Customer project 12: Star ceiling disk

This was a nicely implemented fibre optic star ceiling, using the prefabricated panel approach. In this case our customer opted to create an 8ft disk of mdf suspended from the ceiling, with space for the light source to sit on top of the disk, out of sight. Since he wanted a reasonably high density of stars, but didn't need the fibres to be very long, he asked us to make up a custom harness with 200 fibres in an equal mix of 0.75mm and 1mm diameters. In the context of his design this was more cost-effective than buying one of our off-the-shelf DIY kits.

You can see in the photo above, that our customer, Dan, didn't fill the entire disk, with a uniform distribution of stars, but went for a more natural look. "We used the "chuck a handful of rice" technique you suggested ," he reported, "and it's worked beautifully."

This, as the name suggests, is one way of gauging how a particular number of fibres will fill a space, and also helps to achieve a nice random layout.

"We're planning another for the bedroom," he added, "so I'll be making another order soon." (We're delighted to hear that!)

"Thanks for all your help on this," he concluded. "I'm sitting under its soothing ambient glow as I write and it's brilliant. Well worth the money!"