Ceilings- A surface too often forgotten

Outside the bedroom, ceilings are a surface too often neglected when it comes to interior design.  While they usually are not the visual focus when one steps into a room, they can provide function that normal walls cannot.  The ability to hang can create an uneven, dynamic surface as opposed to the  flat surface of a vertical wall.  Take for example this creative idea by Lorena and David of San Francisco (via inspiringmomma.blogspot.com).  They took simple embroidery hoops, stretched differently designd fabrics, and then hung them sporadically from the ceiling at different heights.  

I was at a Thai restaurant in Chicago recently and found similar inspiration in their tiny weighting area.  The restaurant hand hung Chinese umbrellas from the ceiling at varying heights.  The space was small, so the hangings did shorten the height of the room, but it had a cozy effect.  This photo was taken looking up, I'm getting an Iphone soon simply for better picture taking. 

This bedroom interior doesn't quite take advantage of the uneven surface idea, but it does do a good job of bringing the focal point of the room to the ceiling and aware from the walls.