesses on the ceiling and niches.
  • Evening illumination of the ceiling will help to dilute the meager interior in colors.
  • If financial possibilities do not allow you to make an original ceiling, purchase a ceiling plinth and lay LEDs under it.


Ceiling lighting options

The variety of lighting fixtures offered by manufacturers will help illuminate the room and radically change its appearance. Common ceiling lighting options include:

  • LED strips installed along the edges of the room. For multi-level structures, this technique can emphasize individual tiers or highlight geometric shapes.
  • are represented by randomly or evenly spaced light bulbs mounted in a ceiling system.
  • neon tubes better than others change the appearance of space. Differ in long service life.


In addition, depending on the purpose, the backlight is divided into:

  • target. Used to visually divide the area into zones. For example, or a dining table in the kitchen.
  • General. Represents the main lighting. In this case, spotlights are usually installed.
  • Designer. This option will not give much artificial light, but it will make the room cozy and comfortable. This includes luminous patterns or perimeter lighting.


To choose the right option, decide on the location of the backlight, the brightness you want to get, and of course, consider the overall style of the room.

Ceiling lighting with LED strip

Criterias of choice

When choosing an LED strip, be guided by the following criteria:

  • How dense are the diodes.
  • How much power does the product consume?
  • Is moisture protection provided?


LED strips are offered for sale in various color variations. By shades they are divided into:

  • Monochrome - one color.
  • Universal or RGB ribbons give several different variations - red, green, blue. RGBW strips additionally emit white.

At the price of the products are almost the same, so it is better to choose RGBW. For such diodes, the set is equipped with a special controller, which makes it possible to adjust the shades and the degree of intensity of the glow.

LED backlights also differ in the density of the arrangement of diode bulbs: from 30 to 120 pieces per meter of tape. If you intend to illuminate a large-sized ceiling, purchase products with a frequent arrangement of diodes; for a directional light source, you should use lower indicators.


How brightly the diode bulbs will glow depends on the power consumption. The SMD 5050 and SMD 3528 models are recognized as popular. The first gives 4.8 W / m at a density of 60 pieces of diodes per meter of tape, the second at the same density - 14.4 W / m.

Often included in the design of bathroom ceilings. Then it is better to use strips with additional protection against moisture. The price for them depends on the degree of security.

LED Lighting Options

LED lighting can be mounted in different places of the suspension system. We give the most common examples:

  • In niches. This arrangement seems to raise the ceiling into the air, creating a floating effect. Usually, niches are purposefully included in ceiling structures for decoration with LED lighting. The upward facing LEDs emit a soft diffused light. Side lighting with a tape will make the light directional, sliding along the “floating” ceiling surface.


  • Inside false ceiling. The tapes are mounted in the space between the draft ceiling and the translucent film web. This design makes the glow soft and diffused, and the ceiling seems to glow from the inside.


  • Behind the eaves. This method is the easiest and most affordable. In this case, you do not have to mount a tension or suspension system. The cornice is attached to the wall, and an LED strip is laid along the edge of the plinth.


Do-it-yourself ceiling lighting with LED strips has already been considered by us in articles, both for drywall and tension structures. Therefore, we will dwell in more detail on the nuances of installation associated with neon lighting and spotlights.

Peculiarities

The classic version of neon lighting is represented by glass tubes filled with an inert gas - neon. A special powder is applied to the inner surface of the "cones" - a phosphor, which emits a glow under voltage.


Due to the fact that neon ceiling lighting requires high voltage, a special current converter will have to be installed together with it. One device is placed at seven meters. The locations of the converting devices are determined at the stage of ceiling installation. Usually, niches are made in the concrete floor, where the converters are placed.

Neon lighting has the following features:

  • Such variations are used only as a decorative design, since they give a small brightness with a significant consumption of electricity. A wide range of shades will become an organic addition to the overall style of the room.
  • A quality product will last from 10 to 15 years.
  • The standard sizes for this type of fixtures are 1.5 length and 1.5 cm diameter. The temperature of the heated bulbs does not exceed 40 degrees, and the design works almost silently.
  • The junctions of the elements do not form dark spots, so the glow is uniform and continuous.
  • Instead of standard products, you can decorate the ceiling with a neon cord. Its flexibility greatly simplifies installation, and the device emits the same glow as lamps. The only downside is the expensive price.


Usually, neon lighting of a hidden type is most often used for rooms, placing products in hidden niches. Moreover, the narrower the opening for the exit of artificial lighting, the brighter the luminous strip.

You can select with the help of neon individual elements of decor or interior items. This will complement the overall design of the room, make the room harmonious and beautiful.

How to make neon lights

Having decided on the option you like, you can proceed with the installation.

Before you can make neon ceiling lights, you will have to replace the wiring from the switch to the fixture. The first step is to cut the wall for laying a new cable. Subsequently, the cracks can be sealed with putty flush with the surface.


Therefore, it is necessary to determine the placement of lighting devices, as well as to bring the wires before installing the ceiling and repairing the room as a whole.

Neon lighting on the ceiling is laid in a special plasterboard box or for ceiling plinths. The first method is chosen by carrying out artistic decoration at the repair stage, before the final decoration of the walls and ceiling with finishing materials.

Backlighting is laid in the plinth during the final finishing of the ceiling surface at the final stage of the repair. For a clearer design of neon lighting, you need to attach a small ledge to the plane of the eaves. To get diffused light, the board on the cornice does not need to be installed.


It is better to choose a larger skirting board for such work, because it is very difficult to mount transformers in narrow elements. If you still want to minimize the finish, just "drown" the transformer in the wall niche.

Usually neon lamps come in a kit, which, in addition to the lighting element, includes cords, fasteners, circuits, so there should not be any particular difficulties when connecting.

How to arrange appliances

In addition to the requirements for, it is necessary to take into account their correct location on the ceiling surface:

  • Uniform used in simple structures consisting of one level. In this case, the fixtures are placed around the perimeter of the room on the entire plane of the ceiling.
  • group designed to illuminate individual areas. For example, when zoning space. Most often, such variations are combined with the main source of artificial light - a chandelier.


On a note! Group lighting is often used to highlight figures on stretch or plasterboard ceilings.

Before you buy appliances, carefully plan and consider possible variations in their location. Be guided by the following parameters:

  • Type of light source, its power and technical characteristics.
  • View of the ceiling surface.
  • Placement method.


Installation of spot lighting involves the following procedure:

  • Lay the wires and bring them to the installation sites of the devices at the stage of assembling the frame.

Important! The permissible distance between the lamps and the metal base of the suspended structure should be at least 25-30 cm.

  • Lay the wires in special corrugations to protect them from moisture, and fasten them to metal profiles with plastic clamps.
  • In the ceiling finish, make the required number of holes corresponding to the size of the fixtures.
  • Install drywall on the ceiling and install appliances.

For stretch ceilings, fixing of fixtures is carried out after fixing the canvas, but all preparatory work (supplying electricity, installing platforms, etc.) is carried out at the frame assembly stage.


When arranging lighting in your apartment, remember that for the most part it performs a decorative function. Before starting work, check out the possible design options for lighting on the ceiling on the Internet, since illiterately selected methods can make the design heavier. This is especially true for multi-level suspension systems.

LED ceiling lighting - ready-made kits (video)

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