Our coffered ceiling is still in progress, but it is framed with studs which will be completely covered in paint-grade wood trim (crown and 1x4's on the sides of the beams and 1x6's on the bottom side of the beams). Drywall was hung only in the ceiling between the beams and around the outside (where we have a drywall soffit). The outer drywall soffit is optional, and most coffered ceiling don't have this and run the beams all the way to the walls of the room.

This link has a picture of our ceiling...

Here is a link that might be useful: Coffered ceiling

Ours looks similar to fish's. The only pics I have so far are on the cell phone--I'll see what they look like and post one or take some more this weekend now that trim is getting painted.

Ours was built from trim after ceiling was drywalled.

Ours are the framed/then drywalled kind of coffers and will be left the same color as the ceiling (off white). We love them and get many compliments on them.

Thanks for all the responses. All of the ceilings look great! Too many decisions and we haven't even broken ground yet!! :) Thanks and any additional opinions/pictures are welcome.

Right after beams were built (in 2 different rooms):

I've since added rosettes to the "intersections". The beams will be painted the trim color (SW Dover White).

Ours is just framed, then drywalled. Sorry that I can't help you out with pros/cons of your options. Personally, I prefer the real deal - actual wood beams, but there was a large price difference!

In my experience, it depends on the size. If the coffers are deeper than a 1x12, and you have the ceiling height to handle that, use drywall. OTOH, if you want them stained, you don't really have any choice.
For more intricate molding designs, were even the "plain" sides are molded, then you _could_ use gypsum moldings, etc. etc., but mostly people use wood.
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Casey

Here's one I took today out at the house. The color on the walls is the tinted primer. They've just now painted the trim.

We'd originally wanted stained wood coffers in this room (with wood wainscoting) until we saw the cost of it all.

Can anyone give me an idea of the cost of coffered ceilings (white painted) vs. doing regular flat ceilings? Did any of you price out not doing them vs. doing them? Thanks!

Pricing is dependent on your Trim Carpenter, but I'd say a simple, small room (9 square) would be around $1,000. As you get more intricate, or want stain grade, angles, etc. the price can go up quickly. I think we got charged $1,500 for our diamond shaped pattern, plus materials.

Our drywalled and framed coffers cost around $600 labor and some materials. I'm not sure what the materials were, but probably not much since it's basically just a little wood and drywall.

We paid $1500 for the coffers (materials were separate). 9 squares in a room approx 20'x16'. Crown was one piece 6" crown. The squares are fairly large (about 70" interior if I recall), but it worked out best. You'll have to decide whether to make them square or equally spaced. We went with square for the center 3, which means rectangles on the side strips of 3 each.
We wanted one of the recessed lights centered in the room. We could have gone with more squares, but may have looked a little busy for the room. We're happy with the 9. On the other hand, I plan to add them to a small office (9'x12') and will likely have 9 in there as well.

We will have 9 squares in a room about 22 x 16. The squares are on the center and the rectangles are on the end like fish's. Pay attention to what you have in the room as well. We have a fireplace, centered on the coffers, and also a small wet bar with doors centered on the coffers. In fact, the architect noticed the draftsman did not center the bar on the coffers but centered it on the wall, and noted that it needed to be centered on the coffers.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and pictures. So many nice examples. I think I have decided on coffers made out of trim based on the look I am going for and we will have 9 squares as well. Thanks again for the help!