The weirdest before-and-after I never expected: my 1970s basement ceiling

I spent last summer ripping out drop ceiling tiles in my basement here in Cincinnati. Underneath was that ugly old asbestos popcorn texture from the 70s. I figured I'd just paint over it white and call it done, but after scraping just one corner, I realized how much taller the room felt without all that texture crap. Six months later and I still catch myself just looking up at the smooth ceiling and smiling. Has anyone else found a simple change like that made a bigger difference than you thought?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannah_west397d ago

My buddy Dave did the exact same thing in his place over in Covington and he texted me a picture at like 11pm on a Tuesday. His ceiling went from that yellowed popcorn stuff that looks like cottage cheese to a smooth white finish and honestly the whole room looked bigger in the photo. It reminded me of when I took down a cheap metal shelving unit in my laundry room and suddenly had space for a folding table. Dropping eight feet to the floor from a cheap shelf is the same kind of trick I bet. Sometimes you just need to subtract something instead of adding more junk.

patricia327d ago

That "subtract something instead of adding more junk" line really hit me. I did the same thing with a giant sofa table I had crammed behind my couch. It was just a catch-all for mail and keys and dust. Moved it out one weekend and suddenly my living room felt twice as big. It's like we're trained to fill every empty spot with stuff when sometimes the empty spot is what makes the room work. That basement ceiling thing is such a good example because it's literally overhead space you never even think about. Makes you wonder what else we're just accepting as normal that could be stripped away.