Hope you get the house you want - popcorn ceilings and all!

I get it with the 1st world problems and we all have our range of tolerance - I'd remove popcorn ceilings but wouldn't run from oak cabinets! Reality is, if we're posting here, we are the lucky ones.

Exactly DLM and....the house I want also has oak cab's lol. Seriously, I like the challenge of (as inexpensively as possible cuz I don't have a lot of extra $ juslaying around) coming up with ways to improve a dated house. These cab's are going to be hard to work with though :/

I get what you're saying about 1st world probs, but since I'm the one who does any painting (widow with 2 teens), I'd have a hard time painting a popcorn ceiling. Also repairing any holes (for example if you move a ceiling fixture) is trickier. I'm not piling on to the anti-popcorn thing, just saying that for many it's a practical issue as well as a looks issue. And those cabs actually look pretty nice! I think they'll work with a contemporary or a more transitional look based on hardware.

Good luck - hope you get the house!

Had mine removed and it looks SO much better! It was not cheap but an upgrade that was well worth it.

Yeah, the same people that are hating on the popcorn ceilings probably have fake moose heads on their walls and shelves stuffed with beanie babies!

So the kitchen is not bad. Remove the wallpaper. I would paint the walls a greige color. Ceiling the same as the walls. Then live with it a while and see what you want to do.

Good luck getting the house!

TY all for the comments---and truly, to each their own--I was just feeling crabby this morning :) I would DEFINITELY remove the wall paper and was thinking that painting the cabs and adding hardware is a possibility. Otherwise, refacing ---but I'm not sure how much that would run? I'm in a fairly reasonable area for everything (except property taxes :/ ).

Kati there's a week or so old thread on the building forum about the trials of living in a rental house while waiting on their build. Part of me understands completely because I'm living in a rental house right now while we house/land hunt after moving to a new state and it's not perfect. And part of me wants to shake her and say how dare you complain and do realize how freaking lucky you are to be able to build your dream home? But I said nothing because we all have our moments where we cave to feeling a bit indignant at our circumstances and all our 1st world problems. I certainly have and probably will again - just slap me when I post about it here, though!

As for your cabinets, (if you get the house!).. yes you could paint them and painted planks (horizontal and vertical) are all the rage - now. But before you do that pretty much un-doable project, I'd sand and restain. Both are major projects to be sure, but I think there's a lot of life in those cabinets and as mentioned up thread, the right hardware and other room updates will go a long way.

my new construction home has popcorn ceilings in the bedrooms. I guess because it's cheaper to do those? something about insulation, too . . . wish someone could explain the rationale.

Hate them. May eventually remove. I hope!

While I understand your point. I don't think that people not liking popcorn ceilings is a bad thing, nor trivial. My kids poked a hole in a popcorn ceiling on a stairwell, and one in a living space. We had them repaired and repainted, yet, every single buyer assumed that there was water damage. You can't get a patch to match. They are almost impossible to clean and really ensure that you will lose the battle against cobwebs.

I mean in the face of the idea that there are more than a hundred billion galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars then most things that happen to one person on one tiny planet rotating one mid sized star might seem trivial. And given that person's accomplishments will most likely be forgotten in the blink of an eye, why settle for things that make you unhappy?

Textured ceilings have the advantage of hiding small flaws in taping and mudding that would be glaringly obvious if you had a smooth ceiling. So in this regard it is cheaper to texture a ceiling than it would be to get it perfectly smooth.

There are some sound advantages to having a texture as well, but people usually don't consider that. The texture absorbs sound better than a smooth surface.

Not sure you would get much insulation value out of them but who knows...maybe someone else does?

Maybe they meant sound insulation?!? I can't see it being thermal insulation.

ah, you're right -- I was thinking of the "excuse" that it hides flaws so the contractors don't have to be as careful.

Vaulted ceilings with possibly asbestos infused "popcorn" sprayed on them. What's not to love?

I don't mind the look of popcorn ceilings, but we tried to paint one a few years ago and OMG what a pain! Not only did it suck up a ton of paint, parts of the popcorn were coming off. Agree with the maintenance nightmare of cobwebs and dust, too.

