You actually should be able to scrap or sand it right off. It comes off VERY easilty but it will create A LOT of dust so be prepared. Might be a good idea to lay drop cloths down before doing this.

Ugh, no, don't try to paint it. That popcorn will fall down all over the place, unless you're using a sprayer. Not to mention that a dark color will make it feel even lower and oppressive. You could try a draped ceiling -- hang two rods, one at either end, and drape muslin along the wall, over one rod, across and down the other side. Here are some inspiration photos:

http://d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net/upload/871119_pW0U9wyh_c.jpg

http://rudramandir.com/files/uploads/Rm113__050_0.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_lcO0wPUK_pY/Sw1C3r2i6NI/AAAAAAAAAjw/kRgm0MrUXtQ/s1600/CIMG5788.JPG

RKeller- Katie said she is renting, so that is likely not an option.
Katie- I would not paint the ceiling a dark color if it already appears low. The dark color will make it look even lower. You can try going monochromatic with the walls, to make it look more expansive. Also, not sure if it will work with lower ceilings, but I have seen some makeovers that have used fabric to cover the ceiling. It is not permanent so that might be an option?

Scraping is a mess. If anyone ever does it please where goggles. Those little specs fly right into your eye.

I suggest using fabric to cover it. In fact there was a posting here in AT on a bedroom makeover (sorry don't remember which one, thus can't link here). The room was in a basement with hideous wood planks as the ceiling. The lady covered it with cheap, white sheets, hung/tied it in waves across the ceiling. Made the room look great. Perhaps will work for your problem here as well.

How about putting a ceiling with some fabrics? You will not need to see the popcorn again until you move out.

Also, please be aware of the possibility that the popcorn contains asbestos. My understanding is that it's not so harmful if left alone, but painting/scraping/hammering/drilling can release fibers. Hopefully someone else can give some more information about this, as I only know what I found on the internet when I had popcorn ceilings in my own apartment!

Fabric could be a huge fire hazard... With that said, you could build a few simple frames out of 2x4s and stretch it so that its tight.

With a frame you could also put sheet rock on it. It would drop you ceiling another 3 inches, but might be worth it.

I'm concerned that if Katie thinks the bedroom ceiling appears low now she wont be happy with a drapey fabric ceiling bringing it down further? Though this really is probably your best solution perhaps you could tighten the fabric up a bit by using a just right size for the space, running grommets at regularly spaced intervals and lacing them to either a rod or wire system running around the room? Either way I agree that going monochromatic with the walls is crucial. I know it sounds like a crazy enterprise but it could be cool too !

I'm confused... you're renting so you can't scrape the ceiling, yet you think it would be OK with your landlord to paint it dark? If it were me I'd rather you just scrape it than pretty much permanently wrecking the ceiling with paint... unless of course you would be a good renter and paint it back before you left, with no damage done.

You might learn to ignore it after a few months.

Have you considered renting an apartment without a popcorn ceiling?

As a landlord, I don't appreciate your DIY projects on my investment property.

Next time, negotiate painting or removing popcorn before you sign the lease. Or rent somewhere else.

Posts like this make me crazy.

Ask the landlord if you can scrape it off. I agree with alaylam that it doesn't make sense that you wouldn't be able to do that and yet you would paint it dark with the possibility of having to repaint it after you move out.

I have done this on a place that I own. It came off pretty easily and the difference is dramatic. A million times better after painting. The whole purpose was to hide sloppy drywall joints in cheap buildings, but my ceiling was pretty flat so it didnt matter. It may be the reason the landlord won't allow it. It dosen't hurt to ask though because none of the other solutions seem half as nice.

@ whistlerpotpoie - You're my hero.

I'm with alaylam - they'll let you paint a DARK color, but not scrape it off?
Best to skip those options and just ignore it until it's in your power to change it. Because either one of those two options is too much of an investment in a short-term living situation.

I agree with the landlord. Leave it alone. When you own you're free to demo the property any way you wish, but while renting it's best to learn to live with it. I never understand these kinds of posts.

Don't touch it, unless you:
A) Have approval from the owner
B) Have it tested for asbestos FIRST!

Even painting it could cause problems.

Also, even if it is okay to remove, it is a messy, arm-aching job. After paying a lab to test mine, I rented a scaffold so I could lay down to scape it off.

