11.15.2010

The Score is Harveys:1, Cottage Cheese Ceiling:0

PSSSST...I'm no longer blogging here!
You can now find me at

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It's gone.  All gone.

Hubs and Son in Law kicked that bad boy to the curb.  And it wasn't hard.  Took maybe 5 hours with both of them working on it.


This little jobby made it MUCH easier, and I highly recommend getting one if you attempt this task.  About $20 at the Home Depot.


It has a scraper across the top, and then a frame to attach a bag to catch the evil cottage cheese....


Here it is in action....


Here's Hubs using the poor man's version.....


Uh, is that my antique table you're standing on, Hubs?


Basically the guys used spray bottles of HOT water to saturate  the ceiling (it wasn't *dripping* wet, but it was pretty durn wet).  Let it sit a couple minutes, and then started scraping.  It really just slid right off....like buttah.  Some places were more stubborn, but an extra misting usually took care of it.  It wasn't messy doing it this way either.

Messy is when they started sanding.....which we decided just wasn't worth it after going over it the first time.  We realized it was gonna take like a thousand hours of mudding and sanding to get it smooth.
So...we're taking the easy way out...

(that's not us, BTW, just the genius folks who posted a tutorial at the link)

Lots of girls have done it in blogland, so after stalking all the pictures, I decided beadboard wallpaper was for me and my family room too.  The hanging will commence this next weekend.  

In other family room news, we found some trim to go around the ceiling that's wide enough to cover the indecencies left by the builders when we removed the original orange wood plank:


It's $150 we weren't planning on spending, but such is the way of home improvement, eh?  
This puppy is just over 7 inches wide.  
We're also gonna add some under the mantel to beef it up.


And speaking of the mantel, I fiddled around with paint on the top portion (as that will be covered by paneling) trying to come up with a possible treatment for the bottom bricks to lighten things up without covering every inch in paint. Came up with this:


I first tried four things:
1. Painted the grout white like the walls, then dry brushing RL's Canvas Natural over the bricks. Ok, but something wasn't quite right.
2. Covered the entire brick with paint.  Icky.
3.  Dry brushing white over the brick to leave texture, leaving the grout as is.  Too much contrast.
4.  Rolling gently over the brick with the RL paint, leaving the grout as is.  And that was just right, like Baby Bear's Porridge. At least for now.  We'll see after I get everything back in the room.

Wouldn't want to commit or anything.

If you try this, your bricks need to be highly textured.  I used a roller for smooth surfaces, then got most of the paint off  in the tray before lightly rolling over the surface of the brick.  It took all of 7 minutes.  A few places I used a brush to reach (corners, near the floor), just made sure most of the paint was off the brush.  I would take a few steps back every now and then to catch any odd-looking areas.   
I think I like it.  Here was the inspiration pic I found:

I liked how it was white on top with a bit of color on bottom.  My fireplace is much larger than this, though, and the white grout didn't look right with the off white brick for some reason.  Maybe I should've tried a glaze?  Anyway, I went ahead and painted the whole top portion white like in the photo, just to see if I'd like it, and though I like the white over off-white, I think covering the top with painted white paneling like my walls will look better in my space.  I guess we'll soon see.

And finally, we're trying to decide on light fixtures.  I'm thinking of switching my ceiling fan with the dining room/office chandy.  It looks like this:

I'd add some shades...I like the ones in Ballard Designs:

Hubs isn't sure a chandy would look right, though.  I think it'd look awesome, especially if I can find some wall sconces that could use the same shades. 

My other idea is to move the '80's lantern fixture from my front hall in there....painted, of course, and glass removed perhaps.  But it might be too small for the space:

Ah, decisions decisions.  I have some pillow covers to sew, and I painted the trim on the mantel mirror too.  Again, gonna have to see everything together.   I'm already brimming with Christmas mantel ideas!  

I'll be collecting them at my inspiration blog:

So, for anyone keeping track, I am now in the middle of 4 room re-dos: dining/office, 2 boys bedrooms, and the family room.  I. am. a. nut. 


