The "popcorn"

When we bought the townhouse, it had "popcorn" (sometimes called acoustical) ceilings. They were not exactly clean (nor cleanable) and had probably been painted in the twenty-five or more years since it was built. We went on blissfully (more of less) for four years. But, this was the year to get that cleaned off. So, a couple of weeks ago we took a little trip (more about that later if I can get that all together) while the professionals came in to take care of it. There are some pictures of it in its old glory. Here is a closeup showing the texture. Then a shot showing the ceiling and the walls in their antiseptic white. Then, another view around a bit to the left and the entryway.

Painting

When we got back from our little trip a couple of days later, the ceilings were wonderfully textured and painted a nice off-white (Swiss Coffee - I guess the Swiss like their coffee much more white looking than coffee looking). It was amazing - it made the ceilings seem a good bit higher up than before. Well, after that there was nothing to do but paint the walls in the living/ dining area, the entryway, and the hallway. The walls exterior to the kitchen got Florentine Clay, the other living/dining and hall walls got Butter Cookie (goes with Swiss Coffee), and the entryway got Honeywheart (crackers for those that don't like butter cookies). Anyway, the results are great. Here's a shot toward the kitchen, and one toward the left and the entryway (the colors in this are a bit darker - note the old carpet, though). Finally, the new carpet was in last Thursday (Caesar Park - Brutus Beige - ultra-green by Mohawk) and here's a familiar view where the wall colors are pretty close, the ceiling is definitely not bluish as in this shot. Looking a bit closer, the ceiling still isn't really bluish. Finally, we got a few things moved back into place for for this shot.

Looking off in some other directions, here we are looking toward the entryway and hall just after the carpet has been installed. Here is one looking back in the other direction toward the dining area. Then to get a better idea of the Honeywheat, here is the entryway - the color is pretty accurate, and I also painted the doors and woodwork Swiss Coffee. Finally, I tried to get a shot of the carpet, but I couldn't get the color to come out quite right. Nonetheless, the color is not too far off in the light parts of this picture, although it looks a bit pinkish to me, which it is not.

(Oh yah, Washington's birthday today)