A ceiling is a commonly overlooked aspect of basement design, but it plays an important role for both lighting and visual appeal. Choosing the right ceiling can make the difference between a dark and cold-feeling basement, and a bright and warming space. There are a variety of different basement ceiling options to choose from, but which ones are the best? We’ve narrowed down the top three most popular, trendy, and fantastic basement ceiling designs around.

Basement tray ceiling

Half-tray rounded ceiling design showcasing a lovely basement kitchen

Tray ceilings, also known as inverted or recessed ceilings, look exactly like they sound; an upside-down tray. They’re a versatile design choice, allowing large, long, small, short, rounded, and squared design combinations, which makes them a stylish choice for practically any location in your basement.

Large rectangular tray ceiling paired with an open-concept design and LED lighting

Overall, whether your basement is a simple open-concept design or a complex and fancy layout, tray-ceilings add an extra layer of visual aesthetic and elegance. Additionally, they provide excellent acoustic capabilities, so they’re a particularly worth-while addition to a music or entertainment room.

Hidden LED lighting option

Tastefully hidden LED-lighting maximizes your at-home theater experience

In this golden age of technological advancement, every home in 2020 should have LED lighting. LEDs are more energy-efficient, more powerful, and generate little to no heat compared to traditional light bulbs. They provide exceptional mood or atmosphere lighting for a basement space. In and of themselves, LEDs can be considered a ceiling option. Hidden LEDs also pair quite well in combination with a tray ceiling.

Hidden LEDs work quite well with a tray-ceiling design of any kind

Box beam ceiling

Box beam ceilings are typically considered a high-end design choice, as they’re far more complicated, time-consuming, and expensive to design and install. However, their complexity is what makes them truly stand out from all other ceiling designs.

Rustic box beam ceiling accentuating a kitchen/bar basement space

Box beam ceilings are primarily meant to dazzle and charm your guests with an air of luxury and sophistication, but they also have practical applications. They can help hide pipes and wiring from view, particularly for basement remodeling projects.

Box beams can provide practical solutions to noticeable wiring and pipes