32 comments:

Tricia said...

Whew, looks like a lot of work, but I can tell it's going to look great. I can't wait to see it when it is all done :)

At Home in English Valley said...

Hi Cindy, I was never going to attempt to remove our cottage cheese ceiling, but your post gives me hope,someday! The beadboard paper will look beautiful. Great job! Love, Penny

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

One day, some day, I dream of getting rid of the popcorn ceilings in our place. I am very inspired by this...

Cassie Bustamante said...

i am thoroughly impressed- that's all i've got to say.

Pine Tree Home said...

We scrapped our popcorn ceilings too. Can you believe I actually was the one who wanted it back in the day? Ick. But I am loving the beadboard wallpaper idea. I'm gonna go price it out.

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

How exciting to get rid of your popcorn ceiling!! The idea of putting wainscott wallpaper up there is brilliant! Can't wait to see it all done!

COTTAG3 said...

I'm so excited to see this all come together and see the finished rooms. Yeah, you might be a little nuts doing 4 rooms at once but it will all be so worth it! I can't wait to see that beadboard ceiling and the finished fireplace.

Suzanne@Meridian Road said...

Beadboard wallpaper on the ceiling will be PERFECT! It's going to be fun to see the finished room. I like the painted brick.

Momma Button said...

I am so excited about the scraper!! I thought that we were going to have to do this by hand, (literally) You have given me such hope. Our home was built in the '70s and is full of cottage cheese and wood paneling. Can't wait to see when you are finished!!

Tammy said...

You go girl. You keep on those boys to do all the dirty work that is what a true supervisor does. :)
It is looking great so far. I can't wait to see all 4 rooms.
tammy

Amy Kinser said...

Whew!!! I am tired!!!

This is going to look fantastic, Cindy.

Polly said...

Wow! You are a busy girl! I LOVE the idea of beadboard wallpaper on the ceiling....a wonderful solution!!

It is all looking fabulous Cindy! Keep up all the good work!!

Polly

Sherry said...

Getting rid of the popcorn ceiling, wow that is so much work but you will love it. Beadboard is one of my favorite looks. We have it in our kitchen.

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

You are a little nutty but I like nuts! I have book marked this because I so want to get rid of the cheese in my hallway. Makes it feel so low. I want it all gone but especially there! How do you get the wall paper to stick without it falling on your head? I have got to go watch that video!

NanaDiana said...

Lord love us...I can remember when thet cottage cheese ceiling thing was all the rage. I lived in FL and every home I went to had it...if you DIDN'T have it- you felt bad! And now...well...now they have invented a scraper to take that stinking stuff off!

I love that 7" wide trim. It will be beautiful and well worth the money once you have it up. Good luck on hanging that ceiling wallpaper. Ever done that before? Don't try it with contact lens in--trust me on this.

Have fun..okay..bye...;>) Diana

Rachel Noelle Pallas said...

Yay!!! The popcorn is gone!! ;) I didnt know there was such a thing as beadboard wallpaper..that is too cool!! ;) Hugs, Rachel

Claudia said...

Bravo on the cottage cheese removal! That must be a huge relief. Beadboard wallpaper will be perfect in that room. Can't wait to see it all.

xo
Claudia

Jayme Goffin, The Coop Keeper said...

you just couldn't leave it alone could you! I think the beadboard is a great idea...a GREAT idea! Love all you do - you sure inspire me (she types as two rooms are torn up with absolutely no inspiration..) when are you coming!?

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{northern cottage} said...

yeah --- looks amazing! You rock girl. Ohh...and I'm swooning over the cottage crush! Read the WHOLE thing and loved loved loved it all!

cheryl said...

And I thought I was nuts!! I'm only re-doing my kitchen and laundry room at the same time...right before Thanksgiving! The plumber laughed out loud a long time when I called and told him I needed the sink hooked up on the 24th b/c I was getting the countertops installed the day before. What in the world is so funny about that? He thought I was having 30 for dinner the next day! I told him, "No..we're coming to YOUR house for dinner if it's not hooked up!" HA!
BTW...LOVING my newly painted cabinets! LOVING THEM I'll tell ya! ;)

Tonya said...

