You do not have high enough ceilings to do larger than 5.25 crown molding it appears. The reason size is very important can be demonstrated with this example. I had an old neighbor with a new custom built home. Her husband installed their crown and baseboards. Mary always wanted more, bigger, better...even though she didn't have any more than 9 foot ceilings. So they installed too large crown and baseboards to make Mary happy. Nothing complex, just very oversized for the space. It looked ridiculous, unfortunately. Due to the white oversized trim top and bottom, the walls looked shorter than ever. In effect, they shrunk the room! Also remember to install crown that corresponds to the baseboard. You can even go to the big box stores to get advice. If you hire someone to do the job, they will know the correct size. Good luck, hope it looks fabulous for you. Here is a link that might be useful: crown molding size chart

Unfortunately, you do not really have an easy task on your hands there. I've done this numerous times since I renovate old houses. Without seeing exactly how deep the grooves are, there a possibly 3 options: 1-install smallish sheetrock over the ceiling plaster (3/8"). I don't like to do this b/c it is usually hard to hang as you have to make sure you get a stud and not screw into plaster or lathing. And, sometimes it is not really level. To save on removing plaster, I just had an idea but have never done. You could run 1x4 wood furr strips across the ceiling, then run sheetrock. 2-You can do the same for the walls, but then the reveal around the doors and windows is messed up and does not look good. Can work if you have really thick trim and use thin sheetrock. But, sometimes this is wavy. 3-Remove the plaster and sheetrock. Best approach. Then you can open a bit of a can of worms: studs that need to be replaced, need furr strips, maybe new wiring... Will look great when done, though. 4-You can apply a wide fiberglass mesh to the entire wall and mud it in. Use hot mud on the first coat---very important! They come 3-4 ft wide. It is kind of expensive, but less than demo. However, if the grooves are too thick then this may not work since the finishers would have to apply way too much mud to fill it in. Julie

I'm thinking it's one of a three things, but leaning more towards just one or two. Here is a macro closeup of a wall in our remodel that will be tiled - it's been painted. You can easily see it's got a lot of rough areas. This is due to new plaster being applied, then sanded... sanding extended beyond the plaster onto the drywall, which gets fuzzy when over-sanded. This is not a big issue as after it's painted, you just sand it flat, then paint again (and repeat if necessary). Clearly you've done this so I'm thinking this isn't the issue: Since you said you could wipe it smooth while wet I'm thinking it's either your Dove rollers, or your paint. I had the exact same problem (no pics) with one Dove roller. None of my others that came in the same packet shed, but one was a nightmare. Try taking a new Dove roller outside and 'wacking' it well... see if lint comes off. Then try it. The other idea is that your paint somehow has gotten dirty, and yes, this can happen. Lint, grit, dust - all these things can leave behind those crumbs. Especially when remodeling. You can try a cone filter, or use a screen. I always filter my paint when doing large projects because one never knows what gets in them.

I really don't know what "old world" even means-- whatever it is-- I'm just trying to figure out how to make my house look nice with the textured walls it has. The current owners have done nothing to make it look stylish, and my eye for design is weak. Nearly everything I can find online has smooth walls, and Pinterest shows beautiful homes that aren't so realistic. There must be a way to keep the walls is and still have the place look modern* *not modern like farmhouse vibe, but just that the house looks updated and fresh instead of what it currently looks like.