Not much is known of ancient Greek ceilings, but Roman ceilings were richly designed with relief and painting, as is shown at the vault soffits of Pompeian baths. In the Gothic period, the common tendency to use structural elements decoratively then adapted to the design of the beamed ceiling, for which sizeable cross-girders support smaller floor beams at right angles to them, beams and girders being thickly chamfered and molded and commonly painted in bright colours.

During the Renaissance, ceiling design was progressed to its highest tip of originality and difference. Three forms were further developed. The first was the coffered ceiling, in the delicate design of which the Italian Renaissance architects far exceeded their Roman prototypes. Circular, square, octagonal, and L-shaped coffers abounded, with their edges intricately carved and the field of each coffer marked with a rosette. The second type consisted of ceilings entirely or partially vaulted, often with arched intersections, with painted bands highlighting the architectural design and with pictures covering the remainder of the area. The loggia of the Farnesina villa in Rome, decorated by Raphael and Giulio Romano, is a good demonstration of this. During the Baroque period, wondrous figures in heavy relief, scrolls, cartouches, and garlands were also utilized to decorate ceilings of this type. The Pitti Palace in Florence and many French ceilings in the Louis XIV style showcase this. In the third kind, which was particularly found of Venice, the ceiling became a sizeable framed image, as in the Doges’ Palace.

In contemporary architecture ceilings are sometimes split into two major kinds — the suspended (or hung) ceiling and the exposed ceiling. With ceilings hung at a distance underneath the structural members, some architects have sought to conceal great amounts of mechanical and electrical equipment, such as electrical conduits, air-conditioning ducts, water pipes, sewage lines, and lighting fixtures. Most suspended ceilings utilize a lightweight metal grid suspended from the structure by wires or rods to hold up plasterboard sheets or acoustical tiles.

Other architects, featuring the aesthetic of the exposed structural system, take pleasure in showcasing the mechanical and electrical equipment. Due to this design, many structural systems have been developed that have a deliberate power in themselves and make admirable ceilings.

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