GREAT stuff! I love the beadboard wallpaper idea for the ceiling. Gotta do that somewhere around here! Hmmm. Oooo, the living room. This may take a year or two of talking my husband into. I'll look forward to seeing how yours turns out.
Nice to meet you, but the way. You sound very busy!

Chris at Red Gate Farm said...

Oh my, we just scraped FOUR rooms of the dreaded cottage cheese over at the Peach Palace! How I wish we'd known there was this handy gadget. We of course went with something similar to your husband's approach.

I LOVE the beadboard wallpaper idea, way easier than putting up a real beadboard ceiling. Can't wait to see the finished room... any of them! :)
Chris

Funky Junk Interiors said...

Wow! You are going to town!

Something worth mentioning is, the scraping of popcorn ceilings is said to only work well if it hasn't been painted. The paint won't allow the water to penetrate, making removal very difficult. Thus the reason mine remains.

Maybe I should have asked... was yours painted?!?

Donna

Anonymous said...

I had to laugh when I was reading this post because I felt it was something I wrote....I had to go back to make sure it wasn't my blog...LOL!

We clearly have similar lives at the time being. I have about 4 rooms going on at once, have done quite a few bead board ceilings (never even knew bead board wallpaper exsisted?? wow!), am tackling some chandeliers, and I just painted an entire brick wall. In addition, my husband is doing a job right now for a customer removing a popcorn ceiling. Not his favorite part of the job. Especially because he has to do the sanding that you quickly realized was quite messy.

Great minds think alike LOL! Then again, rather than great minds, we might just be crazy....

Can't wait to see pics of all your transformations....

Take care,
Lisa

Shannon said...

Just curious, have you compared the cost of beadboard wallpaper with actual beadboard? We did our kitchen ceiling in beadboard and it looks fab! I bet your place will look great when you're finished!
Shannon
www.akadesign.ca

hilary@oldhousetruelove said...

you are motivated... that's the way I look at it!!! can't wait to see the ceiling! once you put your cottage touch on all your projects they no doubt will shine! ;)

Calypso In The Country said...

Great idea with the wallpaper. I remember a blogger using it at one point but I think that might be a great idea for my bedroom. I just blogged today how I wished I could convince my husband to add the beadboard to our ceiling! Can't wait to see how yours turns out!

Tricia said...

Please be careful when removing popcorn ceilings, most have asbestos, which should be removed by a professional! You can have your popcorn ceiling tested for asbestos, just google for more info. We scraped a small piece from each room and sent it to a lab.

Jenn McArthur said...

This post could not have come at a better time. My husband and I have been debating the ins and outs of redoing our ceiling for just over 4 years now. Unlike your cottage cheese, we have the ever popular and glamorous "random pointy sponge swirl" effect going on, that was popular 40 years ago in cottages that wanted a high-end appearance. NOT. We've been discussing its removal endlessly, and thanks to you, I've won the debate. He wanted to rip it all down to bare joists and I wanted to just scrap it. He said it couldn't be done, and I told him "oh yeah?? I'll show you pics of it BEING done" Thanks for posting, I'm gettin' my ceiling scraper next week and we're starting on the sunroom the week after.

Avon Ally said...

OOOO i have laughed so much! Maybe its an English thing, but before I could see all your hard work and motivation all i could see was the Laurel and Hardy moments, and I have just sat here at 6 in the morning laughing like a drain. I love love love your blogs and this one is fab. Cant wait to see the finished result. The only frustrating thing about your blog for me is that lots of the products and things I cant get in England, but you are so inspirational I can get past that lol Ali xx

Unknown said...

My husband and I removed the popcorn ceiling in our vacation home (1100 sq ft of it). I suggest using a sprayer rather then a spray bottle, much easier on the hands. Just fill it with hot water and spray, very simple and hey, who doesn't have a need for a garden sprayer anyhow.

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