Guest Room Nursery

Popcorn Ceiling

Finally, after living here for almost two years, the popcorn ceiling in the guest room (soon to be nursery) will be coming down.

I’ve been careful to photograph the room and conveniently leave the ceiling out of the picture. See? Looks nice, right?

The Guest Room

…Until you actually see what’s above your head.

Popcorn Ceiling

We found out that popcorn ceilings sometimes contain asbestos, so we sent a sample to Western Analytical Lab for testing. Just a few days later, we had the go ahead (all clear!).

Brandon thinks he can get the whole thing done today, so fingers crossed.

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  • Fiona
    December 31, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    That’s great! I used Western Analytical for my abestos testing, too (of vinyl floor tiles). Those DID have abestos, but our contractor made a mistake and ripped them out anyway. I freaked, and was sure we were going to die, but then I read that the floor tiles have a kind of abestos that is not persistent and basically does not kill you. True or not, I choose to believe.

    Your room is beautiful and will be even more beautiful sans the popcorn ceiling.

  • lori
    December 31, 2008 at 12:40 pm

    good luck! taking that stuff down can be so messy! hope he’s able to do it in a day. can’t wait to see the finished product!

  • Jessica
    December 31, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    I removed this stuff from 3/4 of my house- it should come down pretty quickly, I hope he’s got a drop cloth underneath to catch it all!! It helps to wet it a little first….

  • Juju
    December 31, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Forza Brandon, we all keep our fingers crossed!

  • Heather
    December 31, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    Nicole–

    Be really careful yourself while Brandon does the work! Asbestos or not, the stuff in those ceilings is really nasty and you really don’t want to be around that dust while you are pregnant!! (and make sure Brandon wears a mask too!)

    That being said…can’t wait to see the results!!! :-)

  • Making it Lovely
    December 31, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    Oh, I won’t be sticking around. And Brandon has the room all sealed off with plastic sheeting (à la Dexter).

  • amy purple
    December 31, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    Just let Brandon know that our whole place has popcorn ceilings if he finds removing yours to be very fun!

  • xin
    December 31, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    Cannot wait to see the result! And what kind of light fixture are you going to use here? Anything is better than that ugly light bulb! Cannot wait! Wish my DH is half as handy as Brandon. :(

  • Julie
    December 31, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    Hi Nicole,
    You’re amazing, and I just wrote a blurb about you on my blog.
    Happy New Year!

  • Diane Faye Zerr
    December 31, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Did you use the Wild Aster paint in this room as you said in this post: https://makingitlovely.com/2008/10/22/possible-nursery-design/?

    I love this color and love the way it’s used with the white in the room.

  • Taylor
    December 31, 2008 at 5:43 pm

    I am so thankful for my smooth ceilings and wood floors!

    My in-laws old house had slanted ceilings/walls and I was torn between whether I liked them or not. They do take up a lot of space!

  • Erin
    December 31, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    It looks painted…is it? I hope not. Our home had one painted popcorn ceiling in a bedroom. Impossible to remove cleanly if it’s been well-painted. We ended up putting 1/4″ sheetrock over it. The rest of the ceilings cleaned up easy.

  • kristy
    December 31, 2008 at 7:50 pm

    Sounds like he’s got it under control! We used to have this on the entire main floor of our house – it was my #1 renovation priority before we started anything else (which, it wasn’t for my hub – glad I could convince him otherwise!)

  • mcauliflower
    December 31, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    I do love how the room slants – very Alice in Wonderland like!

  • Purple Area
    January 1, 2009 at 5:41 am

    Looks like a really nice room, it will be a great nursery (when the popcorn ceiling is fixed). Good luck with it!!

  • Terrah
    January 1, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    Good luck to you and Brandon!

    And Happy New Year!

    *Terrah*

  • Kay Sorensen
    January 1, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    I’m sure you will be thrilled to no longer have that “dated” ceiling.
    Enjoy.
    K

  • Christine
    January 1, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    I don’t know what is up with that stuff. Is it everywhere or just in the midwest? Everyone around here seems to have it (central WI). All I see is dust and places for flies to gather and leave their brown specks on. Yuck!

  • Sanna
    January 2, 2009 at 5:57 am

    We had to get rid of our popcorn ceiling about three years ago and it was a lot of work, but definately worth it. Good luck!

    Make sure to check out my blogs for my easy to join contests this months.

    Sanna

  • Julia
    January 2, 2009 at 10:32 am

    Good timing to get that done now. Babies do have a way of changing your lifestyle – for the better, of course. We had those ceilings in our previous house, and none of us will ever forget the day my husband put his leg through the ceiling while working in the attic. The three of us were downstairs laughing our heads off, much to his chagrin.

  • JuliaL
    January 2, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    I totally feel you about the popcorn ceiling. This summer, my boyfriend took it out of his entire 1500sqft house. When he bought it, it was the first thing I noticed and I was like, “This has got to go!” Now his ceilings look higher :-)

  • Cristina
    January 3, 2009 at 2:23 am

    That’s really good to know, especially since the house I’m moving into in May is popcorn ceiling. We were planning to remove it anyway (it’s ugly!) but at least we have a really good reason!

  • Todd @ Home Construction Improvement
    January 3, 2009 at 9:00 am

    How will you be removing it? Typically you can spray it down lightly with water and remove it with a flat putty knife.

  • Making it Lovely
    January 3, 2009 at 11:17 am

    Yep, he sprayed it and the stuff came off pretty easily. Getting the ceiling smooth afterward? That was the hard part.

    Diane, we’re actually keeping the walls the same color they are now. I’m going to bring in pink with the bedding and curtains, and we’re painting the dresser pink too.

    xin, we have this light for the room.

  • Diane Faye Zerr
    January 3, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    That’s a great light!

    What color is it now? I’m looking for something similar.

    Thanks!

  • Making it Lovely
    January 3, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    The color is “Wheat Bread” by Behr (Home Depot).

  • Alexis
    January 4, 2009 at 12:36 am

    Were did you get those red vases and lamp??? love….

  • donna
    January 4, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    thanks for that link!!! I’ve been wanting to get rid of the popcorn ceiling throughout the house and will have to have the samples sent out soon!!

  • Debbie
    January 4, 2009 at 6:35 pm

    We took the popcorn ceiling down in our entire house… we used my clothes steamer and a putty knife. It came off clean. Then I went back and retextured it with long strokes. Makes the house look so much cleaner. Good luck.

  • Becky Strahle
    February 7, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    Hi Nicole,
    Love your blog, so glad I stumbled onto it. Where did you get the curtains in that room…so cute?!

    Even though our house is newer we have the dreaded popcorn ceilings too. It would take me a million years to do the entire house. What was the mess like?

  • Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » No More Popcorn Ceiling
    September 30, 2009 at 7:48 pm

    […] has given way to a smooth, flat ceiling, thanks to Brandon’s hard work. As I mentioned before, the ceiling did not contain asbestos (always check before removing because many popcorn ceilings […]