BRUTAL 3d Drop Ceiling Tiles - What Lighting Can Be Used? How Do you Install Lighting? Let's get dramatic!
Our BRUTAL 2x2 modern drop ceiling tiles are all about the nuance of light and shadow. Consider your lighting carefully. Down lighting is great for illuminating the floor but does not do much for the tiles. Lighting from the side is what gives interest. Light from windows and up lighting from torchieres or wall sconces that flood across the ceiling can make for dramatic effects. Also consider different colors of lighting coming from different directions. Have fun with this!
How are lights supported?
Our tiles are made from very thin PVC sheet, making them very light weight and easy to work with. Light fixtures can be easily incorporated into the faces of the tiles. Since the tiles are so light, they are not capable of supporting any weight, so the fixture must be supported from the structure above the drop ceiling. This also means that any insulation bats, electrical cabling, flex A/C ducts must be properly supported from the structure above.
Now, how do you suspend the light fixture? Here we show the support and electrical parts. This is the standard way of supporting anything that goes through the tiles, and is also used with regular mineral tiles. Anyone doing drop ceilings (including electricians) knows these well. They are easy to adjust to sit anywhere in the grid at any height so the tile sits flat.
Here using Globen as the center of the installation:
Here you can see standard fully adjustable light supports for 4" lights in Europa tiles:
Here is an exciting new lighting option that attaches to the grid frame with no support or electrical box necessary! It also allows placement of a Brutal tile inside it (may need a little trimming and experimentation to fit). Get it at Wayfair: Luxrite 4-Pack Edge Lit
Here is a great example of a hotel lobby using hanging LED ring lights which give great drama by casting a lot of shadowing with our Globen design.
Surface mounted LED lights are now available that are quite light, so you may be able to install them in a tile with no added support. Here a 5" LED light does work in the center of Globen:
Here are some lighting examples using a surface mount 7.5" LED light that is available at Home Depot. They offer various sizes. These require extra support as they are heavier.
Blox - note that this is flat to the face, so it is not aimed straight down.
SoBe - Death Star or Pokemon? This design looks best when the flat face is oriented towards windows.
Europa - Also lights up the four surrounding tiles - would look amazing with a bunch of these in your installation!
Globen - Surface mount lights or hanging fixtures
These are LED panel lights that allow the choice of three different color temperatures and dimming. These panels are far from ideal for maximizing the impact of Brutal tiles. Up lighting or side lighting is more ideal.
The panel and round 7.5" Lighting products shown are off the shelf from Home Depot:
Here are a few examples of a more dramatic approach. This customer runs an Oncology massage therapy business where she wanted to create a beautiful relaxing atmosphere for her patients. She had difficulty deciding on which Brutal design she wanted, so she purchased some of all of them! The harsh LED panel lighting was too bright and sterile for the desired effect, so various pieces of up lighting was used instead to great effect. This is the ideal lighting to bring out the interplay of curved surfaces and flat planes. Note the happy customer!
Here are Europa tiles used as a stage backdrop and colored projected lighting. Wow! Note the small lights in the middle of the tiles. They are under cabinet puck lights.
Brutal tiles and dramatic lighting. What a pair!