Homes built in that decade often contain asbestos in the popcorn; that's a good enough reason to keep it for me. Asbestos is hazardous if it crumbles in your hand, so, I personally would get a paint roller designed for heavy texture and just paint it.

If you do decide to remove it, please, have it tested before you begin work!

We just bought a 74 house as well, which had popcorn ceilings. We had them tested (although you can take a sample yourself with some precautions and send it in for testing ~ $50 vs $400) and it contained 3% asbestos (enough). We hired an abatement company to take down the popcorn and our contractor to repair, drywall and paint the ceilings. It makes a world of difference in the house (a big plus for resale) and no worries in the future if we add some lighting (no risk of asbestos floating in the air). In all it was about $10k for a 2,200 sq ft house. I recommend Seattle Asbestos Test for information on asbestos testing. Obviously if there isn't asbestos, it will be less to remove. Good luck!

What if you floated a wood ceiling? [houzz=]

I just redid my whole house. The popcorn ceilings stayed! I see no need to remove it. Like my father always said, " everyone to their own taste, said the old lady as she kisssed the cow". It also keeps sound from echoing. Other homes in the area where they removed it, sound like echo chambers. My house is acoustically pleasant! In the end I will have the last laugh, when five years from now, it comes back into vogue!

Popcorn ceilings are definitely not in favour and add a check mark in the minus column on a resale balance sheet. If it bothers you, and is found to be asbestos free, a new 1/4 " layer of blueboard and a skim coat of plaster gives a beautiful result ready to receive lighting, crown molding, whatever look you prefer.

Popcorn ceilings are not coming back. If it has asbestos have it removed for all the reasons above. If not it is easy to do. I do it at least twice a year. Get a sprayer one tike you would use to spray your yard. Spray the ceiling with water. Let it soak and it scrapes off easily with a large drywall trowel. Put plastic on the floor for easy clean up when your done.

If your textured ceilings are, in fact, popcorn texture, then definitely get rid of them, either professionally or (if asbestos is not an issue) DIY. If the texture is not popcorn then I think it depends on how subtle the texturing is. But I definitely prefer smooth ceilings, which are also, thankfully, in style at the moment.

how about textured ceiling. Just bought a eight year old home with textured ceiling

We had popcorn ceiling throughout one house and in another house, in just one (large) room. In first house we painted ceilings same color as walls and somehow the textured ceilings 'went away'. However, painting proved to need special handling as the texture sometimes pulled away & then required touch-up. BTW, we sold both houses with no problem during the down market of recent years. If we had stayed in house with textured ceilings, I'd have install wood plank ceilings...perhaps that could be a solution for you--painted or unpainted--it would seal any asbestos and 'add something' to your large expanse of ceiling--also, possibly good fit with 1974 house. Good luck!

@amypillarisetti
I think it depends a lot on the style of textured ceiling. I don't like any texture on ceilings, but some textures are definitely worse than others. We have two rooms with textured ceilings in our older house. One has big plaster swirls that I really hate and would like to replace . The other is a quite subtle texturing and is inoffensive.

bridalgirl, we've heard nothing from YOU! What are your thoughts on our responses???

@ interiors international. It's a matter of taste. If you don't like it, then don't buy a house with it. There are still companies here that install it albeit they don't call it "popcorn" they call it "acoustical ceilings"!

Removing popcorn (texture, stucco) is not just very messy, but in older homes there is also a danger of exposing yourself to asbestos.. Anything oil based also carries the danger of exposure to VOCs, and oil-based finishes also harm the environment more than water based ones.

There is a better solution. We're talking no mess, no dust, no toxic vapours (in fact, no vapours at all), with a finish as smooth as a mirror and unlimited design options. It's called stretch ceiling. A fully recyclable membrane is stretched across the ceiling, either over an existing ceiling, or in a new build, instead of installing drywall and covering it with popcorn. Tracks, or profiles, screwed into the walls or existing ceiling around the edges hold the membrane in place. These profiles and the membrane take up less than one inch of room height.

If you later desire a change, a new membrane can be inserted into the same tracks, or the tracks can be unscrewed and the screw holes easily filled with a little bit of filler. You will not need to do this as maintenance, however. The system lasts a lifetime.

We take care of installation for you, and installation is included in the price that we quote.

We carry over 280 colours, in high gloss, matte, satin, and fine canvas-textured finishes.

Here are a few examples, please feel free to visit our profile for more, and add them to your ideabooks!

Call us for a quote, we do not charge for a site measure/quote in areas that are near our offices. If you are further away, you can still get a free quote by supplying us with your measurement information. We have a network of authorized dealers across North America and beyond.