I agree with alaylam. Painting it would make a bigger mess than you already have, and probably piss off your landlord (especially if you painted it purple!). Putting frames up to stretch fabric over would also likely rub off a lot of the popcorn-y stuff, leaving an unsightly ceiling when you move out.

I think this is something you have to learn to live with. Keep your art and your furniture low in that room so as not to draw the eye up towards the ceiling.

I would scrape.

When you move out, buy a few cans of popcorn ceiling spray and reapply.

I wouldn't touch it unless I owned it. If I owned it, you just spray some water, scrape it off, it comes right off, big messy job though. Really, just don't bother.

If you don't mind putting the work into the apartment to get what you want (say you plan to be there long term), then research the removal and put together a proposal and take it to your landlord.

Basically it involves clearing the room, laying down plastic, putting on mask and goggles, then wetting the ceiling in portions using either a paint roller or even a sprayer, then brush it off with a stiff broom. Clean up, prime, paint. It's messy, and takes longer than you think it will, but relatively simple and a huge improvement. Do your homework, and then see if landlord will approve it.

Or research companies who do it, get a proposal, and offer to split it with your LL.

Why not just deal with it?

I got permission to paint a hideous ceiling like that (landlord even paid for the paint). It was a super-dark apartment (windows on airshaft) so I had painted the walls pale yellow. I painted the ceiling an even paler yellow. It was an improvement. It was also way more difficult than I had anticipated. You can't roll paint on, so I used very large brushes and sort of...punched it on. I used a lot of paint and ruined both brushes. It was worth it.

But yeah, don't TOUCH it till you talk it over with the landlord and definitely do NOT go dark. Getting perfect cover could take coats and coats--with a light color you have more leeway.

I have popcorn ceilings in my condo which I own. And I have painted them from a dull off white to a bright white. Popcorn ceilings absorb a LOT of paint. Don't think it's going to cost less just because you want to paint instead of scrape. Also because of the nature of popcorn you will have to try to get paint into every crevice otherwise you will get a mottled effect. Using too much paint will cause the popcorn to become oversaturated in paint and fall off the ceiling. Take everyone's advice and just leave it.

DON"T PAINT POPCORN! My husband, before I met him, painted over a portion of his ceiling to cover a water stain. Once that popcorn was painted, it was *sealed* in. Scraping was no longer an option after that.

People have tried hanging beadboard siding on their ceilings and painting that. But, that comes with nail holes and would drop the height by an inch.

I agree with someone above. Ask the LL to split the cost with you and have it professionally scraped.

I agree with the Sturgeon General. I have embraced my popcorn and no one ever mentions it. Never...

Going in somewhat of a different direction...there are so many things you can do to draw the eye away from undesirable features in a room: lighting, color, a stunning piece of furniture, etc. Fill the room with things you love, and you just might stop noticing the ugliness. An apartment of mine had a hideous, warped drop-ceiling in the bedroom, but after I had the room furnished to my liking, I stopped noticing the ceiling.

I have popcorn ceilings in my 80s condo and have learned to just live with them. One thing I did do was have them professionally recoated, as someone had attempted to do their own DIY patch jobs and the ceilings looked messy as well as dingy. So if they are in terrible shape, you could check to see if the landlord would fund it (or partially fund it).

Otherwise I think paint the walls if allowed and furnish to draw the eye away from the ceilings. I never notice mine now and even if I do they don't bother me.

Even if you can scrape it off, for the ceiling to look good, you need to have it skim coated in plaster - which is really, really expensive. I made the mistake of painting mine and have explored lots of options. Many of my neighbors just drop their (high) ceilings to get rid of it, which isn't an option for you.

Ignore it.

Im a contractor -- I've had to scrape ceilings that were painted -- and it was awful, arm burning work, because as someone said, They no longer absorb the srayed Water used to soften the popcorn. Please don't paint it, as it is likely someone will eventually want to scrape it. I think 'beyourownsaviour' has it right: your landlord may be thrilled that you want to scrape.

Never paint it. Someone did that to the house we bought and unless we want to rip the whole ceiling down it is not coming off. Attempts to scrape have been unsuccessful and resulted in a horrible mess. It is miserable stuff. Leave it alone as it's not your forever home anyway.

