You can wallpaper and paint to look like metal. Anaglypta or lincrusta.

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Sat, Dec 28, 13 at 9:34

I worked with the Armstrong acoustic tiles in a budget project in an older house several of years ago. The HO spray painted every single one with metallic paint before the install. That cost as much as the tiles! Their smaller scale didn't really look appropriate with the 12' ceilings. And when they got dirty from that lack of a vent (contrary to my recommendations), they were virtually impossible to actually clean. She was talking about ripping them down and then up and changed jobs and had to move so I don't know what any new homeowner did with them.

Be very careful about adding too many superstars to the kitchen. If you want the ceiling to be a major focal point (awkward) then the cabinets, counters, floors and other elements have to be pretty plain to avoid sensory overload. Believe me, a textured or decorative ceiling in a kitchen can be a lot more difficult to clean than a smooth plain painted ceiling. Count your blessing it isn't that awful popcorn crap.

Hollysprings--Laughing at the popcorn comment--you certainly hit the nail on the head, time and again. People spend a fortune to get a nice smooth ceiling....

Cambriahouse I have no experience with ceiling tiles except for using them in a basement remodel years ago. I'm not sure I would use them again in a kitchen.
I do however share your ceiling woes. I am NOT a fan of plain ceilings and in my kitchen I planned to beadboard the ceiling. Even bought it and we were ready to install. Then I decided to hang the balloons everyone says to use to decide on light fixtures. That did it! No more ceiling beadboard for me. Too much going on in the kitchen. My DH and I just stood there and couldn't believe how much our ideas changed. We will now just paint a color as the rest of the house has a subtle color on the ceilings and put up the crown and call it done.
The DIYers sometimes need to rein themselves in. You do what you want for your space but just thought I'd share our revelation.
I did have a friend do what Annie suggested. The wallpaper then paint. That turned out really nice and was quick and easy and cheaper than ceiling tiles. If you know how to wallpaper.

I used the anaglypta on the ceiling in my current kitchen and I really like it. It helped to hide the plaster imperfections, too. I painted it a semi-gloss white. It was a lot of work getting it up there but mostly all the prep needed for the old (dirty and greasy) plaster. Very happy with the final result though.

Here is a picture of the work in progress on the old kitchen, but the ceiling is finished. I left all the battens from the drop ceiling as DH was certain that the whole thing was going to come down on our heads if I touched them. I still think he was a little nuts but actually liked them up there when I got done with it. Plus, no seams to deal with so bonus!

cambriahouse:

Respectfully, I don't like your idea one bit and am reasonably sure you'll regret it.

first thing that I'll say is that I love old tin ceilings. But...only where they are appropriate. And in many (I'll dare say even most) houses, they aren't. This from a person who originally wanted to install them.

The point of "too many superstars" is one to pay attention to. It's really easy to have all these separate "loves" for in a house...but when you put them together - it's kinda like throwing a party and inviting all of your exes to it...even if they were nice enough on their own when you interact with them, it's likely to turn ugly pretty quickly when you get the whole group together.

So, figure out who your star is...and who has the supporting actress roles. If it IS the ceiling who is to be the superstar, no worry about that, but remember that you'll probably want to keep the rest of the kitchen pretty subdued.

You also mentioned that you'd like to maintain the ceiling height...I'm assuming that if you're worried about adding furring strips, that your ceiling is NOT 9 feet or greater. Something that we came to a realization with is that in all the places where we saw and loved tin ceilings, they had high ceilings. Look at the photos that mdln posted...all high ceilings. Us...we had 8 ft. ceilings. I would have closed in on us. My husband and I...We LOVE tin ceilings. But we came to the conclusion that we love tin ceilings in buildings where it makes sense to have them...this is typically older buildings with high ceilings...not our 1950's house with 8' ceilings.

So, now onto plain/flat ceilings. In a kitchen where it MAY be a "working" kitchen, a flat ceiling is wonderful in terms of ease of cleaning. I don't know if you cook, but if you do, and you do anything that is tomato based ever (or a multitude of other things that can splatter)...tomato sauce has the uncanny way of shooting straight up to the ceiling but a bubble bursting just as you are getting ready to stir the sauce. Don't ask me how I know this, but trust me that I know it's true. Flat ceilings are much easier to clean than something that has a texture. You'll want a paint that does NOT have a flat base, nor do you want something super shiny....go somewhere in the middle since that will lend itself to easier cleanability but also won't emphasize unevenness of the ceiling that may (read: always does) happen.

I'm a big fan of tin ceilings. in fact, it's a project I'm looking at for my dining room. Maybe someday. When I win the lottery. LOL

We live in a 140-year-old gothic revival home with rather simple aesthetic for the most part, but that said, I'm kind of in the boat of "more is more." :) I don't usually mind pattern on pattern on pattern. In fact, I love it. My Victorian house really comes alive with that kind of detail. Heck, in my kitchen alone, I have beadboard on ceilings, walls, and wainscot. (It's all original--found after pulling down sagging plaster). I have the old 4 x 4 ceramic tiles on my counter, granite on my island, crown molding, vintage brass chandeliers and sconce lights. I love my glass cabinets that show everything and patterned curtains. And my 4" red oak floors with their heavy wood patterning.

It's all in how it's put together. Pattern makes me happy AND it's appropriate for my house with the tall ceilings and large wood moldings and tall windows.

if you want it, I say go for it. And cleaning? i've never cleaned a ceiling in my life--unless you count when my mother had that pressure-cooker accident...

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

I also appreciate the anti-tin-celing comments as these make us think if we really do want one or not. Very useful to get a variety of opinions.

We have ruled out the 12x12 tiles as they are too fragile (6 kids here). If we do go with a tin-look it will be glue-up steel or plastic for durability mostly. It probably would be white so it doesnt draw too much attention away from everything else.

The relatively high cost of the panels makes it a "think-about-it-first" issue.

Thanks
Steve