Drywall cove ceilings and feature ceilings with indirect light in Mallorca

A cove (foseado) is a perimeter or central drop in the false ceiling creating a 12-15 cm trough that houses a hidden LED strip: light bounces off the ceiling plane and produces glare-free indirect illumination. Beyond the light itself, a cove visually orders the room, allows a hidden curtain recess (35-40 cm trough for a motorised track) and creates two-level ceilings with stepped coffers. It is the single detail that most transforms a living room, bedroom or hallway in a renovation.

Per our 2026 rates, a perimeter cove with indirect LED sits at €45-80/m² of executed band (materials + labour, VAT not included), with a standard 12-15 cm trough. The exact amount is quoted per linear metre at the free site visit, because it depends on the design, the levels and whether it integrates a hidden curtain recess. The installed 24V LED strip with driver adds €15-25 per linear metre. Written fixed quote in 24-48 hours.

The trough drops 12-15 cm below the finished ceiling plane; if built over a complete false ceiling, the general plane also loses 4-6 cm from the slab. Our honest recommendation: keep a final clear height of at least 2.50 m in living rooms and bedrooms. Below 2.45 m we advise limiting the design to a narrow perimeter cove or ruling out a central island, as it would visually compress the room. We verify this with measurements at the site visit.

We work with dimmable 24V strip as standard: it has lower voltage drop than 12V, allowing runs twice as long with uniform brightness and no visible flicker. With 12V, beyond roughly 5 m per run the voltage drop already causes noticeable brightness loss at the far end, and a living-room perimeter cove typically adds up to 15-25 linear metres. 12V strip only makes sense for very short runs. In both cases we require CRI of 90 or higher for faithful colour rendering.

Always in an accessible hatch: a small access panel in the cove itself, a utility cupboard or an accessible zone of the false ceiling. The driver is the component most often replaced in maintenance, and housed in a hatch it swaps out in minutes without opening the ceiling. One of the most common mistakes we fix from other installs is drivers sealed inside the trough: when they fail, board has to be broken and repainted. We also size the driver with a 20% margin over the strip load to extend its service life.

Bedrooms and living rooms: 2700-3000K (warm white, cosy atmosphere). Kitchens and bathrooms: 3000-4000K (neutral, better colour rendering on food and skin). Work areas: 4000K. Our standard is CRI of 90 or higher; for hospitality and retail we recommend CRI 95 or higher. With dimmable strip and a compatible driver you can programme scenes (day, dinner, night) and integrate the cove into DALI, KNX or Zigbee home automation.

A standard room takes 1-3 days: day 1 setting out, framing and levels; day 2 boarding plus LED strip and driver integration; day 3 joint treatment and ready-to-paint finish. Curved coves with flexible board add 1-2 days for the extra framing work. Before starting, we deliver a fixed quote in 24-48 hours after the site visit, with the cove drawing and light points defined on plan.

Yes. If the existing ceiling is sound and there is a light point nearby, a dropped perimeter band is fixed directly to the current ceiling without a complete false ceiling: it is the most economical option within the €45-80/m² executed band. However, if HVAC or wiring needs routing, or the original ceiling is out of level, a complete false ceiling (from €29/m² per 2026 rates) with the cove integrated is the better call: the extra cost pays off with perfect flatness and hidden services. We tell you which one suits your case at the visit.