Removing Popcorn in the Dining Room

Good morning!
Is it a beautiful morning where you are?
We used to to sing to the kids to wake them up in the morning. 
They loved it! (Not even a little.) 

Taking pictures in the dining room was a challenge. 

I was either trying to take the emphasis off of the ceiling or the rug.  
I haven't really been content with the rug since painting the dining room two summers ago.
It was just a little too olive. It was causing these walls to read more green instead of gray. 
The paint is Martha Stewart-Driftwood.   

The ceiling was a dirty, popcorn mess. It had to go.
Scraping the popcorn was pretty easy. I used a 6 inch wide scraper and did this room completely dry.  I personally think a dry method is easier than the wet method. 
(You can find many tutorials for the wet method on-line.)
 I'd rather deal with the miasma of the dust rather than wet, soggy popcorn. 
It only took about an hour and a half.
Plastic sheets protected the rest of the rooms from the dust.

I turned the heat off so dust wouldn't circulate through the house and it didn't. 

Breaks every 15 minutes or so gave it all some time to settle. 
The ceiling resembles orange peel texture once all the dangly things are knocked off but
it took almost as long to clean it up as it did to remove it.
With a fresh coat or two of paint, this ceiling looks just like the one in the kitchen. 

I love it and think it's gorgeous. Can a ceiling be gorgeous?

The new rug is from Tuesday Morning.
It's one size smaller than the old rug which allows more of the wood floor show. 
The old rug was just a tad too big. 

The room is brighter from the top to the bottom which lightens the whole space. 

I told Bill that his "get out of popcorn jail free" card expired.  
He is helping with the next room. :)



Once I explained the economics of doing the popcorn ourselves he was a little more 
on-board. 
The kitchen was $1200.00 to repair a huge hole in the drywall, scrape, texture and paint. 
The dining room was $27.00 in paint. 

I'd hoped to do one more room over spring break but I just couldn't. 
I spent the rest of the week re-learning how to walk. 
Not really but it felt like it.
;)

Before:

After:

We are going to keep plugging away to get the rest of the house done. It's a lot of work but it's worth it. 
What do you think?
Katie    
Linking with,
Metamorphosis Monday    
Coastal Charm    
A Stroll Thru Life
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia   
Savvy Southern Style