How to Hide Popcorn Ceilings

Ceilings.  Ceiling have been the bane of my existence since Hubby and I first became homeowners.  The townhouse had popcorn ceilings which were a little bashed and (kind of poorly) patched in many spots, and let's not forget the dreaded drop ceilings in the basement.  Although drop ceilings are genius, especially for finished basements, where you still want to be able to access plumbing and the other guts of a house, ours were old and cheap.  As luck would have it, the lakehouse has popcorn ceilings too!  Luckily, they are in pristine condition.  Other than soaking up twice the paint of drywall, they haven't bothered us too much.  With our white walls/white ceiling combo they aren't terribly ugly but, in the back of my mind, I can't help but wonder if de-popcorning should be on our to-do list.  

When Armstrong Residential Ceilings asked me to review their new website, especially their Ceilings 101 feature, I was really curious.  Would they have a solution for popcorn ceilings?  How many different ceiling styles could there even be?  Turns out there is a whole world of truly elegant ceiling options, and dropped ceilings have come a long way.  The Ceilings Guide breaks it down, starting with the most straightforward options (drywall and drop), but also explaining the more fanciful, like coffered ceilings, shed ceilings, and tray ceilings.

Ceilings 101 is quite literally a crash course, helpful for anyone looking for some outside-of-the-box ideas.  Then, for serious shoppers, the website links to products to suit different styles and budgets.  If you like the idea of tray ceilings, for example, you could opt for tin ceilings with tin-look panels, which can be painted any colour.  They had me at teal.  A colourful ceiling is on my to-do list.

In regards to my popcorn problems, in the section on Ceiling Myths I learned I don't need to scrape them bare.  I could just cover up my popcorn ceilings by installing a new ceiling right over them.  So clever, and seemingly easy for anyone with some DIY skills.  Hmmm, good to know!   

My tour around Ceiling 101 was insightful and I feel armed with a lot of knowledge.  If your ceilings are gorgeous (you lucky duck), there are still some neat things to be done with ceiling tiles.  I'm reminded of Chris and Julia's use of thrifted tin sheets to update the backsplash of their rental kitchen.  With some strong adhesive tape, they temporarily covered up some tile that just didn't do their collection of vintage treasures justice.  Armstrong's metal ceiling tiles would look just as cute.  I vote for that dreamy teal!

This post was sponsored by Armstrong Residential Ceilings.  From the first click I thought the website, especially Ceilings 101, would be useful to anyone tackling a renovation or perhaps house-shopping (and feeling discouraged by wonky drop ceilings and crumbling popcorn ceilings).  This is a great place to start researching options (or just while away a lunch break in the before & afters section).  All thoughts, opinions, and editorial decisions are my own. 

Basement Update: How to Paint Drop Ceilings You Cannot Remove

I think I am the least glamorous blogger.  Other folks are doing major renovations with fabulous, luxury finishes like marble and hardwood, and I'm over here painting my janky drop ceiling.

I hate drop ceilings.  But they are convenient and, with our goal of giving the basement the cheapest makeover in history, I had to figure out how to decorate around our shabby drop ceiling.  I decided to paint the drop ceiling the same colour as the walls, so the ceiling won't stand out and the basement will look cozy and warm.  This basement will never feel tall or spacious so there's no sense fighting it; I'm going to emphasis its small size and make it feel like you could curl up here with a book or craft project.  Plus, I'm not going to lie, I'm too lazy to cut in neatly.

The Best Way to Paint Ceiling Tiles That Cannot be Removed

We tried removing the ceiling tiles, but ours only move side to side (to access pipes, etc) so taking them down would have required dismantling the framework (too much work).  After much cursing, tugging and general wriggling, we gave up.  Next idea.  I tried painting them in place, like a regular ceiling but the paint made the tiles stick to the frame and when they shifted a bit, I had weird cracks and peeling paint.  Arrgh.  More swearing.  Next idea.  With Hubby building walls and a nice, not-drop ceiling in the next room, I eyed some of his furring strips and we came up with this solution for painting drop ceiling tiles that cannot be remove:

1. Prop up a few ceiling tiles with furring strips
2. Using a large paintbrush, paint the edges and the frame holding the tiles
3. Once paint is dry, drop the tile back
4. Using a roller, apply paint to the middle of the tile
5. Congratulate yourself with a Guinness, for outsmarting a ceiling

Success!  I'm loving the painted ceiling because it blends it.  I used a good quality primer and paint in one, so this job is fairly straightforward and only required one coat in most spots.  For this project, you definitely want to speed up the process so I recommend a good primer and paint in one. 

I'm really thrilled with how well my bizarre hack worked, although I could only do about 6 tiles at a time - unless we were to splurge on some extra furring strips.  Hubby was quickly finishing his work in the laundry room, so I was against the clock to finish up my task before I had to relinquish the wood!

So that's my quick tip for painting ceiling tiles that you cannot remove.

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