Q: I like the look of tray ceilings, but wouldn’t it be a bad idea to cut through the ceiling joists of my home to raise the middle of my bedroom ceiling?
A: That’s not how a tray ceiling is built. Avoid cutting through the ceiling joists to raise part of the ceiling. To achieve the tiered appearance, you’ll need to frame a second lower ceiling surrounding the area that you want to appear recessed. Once the secondary ceiling is framed in place, you can finish it to match the original construction and then use trim and paint to contrast from the recessed area, which will give it a look of more height and depth.
