The Existential Dread of False Ceilings

The first house I bought was a fixer-upper. I proclaimed that the first thing to go would be those awful drop ceilings and fluorescent lights. Once I moved in, I got a good look at what the suspended ceiling was hiding. Underneath was all the electrical wiring for the home, which was built before electricity was available. That particular project suddenly looked beyond my capacity, so I worked on other projects. By the time I sold the house many years later, the entire place had been remodeled twice, but the drop ceiling was still there.

Ceilings that have been lowered from the original can look good, but most not only look cheap, they look very sterile and corporate, like the office they must pay you to go to. Keep in mind that they are always hiding something. Stewart Hicks gives us the complete history and purpose of false ceilings and their pop culture implications. Just another thing you may to avoid when looking for a home, or at least make concrete plans for them before you commit. The last couple of minutes of this video are promotional. (via Digg)