Thanks— this is really helpful!

Are you open to installing recessed light? You'd have to cut holes in the ceiling and run wires but recessed lights wouldn't illuminate the ceiling at all as the light is focused downwards. If there's not much space above the ceiling, there are shallow, canless fixtures that take up little room above the ceiling.

Interesting idea! I’m a little wary of doing anything that could disturb the plaster more, but I‘m intrigued. I’ll have to research this a little. Thanks for the inspiration.

How high are the ceilings - Look into some sort of pendant fixture or at least semi-flush which drops down the light a little bit. No flush light - sideways light highlights the imperfections and re recessed lighting, your instinct to not disturb the plaster is spot on. Ceiling plaster is more likely to deteriorate on a ceiling (due to the effects of gravity) and cutting into or removing some of it is very likely to cause more problems than its worth. Google school house lights - a pendant version of that would be CLASSIC for early 1900s craftsman, Or you could go in a more modernistic direction, but keep it simple. Nothing foofy or Victorian - Craftsman style was a rebellion against Victorian foofiness (is that a word).

Ceilings are 9ish feet, so I think we can do a pendant. We definitely want to keep it simple (agree there is no place for foofiness in a craftsman!).

I googled school house lights because I wasn’t familiar with the terminology, and we actually have one of those in our dining room— hadn’t realized it was likely original or at least an early addition. I think something like that could work, though maybe we’d still want to cast the light more downward.... I’ll do some research to see if they have lights that shape with more opaque shades. Thanks for the tip!

Those of you who have homes with old plaster— Do you feel like people do notice the cracks? It seems like it’s like having fine lines and wrinkles on your face and you can either try to fight nature or embrace it. But now the more I look for cracks, the more I find and then I can’t unsee them. My worry is that they make the place look poorly maintained. My family swears up and down they haven’t noticed, but I’m skeptical...

A deeply recessed light would be the best; a pendant light would be the worst.

Most all houses of that age have a few hairline cracks in the plaster and some have considerably more. It is part of the package with that type of house. The answer is to add drywall over the existing ceiling which is also an opportunity to add ceiling lights. It all depends on what issues bother you the most as there are always plenty to choose from!

Depending on the construction details, adding wall sconces may be easier than adding ceiling lights. In my area, houses with unfinished basements are often easier to add wall lights than ceilings, especially in a two story house. If you have a single story and a good pathway from basement to attic, putting in ceiling lights isn't tricky but you will still have the fun of getting switches into the right positions.

Our house is late 1920s. We have a lot of plaster cracks throughout. The thin minor cracks don’t bother me much because I see them as part of the charm of an older house. But bigger and clustered ones can be an indicator of issues such as moisture around windows or radiators. Our living room ceiling is a mess mostly because of those (resolved) issues over the years—even major spills in my kids rooms above have caused some cracking. And then our attempts to repair have made it even worse! I prefer to preserve the plaster over adding drywall (which I need to figure out how to do!) I like kats737’s suggestions. I also prefer not to cut into it to add recessed lighting—I feel like unless you are doing a complete remodel with drywall and new everything—recessed lighting is a bit out of place in older houses such as these. Maybe that’s just my own quirk though. I would think that any lighting that directs the light down and away from the ceiling would be the best. And most people definitely don’t notice or care. :)

OK so deeply recessed lights would direct light straight down and not sideways, so would not accentuate the uneven flawed ceiling.

But its simply not true that pendants are the "worst". Light would be going upwards, downwards, and yes sideways but because the light source is below the ceiling it would not create oblique or glancing light which would accentuate flaws. The worst would be a flushmount or recessed light that has the lighting element flush with the surface. Since OP has stated he doesnt want to cut up an antique plaster and lath ceiling Im not sure why it's necessary to try to convince him that he should.

This is the drywall ceiling in my living room showing the three recessed lights we added. The opposite end has two recessed lights added by the previous owner and we also added a center flushmount. The ceiling had a large area of water damage underneath a roof valley and the ceiling was down to bare plaster in that area. Because of the ceiling damage and also the sand finish on the ceiling, we chose drywall to get a permanent smooth surface. Because we were planning to add drywall, we were able to cut a channel in the plaster to add the ceiling light. Our plaster is on rock lathe, an early form of drywall, rather than on traditional wood lathe or metal mesh.
One important step of adding drywall is to use glue as well as screws to secure it. We were adding the crown molding anyway but it has the advantage of getting a clean ceiling line. Another ceiling in a different house already had crown installed so we used a flat molding on the new ceiling to add another step to the crown. My partner does many painting jobs to prepare houses for sale so we are quite familiar with plaster issues. While plaster cracks are expected by homeowners, first time buyers of older houses are often quite concerned by those cracks. As long as the plaster doesn't sound hollow or move when you knock your knuckles along the crack zone, you don't need to be concerned by minor cracks.

