Trend Alert: Tented Ceilings

From whimsical and bohemian bedrooms to cozy and dramatic living spaces, these fabric-covered wonders (and one designer's surprise!) take ceiling treatments to new heights.

By: Lori Johnston

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Photo By: Robert Allen Duralee Group

Photo By: Schumacher

Photo By: Joanna Smith-Ryland

Photo By: Nickolas Sargent

Photo By: Laura Metzler

Photo By: Nickolas Sargent

Boho Bold

Fabric with a bohemian pattern in warm hues wraps around a study designed by Cheryl Settino Mosher for the 2017 Holiday House NYC. "I wanted my showhouse study to feel layered and intimate, and a tented ceiling creates a cocoon-like atmosphere, especially in a small room," she says. The Lush Scene pattern is from Robert Allen's Nomadic Color collection.

Nomad at Home

Settino Mosher layered on print after print for her eclectic, global-inspired study with a tented ceiling. "I envisioned this study belonging to a woman who leads a well-traveled life. This space is where she unwinds and displays her collected treasures," she says. The fabric and Miles sofa also are from Robert Allen.

Loosening Up

"My design approach with the tent is that it had to be relaxed and bohemian. I didn't want perfect pleats or a tense-looking drape," says Settino Mosher, of her 2017 Holiday House NYC study. The orange trim is painted with "Bittersweet Vine" from Benjamin Moore's Century line.

Whimsical Wonder

Designer Mallory Mathison Glenn installed striped blue-and-white fabric for a tented ceiling in a whimsical kid's bedroom during the 2017 Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Homes for the Holidays Designer Showhouse. The Edie fabric is from Schumacher. Mathison Glenn says she was inspired by French designer Madeleine Castaing’s beautiful tented rooms and style.

What's Underneath

The tented ceiling leads to striped valances with red cotton poplin trim and trellis-patterned wallpaper, all from Schumacher. Mathison Glenn says the colors of the French flag and Schumacher’s classic pastoral print, "Plaisirs de Chine," seen on the pillow sham and duvet, helped guide the design of the room.

Glam Touch

A bohemian-style red and pink bedroom is topped with vibrant red fabric for a dramatic tented ceiling. "When you want to create a glamorous and exotic feel in any room, what better way than to use a tented ceiling," says Joanna Smith-Ryland, a fabric, curtain and patchwork designer in England. "Not only are they glamorous, but they also create a (cozy) and warm atmosphere." She installed a solid hook at the center to secure the fabric and used a large "rose" to cover the inevitable hole.

Vivacious Vestibule

Designer Mark D. Sikes chose a special way to showcase the striped and ikat fabric from his collection with Schumacher. He covered a bedroom vestibule with the blue-and-white fabric during the 2018 Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York City.

Draped in Ruby

An upholstered ceiling, using Fabricut’s Lush fabric in ruby, swoops above a chic apartment bedroom makeover by Washington, D.C.-based Shannon Claire Interiors.

Ceiling Centerpiece

Designers use a variety of chandeliers and fixtures for the middle of an upholstered ceiling. Shannon Claire Interiors mounted a brass light fixture onto the ruby fabric for the final touch.

Designer's Surprise!

The ceiling is painted to look as if it is tented in designer Alexa Hampton’s living room, called "Olympia Folly," with fabric-draped walls. "Born out of my ever enthusiastic and growing neoclassicist tic, I have been dreaming of campaign tents," she wrote in a description of the room for the 2018 Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York City. "This has led me to my first ever collaboration with De Gournay, in the creation of the draped interior of a Greco-Roman tent straight out of my decorator’s imagination — and mapped onto paper by my now-two-time Kips Bay collaborator: the artist Chuck Fischer."

Trend Alert: Tented Ceilings

Related To:

Shop This Look

Boho Bold

Nomad at Home

Loosening Up

Whimsical Wonder

What's Underneath

Glam Touch

Vivacious Vestibule

Draped in Ruby

Ceiling Centerpiece

Designer's Surprise!

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