Every space needs light, whether residential or public, a shopping centre or a concert hall: lighting plays an essential role in supporting its purpose. Correctly positioning the lighting system creates an atmosphere suited precisely to the room’s function. Stretch ceilings offer countless possibilities in this respect. Any type of lighting accessory can be installed: chandeliers, ceiling lights, spotlights, LED strips and optical fibres. These can be combined to create two or three types of lighting according to the client’s needs.
In homes with single-level stretch ceilings, the usual choice is general lighting positioned along the central axis, powerful enough to illuminate the whole room. It can be provided by one or two ceiling lights or by a series of spotlights arranged in a particular pattern.
If the stretch ceiling has two or more levels, ambient lighting can be installed: quieter, more discreet light, possibly with adjustable brightness. This type of lighting is created by fitting LED strips into recesses or coves between the levels. The resulting lines of light outline the space and give the interior a fresh, modern feel. The same approach can distinguish areas within a room, such as the kitchen and dining room.
To emphasise a particular feature — a piano in the living room, a dining table or a statue in the hallway — we use direct, intense accent lighting. This may be a wall light or a halogen fitting with fully adjustable brightness. The same type of lighting is used in showrooms and poker or billiard rooms.
Alongside functional lighting, artistic photo-printed ceilings can incorporate decorative lighting to give the printed image a three-dimensional appearance. Ceilings that imitate a starry sky are particularly popular. At your request, however, lighting elements can be associated with any image, creating lighting similar to ambient illumination.
A clear advantage of stretch ceilings is the ease of installing wiring and support frames for light fittings, without chasing channels into the ceiling and walls. It is important to install a switch and dimmer for each type of lighting, allowing the desired atmosphere to be created.
One more point should be noted: the bulbs used must not become too hot. If incandescent bulbs are used, they should be at least 15 cm from the PVC membrane to avoid deformation and scorching. The original article recommends LEDs as the optimal option, describing them as not giving off heat and having higher efficiency.