We did veneer plaster for a couple of reasons. In our regional area, no one does it. We had to go to a specialty supplier and order it in. We found someone who trained in Maine to install it and the only reason it was a bit more expensive than drywall is because our original framing was uneven and we ordered 5/8" thick sheets. I had a pretty strong aversion to drywall after the adventures with mold. Veener plaster is freakin' gorgeous, perfectly smooth and we would do it again in a heartbeat. The feel of it perfectly matches the rest of the house - which is all 1920's plaster. Here, people call the supposedly water resistant drywall "blueboard", so I was surprised by what it looked like (gray, gray and more gray) and that it was made up of two slightly different layers and that it is much harder and denser than drywall. It works pretty well as a sound deadener too! @casey Wow, that is really nice!

This appears to habe been something I never would have thought of. I dissected out a few joints yesterday, taking care to see what the soft mud was all about. Turned out it itself was not soft - it was like a bubble underneath. We floated over a layer of paint that was evidently latex over oil and it is pulling away from the underlying layer. I suspect that the moisture in the mud was drawn into the latex layer, loosening it. It is not a problem except in the grooves where the mud was deeper. I know how to remove molding but that's only the start. Then you have to re-cope the corners (2-piece crown) and deal w/ the gaps created between the door jamb and casing. Just too much, and too much mess in a finished house. I relented and am laying 1/8" Masonite over the panelling. Easier to cut around molding, easier joints, much less mess. We roughed it up so it would look more like old plaster. It will look just fine. Thanks for your suggestions. Bill/Memphis

Are you all feeling superior now? Comments posted while I was writing mine, including the one Sandi wrote. Actually, I have a habit of calling out anyone when I know what I know. As of this posting, the time you posted at is one hour difference then when Sandi posted about letting it acclimate for a week. So I know you didn't post at the same time. So you were commenting on the acclimation, without reading all the responses. Also the advice of The entire project does NOT have to be redone. Take down the ceiling area that is buckling. Trim off enough from the boards on either edge to alleviate the problem, then put all the pieces back up. So says my carpenter husband. It's a simple fix. This in itself is horrible advice. This is tongue and groove, you may want to look up exactly what that is. To enlighten you, if you cut some off the tongue or groove. You would have to router each piece. This would be a total waste of time! If all you wanted to do is alleviate the buckling and not solve the problem. You would pull it down, reinstall, and have to trim down the last pieces installed. Just imagine if you "Take down the ceiling area that is buckling." Since it's tongue and groove it would be extremely difficult just to pull that area down. Then you may come up short when attempting to meet the area's not buckling. I'll mention about having to face nail when attempting to work a piece in, but I doubt you'd understand any of it. You may also want to read upon insulation/vapor barriers etc. There are very few areas in this country where the vapor barrier actually goes on the opposite side of the conditioned building envelope. However, no place in this country calls for vapor barrier in some areas of a ceiling, and none towards the peak of the structure. You would have to have minimal knowledge to understand this, and look at the pictures provided, plus an understanding of what you're viewing.

I am having a similar dilemma, so I would love to see what you end up doing. I have always thought this room to be very pretty and although you are doing a dining room, they are similar: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/love-this-ceiling-is-it-tongue-and-gro-dsvw-vd~21695 We have a designer here in Canada by the name of Sarah Richardson who likes to whitewash a lot. I recall one time reading that to avoid a pink look over wood that some whites leave, she actually uses a gray paint and then wipes it off. Maybe not wipe so much of the paint off on your sample? It's a lovely room and with that view is bound to look gorgeous no matter what you do.