I actually like the cabs in that kitchen (not the wallpaper). I think they have a very contemporary look! Good luck!

Wow! I didn't know that this cabinet look was *in* lol What color stain would you recommend DLM?

And , again, sorry if i pushed anyone's buttons----I'm sure i will also end up hating popcorn ceilings if i get this house (STILL haven't heard---GRRRR!).

In, out, trendy, dated - doesn't matter much to me unless they are badly worn or poorly constructed and it doesn't appear that way but you'll have to judge that. If they are solidly constructed, my personal preference would be something in a brown/gray stain, a bit weathered looking. Check out some of these colors click here But that may not be your look.

I have a few inspiration pics - these aren't oak but the grain is pronounced as it would be with oak. The pulls below might look good on your cabinets - nothing curvy, a type of bar pull mounted vertically could work, too. And of course you can always paint them - there's nothing wrong with painted cabinets and I do love that look, too. Kitchen cabinets take a lot of abuse and a painted surface that's not a factory finish might not wear well - a lot depends on how the refinishing is done.

I really like the morel and caraway colors below

I didn't get the house :( Back to the drawing board.....

Disappointing, I know. Onward.

Yes it is but I'm already moving forward (see my newest post ;)

Oh well, that wasn't your house.

Yea, that's kind of how I'm looking at it, HMTH, it just wasn't meant to be :/

Sorry you didn't get it. In the future though make sure as part of inspection to check for asbestos of the popcorn ceiling if the house has one in case you ever change your mind after living with it and want to remove it.

Popcorn is a major headache and expensive to remove. It is so messy to remove it should be done before you move in. Its just horrible stuff and could contain asbestos. But it is so dirty and if it gets damaged or stained, forget fixing it. We bought a house with popcorn throughout and factored the cost of removal into our offer. We had it removed before we moved in. What a mess!

Jane

When we renovated our kitchen, we took out some soffits, etc. The easiest thing for the contractor to do was cut down the ceiling and put up a new one. I would love to do that with our living room and dining room. It doesn't seem like it would cost more than having some one do the wetting, scraping, and skim coating. Note to self: look into that.

I didn't get the house (which continues to make me sad) but I have a question---if there is asbestos in the ceilings, isn't it better just to leave it--not mess with it---so as not to release the asbestos into the air?

Depends on what you mean by 'better'.

If it's properly removed, then no asbestos escapes into your house. That's what the pros are paid for. And then when you go to sell, you don't have to disclose that there's asbestos. However, proper removal can be pricey.

Encapsulation is another option. Add another layer of drywall and trap the asbestos so that it can't break off and be released into the air. But then you can't claim that the house is asbestos-free.

what kind of "pro" would I contact to remove my popcorn ceilings? No asbestos--this is new construction. It's only in the bedrooms.

It's not a trade skill or high tech but it sure is messy. Anyone with a step ladder, a spray bottle and a paint scraper can do the work. I'm assuming you're going to re-paint the ceilings? Why not start with a reference from your painter? Or, are you going to do that?

you assume I have a painter; doubt I would tackle it myself

When I moved from Illinois to Ca, I had never seen then except in motels when I was a kid. Every new house we looked at had them, and since we were spending more money on a home than we thought we ever would, it was hard for me to accept. We eventually had them scraped, but it wasn't a cheap fix. They also get gray from dust, dirt, etc. as they age, making them look even worse, and painting them is a nightmare. There isn't a thing I can say that is nice re:popcorn ceilings, sorry.

the best way to paint them is to spray paint them, if you remove them you will then need someone to texture over the surface, and then paint (I have done both of the above - well, I had someone do it for me!) You simply cannot add texture on top of the 'popcorn'.

I got rid of the popcorn ceilings in my last house. I couldnt have been happier to be rid of them.

Painting the popcorn material makes it much more difficult to remove, so think hard about removal first. Paint really does not make the material more acceptable in any way, unless the existing surface is stained.

I wanted to add that popcorn ceiling sucks up paint like a sponge. We have weird ceilings in our house, 3 rooms have popcorn, one was scraped, others have a weird texture that maybe looks like wannabe plaster, and some have knock-down. The popcorn ceilings have the most cobweb issues.