I don't have pix but follow the link.

I've done a lot of the texture called 'Spanish Knife' (at the link). Only mine is more subtle and I always paint it white. I roller on the paint and then brush the wet paint to add brush marks or brush on the final coat. Very easy to do & covers a multitude of sins.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drywall Textures

I have "popcorn" ceilings now and HATE them - Sooo 1980s. However, the texture does hide a lot of imperfections. If you do add texture, use whatever is currently being done on walls of new construction in your area. I understand the textures of choice are regional. Here, "orange peel" or "perlite" are common.

Just a thought - if you don't have texture anywhere else in your home, it may look a little strange just in one room. You may be able to add some pendant-style light fixtures to distract the eye away from the ceiling. If your light source is below ceiling height, the ceiling will be somewhat in shadow and imperfections will be less obvious.

We have textured ceilings throughout our house. The ceilings in our kitchen and DR had to come down to work in the space b/w the first & second floors...plumbing + electrical/lighting/speakers + venting. We are replacing it with a non-textured ceiling since I also hate the texture. Eventually we will replace all the first floor ceilings this way. Probably the second floor as well...but I want to finish the first floor first.

Here's a picture of the ceiling in our LR and Foyer:

Closeup of texture:

Showing the texture against a light fixture

I suspect our entire house was originally drywalled by idiots and to hide it, the builder made them texture EVERY wall - heavily. I've chipped off pieces during remodeling and found drywall, paint, texture and then more paint layered on. I actually like it, it's like living in clouds or lace.

One tip is to paint with a very matte finish, not shiny. The shiny paints show everything.

Our house is an 80's house and we specifically requested the popcorn texture (our designer thought we were joking). Truthfully, as long as it is done correctly, we actually like the look. If we had gone with a smooth ceiling, then the entire remaining house would have needed to have the existing texture removed as all of the rooms basically flow together. Yes, it is so 80's and currently out of style, but our ceiling texture is historically accurate for our home ;)

The only problem with textured ceilings is that it seems to be much harder to make repairs and match the new texture to the old. You can almost always tell where the repairs are.

I am counting the days until we can get rid of our texturing. It traps dirt / dust / etc. and there's no way to clean it. Not good for allergies. Can't stand the look of it, either. We might do a light plaster type coating if the underlying drywall is to wavy to fix but that's about all. Of course right now our bedroom is a sea of coarse texture (walls and ceiling). It's very unfriendly.

I'm in the Pacific Northwest where texture is the norm (both ceilings and walls) We have one called Brocade which looks basically the same as knock down. It's actually not easy to do as much of it needs to be done by hand.

Here's a close up of ours before paint and a link with some more drywall textures.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drywall texture

I'm also in the Northwest and my DH scraped all the popcorn ceilings off of our 1969 house. We had someone hand brocade the entire house. Looks much better. However, in the kitchen, I didn't want brocade (thought it looked too formal) and had him very very lightly do orange peel. I am happy with how it turned out. I need to take pictures of both.

I'm in the PNW too (SW BC) and here kitchens and baths don't normally get textured ceilings. After all, how would you clean them?

My 1930 house had texture put on all the ceilings except the K and B and I would dearly love to get rid of all of it - it was done badly and there are several places I need to take out wonky closets and pelmets and the texture then has gaps.

We took down our "popcorn" ceiling during the remodel (not by choice). I did want it down eventually but because of the situation it had to go NOW!
Because the ceiling wasn't in paintable condition we had to put something up again. We chose 'spantex'. I guess that is what the builders are putting in the new homes, so they don't have to finish the ceiling, and I guess it cost a fortune to upgrade to painted.
Here is what it looks like (like globs of drywall mud sprayed up, but it does look good to me : ) It's not pokey/sharp like popcorn but smooth and easily paintable, from what I'm told.

kevinw1, really? No texture? Are these all older homes you are talking about? Because I've never seen a smooth drywall surface in anything I've been in for the last 10 years or more. Not popcorn, but definitely some kind of texture. My friend in Northern Cal owns a drywall business and I asked him what is the norm there. He said it's rare to do the smooth surface but every now and then, he'll get a request for it. The really high end homes usually have some sort of hand applied texture or plaster effect. When I researched this topic, it seemed the smooth was found mostly in the South and East Coast from the people who post on GardenWeb.

Serious question, are you all cleaning your ceilings? I've never cleaned a ceiling. Just the usual cob web clearing.

Thanks for everyones input! I'm posting a picture that shows the horrible patching job we did. Should we just try rolling on some texture, would that even hide it?

Lindybarts, the kitchen on my 1930 house is in an extension added in the 70s and it's smooth. The bathroom had its original ceiling until recently, made of "donnaconna" (a kind of wood fiberboard used for walls and ceilings here before there was a road and drywall sheets could be brought in economically). That had a slightly textured surface due to the material, it wasn't surface-applied.

My previous place (low-end condo in Vancouver, built in the 80s) had smooth kitchen and bath ceilings. Small rooms, though, so not much mudding and sanding needed.

The front porch here, and the pantry, have textured ceilings with sparkles in :-) Goodness knows when they date from.

Cleaning.... well, I'd like to have the option when it gets greasy and yucky. Especially with a gas range.

That's interesting...I didn't realize it was a regional thing.

I'm on the east coast, we have textured ceilings but smooth walls...that seems to be the norm around here. As I mentioned earlier, I plan on replacing the textured ceilings in our house w/smooth. I tried to clean our ceiling once (wiping w/damp cloth to get dust down w/o spreading it b/c of allergies & asthma here) and the texture started to come off. I don't know if it's supposed to do that, but it did in our house. And the nail pops! I think they would be difficult to repair and we have several in our ceilings. [I hope that's not a bad sign structure-wise!]

And then there are the soda stains on the ceiling that I haven't been able to get rid of...DH & DS were playing around shaking soda bottles and the inevitable happened! [Actually, that's gone now as it was in the kitchen and we currently have no kitchen ceiling!]

All in all, I think the smooth ceilings are easier since they can easily be sealed & repainted if you have stains on the ceilings...

Dusting in the corners, but no cleaning here! I paint every couple of years though : ) Another close up pic

We have brocade texture (also known as hand knockdown)