Thanks for the insights and different perspectives, everyone! Lots of thinking to do! We’re first time home buyers and old house people through and through, but it seems like all of our friends and family are team new construction or gut rehab, so can sometimes feel difficult to be confident in the trade offs we’ve decided to make!

We have definitely had it recommended to us to just add drywall over the plaster and this seems to be way more affordable than replastering. In some ways, this sounds like an easy fix and there’s not any interesting details in our plaster or anything like that, but I still feel a little strange about it. FWIW the room has a brick fireplace and dark wood trim, so we’re always going to maintain a vintage vibe in that space.

Some of you have started to touch on this, but would be curious to hear more from your more experienced perspectives about the pros and cons of drywall.

Thanks for all of your help and insights!

OP stated his cracks are superficial hairline. Thats pretty darn good for a 100+yr old ceiling OP! Generally if plaster fails in an old house its likely to be the ceiling, due to the force of gravity.

In answer to your question - no, people dont generally notice hairline cracks unless they are looking for them and are considered not harmful to the integrity of the plaster. They are probably more noticeable if wall color is light or white. Bigger cracks penetrating down to lath should be addressed and in most cases, if they are due to 100 yrs of house settling, wont recur. If they do, repair just becomes part of your routine repainting every 5-10 yrs (but do look into why it might be cracking- is there moisture issue? if just seasonal expansion-contraction that's nothing to worry about.)

In my 100+ yr old house Ive found that I tended to be more fussy about cracks that were at eye level, and ones closer to floor and ceiling were not noticeable. Anyone who has lived in and knows old houses knows that unevenness of old plaster pretty much comes with the territory. Having never livedin a house newer than 1920 I even prefer the character of plaster and lath, flaws and all. There is a solidness to them that I appreciate and are more soundproof.

Oh no I hope you dont mean drywall over plaster walls cos that is a total disaster. If plaster is so loosei its falling and must be removed and replaced with drywall, then do so but not over. Ceilings, OK, because there arent complications with woodwork up there (youll need to attach furring strips and then the drywall) but again I dont think you need to worry about hairline cracks or unevenness if its adhered solidly to the lath.

BTW the choice doesnt have to be all plaster vs all drywall, one or the other. Just look at it on an as-needed basis If a ceiling is falling down, drywall that. If plaster is bowing out in just one spot in the wall, do a drywall patch and leave the rest intact. Cracks can simply be widened to u-shape and filled in (use bonding agent to adhere new plaster to old).

Sorry to spam your thread OP but old houses are a passion! I dont know how long youve been in your house but the usual advice is to wait at least a year before doing anything irreversible. Use this time to gather and sort through the info- as youve seen theres a million different ways to approach things. Read books on the subject (Renovating Old Houses by Nash is a classic but theres many more o Amazon).

OK Im done - best wishes to you and your house!

This sooooo doesn't fit your house and I do not reccomend it, but......nothing hides fine lines in a ceiling like a wedding cake chandelier! Yes, it's foofy, or we call it poofy ;^) the pattern it casts on the ceiling disguises the lines. Old houses are give and take. Only you can decide what to give on and what repairs to take on.

Sorry, only pic I have to demonstrate the wedding cake chandelier's awesomeness! Definitely not a craftsman light :^( but it does hide a variety of sins!

Drywall over plaster only works for the ceiling. You can't just add drywall to plaster walls unless you remove and reinstall the trim or your trim won't look right. Even if you do that, you will need to add jamb extensions to the door and window frames. Removing plaster is a lot of work and not recommended unless it is completely crumbling. It is heavy so the dump fees add up in a hurry. Then if you remove plaster and replace with drywall, your existing moldings are the wrong size as drywall is thinner than plaster.

Plaster is more durable and helps minimize the sound transfer between rooms. Drywall also dents and scrapes much more easily than plaster. If you have large sections of plaster coming loose from the lath but still in a solid piece, it is better to reattach the plaster to the lath than to remove it.

