Browse 12 ceiling ideas for an existing kampung or wooden house, from an open roof with exposed rafters to a new plank ceiling, then see what each one involves.
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A kampung house ceiling has to do two jobs: look good under a tall pitched roof and keep the heat of the roof out of the rooms without trapping air. The usual choices are to leave the roof open with exposed rafters and timber lining boards, to fix a flat or sloped timber plank ceiling, or to replace an old flat-sheet ceiling with new boards and timber cover battens. Whatever the finish, keep the gable vents and kerawang open, fix fans and lights to the frame, not the boards, and have any old cement-sheet ceiling tested before it is cut or broken. These 12 concept designs cover exposed, plank, board and vented ceilings; use the filters below to narrow them by style.
Each design below is an illustrative concept render of a ceiling inside an existing kampung or wooden house, grouped by style. Tap any image to enlarge it. Every card links to the ClickBina guide that covers the timber, board, ventilation, fan or lighting work behind that look.
12 designs shown
Illustrative concept design · Exposed roof
Dark aged timber tie beams and rafters stay on view under timber lining boards, above white walls and louvred windows.
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kampung house interiors →Illustrative concept design · Timber plank
A flat white tongue-and-groove plank ceiling with a natural timber edge strip sits over pale green plank walls and shutters.
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plank panel finishes →Illustrative concept design · Timber plank
A pale timber plank hall with an open pitched plank ceiling, tie beams, board walls and louvred windows.
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designing rooms with high ceilings →Illustrative concept design · Board & batten
A white board ceiling laid in a grid of timber cover battens over warm timber plank walls with two louvred shutters open.
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kampung house interiors →Illustrative concept design · Vented & cool
Light filters through spaced timber slats in the gable above a dark open timber roof, with plank walls and a door below.
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how roof ventilation works →Illustrative concept design · Vented & cool
A row of carved floral timber fretwork panels runs along the top of plank walls under a timber plank ceiling.
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kampung living room ideas →Illustrative concept design · Exposed roof
A fan on a long downrod hangs under a pitched timber plank ceiling with braced rafters, a second fan further along the hall.
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fans for high ceilings →Illustrative concept design · Exposed roof
A white boarded pitched ceiling between charcoal rafters tops a room of white plank walls and dark louvred windows.
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kampung house interiors →Illustrative concept design · Vented & cool
Silver reflective foil lines the roof between timber rafters, with a round vent at the ridge above plank walls and louvred windows.
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heat-reflective roof options →Illustrative concept design · Timber plank
Three woven rattan pendants hang from a pitched timber plank ceiling over a long timber table, louvred shutters behind.
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ceiling light installation →Illustrative concept design · Board & batten
A low flat light grey ceiling with a timber beam and trim sits over grey plank walls, louvred shutters and a timber bed.
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bedroom ceiling ideas →Illustrative concept design · Board & batten
A ground floor room shows exposed natural timber joists and boards overhead above white brick dado walls and a tiled floor.
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timber upper floor to concrete slab →These are illustrative concept designs created to show ceiling options for an existing kampung house. They are not completed ClickBina projects. Your ceiling is assessed and quoted to its own roof, timber frame and wiring.
More galleries: browse all design ideas by area of the house, from cabinets and kitchens to porches and grilles.
Start with the roof, not the ceiling finish. A kampung house stays cool because hot air rises into a tall roof and leaves through gable vents, louvres and gaps, so the ceiling must not seal that path. Before choosing a look, check the rafters and battens for rot and termites, find out what the old ceiling is made of, and note where the wiring runs. ClickBina's kampung house renovation guide puts termites and structure before finishes for the same reason.
For the rest of the house, the kampung house interior gallery shows walls, floors and rooms, and the kampung living room gallery shows the hall where the ceiling matters most.
| Ceiling | What it involves | Suits | Main check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open roof, exposed rafters | Rafters cleaned or painted, lining boards above them | Halls with a sound roof frame | Roof heat; foil or insulation above |
| Flat timber plank | Tongue-and-groove planks on battens at a set height | Bedrooms and smaller rooms | A vent to the roof space |
| Raked timber plank | Planks following both slopes of the roof | Large halls | Insulation above the planks |
| Board and batten | Fibre-cement or similar boards with timber cover strips | Replacing an old sheet ceiling | Testing the old sheets first |
| Exposed joists (half-brick) | Underside of the timber upper floor left on view | Ground floor brick rooms | Dust and sound from above |
| If the room... | Start with | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Is hot in the afternoon | Foil under the roof sheets and open gable vents | A fan on a long rod |
| Has a sagging or stained old ceiling | Find the leak or the cause and test the old sheets | A new plank or board ceiling |
| Feels too tall and echoing | A lower flat plank ceiling in that room | Curtains and soft furnishings |
| Has bats or birds in the roof | Screen the gable vents and gaps with mesh | Clean and repair, then close the ceiling |
| Has old wiring on the boards | New wiring in conduit | New pendant or ceiling lights |
No live ClickBina guide prices a timber plank ceiling, because the timber, the area and the repairs above it vary too much. For comparison, the wood slat ceiling guide lists a gypsum false ceiling at RM8 – RM22 per sq ft installed and a PVC ceiling at RM6 – RM15 per sq ft. Taking down an old ceiling adds RM2 – RM5 per sq ft for hacking and disposal on ClickBina's guides. The fan downrod guide adds RM50 – RM150 per fan for ceilings of 12 ft and above, a new wiring point is RM120 – RM250, and reflective foil sarking laid during a re-roof is listed at RM1,500 – RM2,500 for a terrace house (indicative Klang Valley ranges for 2026).
Ask for repairs to the roof frame, the new ceiling, vents, wiring and fans to be listed separately, so the work can be done in order: roof and termites first, then wiring, then the ceiling and lights.
We renovate and repair kampung houses, and a new ceiling is usually carpentry and board work with an electrician for the wiring, done after the roof and any termite problem are sorted. Asbestos testing and removal, if needed, is specialist work quoted separately. WhatsApp us your job details for a quote: where the house is, which rooms, what the ceiling is now, and the design on this page you like. ClickBina is an experienced KL & Selangor contractor, we reply within the hour, and the price we agree is a flat price with no hidden charges.
About the images: every image on this page is an illustrative concept design generated to show a ceiling option for an existing kampung house. Captions describe what each render shows. RM figures are quoted unchanged from the ClickBina guides named above, indicative Klang Valley ranges for 2026.
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