Cove & Ceiling

A cove is a reflector, and the quality of the result depends more on its geometry than on the strip inside it. The light needs room to spread before it reaches the ceiling; too little distance between the strip and the surface and the cove reads as a bright band with visible scallops instead of an even wash.

Aim for the strip to be set back from the lip and pointed up the wall rather than straight at the ceiling. That gradient is what makes a cove look architectural rather than like a lit trough.

Because a cove is usually a long continuous run, color consistency between reels matters here more than anywhere. A 5 SDCM product will show its joins on a ceiling in a way it never would under a cabinet.