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The choices a designer makes for his or her own facility speak volumes. In the case of House Sprucing, a firm located in North Dallas, Texas, that designs residential and commercial spaces, the company’s taste is on full display in its office and retail showroom. Visitors enter spaces that are finished and furnished with relaxed elegance, making them forget the business is housed in a 40-year-old commercial building. To complete the effect, House Sprucing’s team upgraded the suspended ceiling to a richer decorative look using thermoformed tiles from Ceilume.
The Presentation Room, where Heather Fujikawa and Tyson Fujikawa present designs to their clients, is a conference room with a decidedly welcoming, residential feel. It’s the look they specialize in: Modern Traditional. The style of the conference table is somewhere between contemporary office desk and dining table. The chairs around it are comfortable and modern, supplemented by easy chairs in the corners. Grass-cloth wall covering and a knobby area rug (rather than carpeting) on the floor make a visitor feel at home. The dropped ceiling is made of decorative, 3D tiles in an elegant pattern reminiscent of a classic coffered ceiling.
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When they took over the space, it had a typical suspended grid ceiling of old, discolored mineral fiber tiles. The grids were yellowed, as well. “We wanted to create a nicer experience,” explains Tyson Fujikawa. The pair chose Ceilume’s lightweight thermoformed Stratford tiles, a shallow relief pattern of coffer-like squares, in pure white. “Ceilume was a great product to elevate the space and make it more modern,” he adds.
Made in the USA from high-quality rigid vinyl, Ceilume tiles are durable, long-lasting and eye-catching. They are impermeable to water and do not stain or discolor from exposure to moisture. The Stratford style is one of more than 40 patterns that complement a wide variety of looks—traditional and contemporary. They are made in 13 colors and finishes, as well as three levels of translucent material for creating luminous ceilings. Ceilume tiles fit standard 2- by 2-foot and 2- by 4-foot ceiling grids. Many styles can also be direct-adhered to ceilings (and walls) in spaces that typically do not have dropped ceilings.
To refresh the yellowed grid, House Sprucing installed Ceilume’s EZ-On Drop Ceiling Grid Covers. These satin-finish vinyl covers snap over the grid in moments, completely concealing the old yellowed enamel and providing a fresh look to complement the new tiles.Â
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The decorative ceiling is extended into the two restrooms, as well. Because they are water impermeable, Ceilume tiles are a better choice for wet areas like restrooms, locker rooms, or showers. “We wanted to have a more elevated look in a very old space,” says Fujikawa. “We had this beautiful remodel done, beautiful wall tile, new floors, but the old ceiling tile was terrible, badly stained and discolored. If we were to have replaced them with the same type of tile, that would have totally thrown off the design. It would still look not-great, even if it was new. Ceilume was the perfect thing for us.”
Customers like the look, which helps sell the design business. “People love it,” Fujikawa relates. “They come in and say, ‘This is great’. One customer even picked a similar ceiling for their physical therapy studio. They saw it in our showroom and wanted it in their new facility. We showed them the Ceilume tile and she was like 100 percent.”