If you are new homeowners, make sure to tackle the structural issues first. If you have extensive cracks or settling, be sure to stabilize the foundation issues. Clean gutters and dirt sloped away from the house will avoid most water issues. Then take care of any roof, siding and window issues to keep moisture outside where it belongs. Sometimes homeowners start installing tile and cabinets level without insuring that the house isn't continuing to move.

Old houses have their quirks and you have to accept them or you will drive yourself crazy. Don't try to make your old house into a new one by restructuring the entire floorplan. Sometimes removing a small wall or widening an opening helps the traffic flow but don't go crazy with the open floor plan concept.

The wedding cake light fixture in the living room of my previous house was very effective at demonstrating issues with the ceiling. There was one small blip on the ceiling which was practically invisible until the light was turned on. Then, the pattern of lines on the ceiling was quite even everywhere except one spot. Just one line had a distinct squiggle about 8 to 10 inches out from the light base and it glared at me every time I turned that light on!

Heather I reallly like that light and could see it fitting in with craftsman - due to its straight lines and kinda geometric shape. Where did you find that, is it antique or repro? The thing about old house styles- alot of times they werent "purebred," but people combining different styles of the day, kinda like people do now. In fact sometimes when people adhere too strictly to one particular style like craftsman, and make everything strictly craftsman right down to the light switches and the silverware and the bath fixtures - it can look kinda fakey and overdone. Eclectic can work really well if the principles of good design are followed. My circa 1906 house fer instance is basically your plain midwestern foursquare but-it has some craftsman characteristics, and some art nouveau-ish kinds of things as well. im thinking your light fixture would fit right in!

Thanks for all the insights!

If we did drywall over the plaster, it would just be the ceiling(s) that are in bad shape, and we’d leave or mend everything else with a skim coat. I think what’s happening in our living room is early to mid stage delamination— it looks almost like the cracks make a grid of big squares, but no actual gaps, if that makes sense. We were told it’s just inevitable after 110+ years and probably doesn’t indicate an underlying issue, but I think two rambunctious little ones cooped up all winter jumping up and down upstairs is certainly not helping! Either way, it’s probably unavoidable that we’ll have to do something about the ceiling in the next few years, so it’s helpful to hear all of your thoughts!

I appreciate the dialogue here and connecting with others in the old house community who are further ahead of us in our journey and way more knowledgeable. We’ve only been in our place a couple of months,so its a good reminder to take it slow! Ironically, the room
I’m most eager to remodel in our house is the inappropriately modern kitchen that was put in about 10 years ago... We’re definitely all about working with the original floor plans and bones because that’s why we chose this place. We saw plenty of gut rehabbed properties during our search and it made me so sad to think of all the history and character that was erased! You guys just should have seen the beautiful 1940s boiler that we sadly had to replace after an inspection gone wrong... 😂 Anyway, thanks again and I have a feeling I’ll be on here with lots of questions in the months to come!

DebbieDowner— Sounds like we have similar homes! Ours is a 1908ish Midwestern four square. The house itself is pretty squarely arts and crafts style, but then our cast iron radiators, which I love, are more ornate. I agree eclectic seems to be the way to go. I want to showcase the historical details but also don’t want it to look like a museum exhibit.

I like that fixture as well— we were thinking about something like that too. In our bedroom, we have an early 2000s chandelier with cut glass stones that, despite being super tacky itself, casts a soft, textured light that warms the space and hides a multitude of evils. Would love to be able to get that effect in the living room with a more appropriate piece!

If you wish to see appropriate fixtures, check out arroyo craftsman fixtures. Also check out vintagehardware.com

Note, I didn't say affordable! But, it is still fun to look at possibilities

use medallions.

Hey guys! EBay. I stalk eBay. I teach, so snow days are for baking and stalking ;^) Just be flexible and remember it's all about the hunt. I can usually find very reasonably priced items cheaper than the reproductions. Often they need rewired or some TLC. That particular example is an antique. I belive I paid 250 2 years ago. I had to rewire it.

Glad to hear you have your plaster and lath! Our walls were covered with cheap 70s paneling and liquid nails. Paneling came down with every bit of plaster :^O. Now its just drywall.

Only advice I have is slow and steady. Keep options open. When I found that chandelier I was looking for a kitchen piece.