It's a rental deal with it and save your time, energy and money for a future home you really love, and own! Your landlord will love you too!

If it's a rental, focus your time & resources on adding your personal touches to distract the eye from what you don't like. Even if youre planning on being there for a few years, is a project like this worth your time & money? I rented an apartment that had popcorn ceilings AND walls. They were horrible but the space was bright, large & well within my budget. I dealt with it by focusing on filling it with my favorite things: furniture that I loved, photos, art & collectibles that were meaningful to me. I always got compliments on how I had successfully made a cookie-cutter rental look like a one of a kind.

Hang a very bright canopy or a mosquito net over your bed. The color will distract attention from the ceiling and the fabric will block your view from the bed.
eHow has ideas:
http://www.ehow.com/search.html?q=canopy+bed&skin=home

If you scraped, you'd ahve to sand smooth the entire ceiling surface. If allowed, put up a 1/4" layer of gyp. That way you only have to deal with taping, spackling, smoothing the joints. Honestly, not worth all the trouble. If you don't like it that much, find another apartment.

So sad how when you cross into investment ownership you forget what its like to be someone who cant afford their own home but want to live in a space that makes you happy. Landlords - don't go CRAZY - "damage" from renters who pay you money to LIVE in a space is part of the risks going in. And on that note how about this?:
http://www.bhg.com/rooms/dining-room/makeovers/beautiful-living-room-makeover/?page=3

First check if it has been painted before. If it has, use a super white cool WHITE to go over the ceiling. Do at least two coats. It will look miles better.

That's what I've done at my place and I actually now enjoy the texture of it. The colour makes it work beautifully.

I was in the same situation. I moved into a house where the ceiling was popcorn, and my landlords wouldn't let us remove it, only paint. We painted it bright white and the contrast with our wall colors looked sharp. Sure you use a lot of paint, but it looked really nice in the end.

As a fellow landlord, I'm totally with whistlerpotpoie. And it's renters like nereid who aggravate me. The rent you pay doesn't cover 'damage' to the unit. It covers the mortgage, taxes, insurance, regime fees, sometimes utilities, etc. and sometimes barely covers those. There's not typically so much extra padding in the rent to cover any intentional damage like this that you may make to the place. Some landlords may be 'slumlords', but many of us with investment rental property really do care about the property and our tenants who will be living there. As others have pointed out, painting over that popcorn ceiling will only make it EXTREMELY difficult to remove it in the future. As a landlord, if I had a renter do this, I'd make the tenant pay for the cost of removing the paint at move-out. To remove the paint would, of course, require removing the paint AND the popcorn ceiling and putting back new, which would more than likely far exceed your security deposit.

Tenants who think they can do anything they want to my property (yes, it is still MY property, even if you're living there) are completely disregarding my rights and interests. If you want to do anything to your home without asking anyone else first, then BUY your own home.

That said, ask your landlord before doing anything. A good landlord will try to be accommodating, in some way, for a good tenant. It's a two way street.

I have to disagree with the two landlords commenting here. In my experience, if a landlord is hesitant about any and all renovations to their property, they probably are a slumlord. A good landlord will work with you because if you make renovations which make you like the property more, you are more likely to stay longer. Landlords who automatically veto any improvements aren't looking for long-term tenants, they are looking for new tenants with a new security deposit. If your landlord says "no" to your ideas, expect a world of pain over the length of your lease.

To the landlords: constant nay-sayers like you make me sick. You fail to recognize that your "investment" is my HOME. How would you like it if someone didn't allow you to make your house a home? How would you like it if the place were you spent most of your time didn't show any of your personality? People like you are the exact reason I bought my first home. You don't understand that someone lives there and it isn't just your cash cow. If you had a truly desirable property, you could raise the rent enough to more than barely cover your expenses. If you're just barely covering expenses, it sounds like a pretty bad investment.

Take a look at one of your apartments, is it a place you would be proud to show your friends and announce as your "home?" Considering the way you talk, I would guess no.

I disagree that landlords who are averse to "improvements" are slumlords. My parents have owned several rental houses for 30+ years and as a kid I was always the helper between tenants. You wouldn't believe the kind of "improvements" people made. Much like painting a popcorn ceiling dark - we're talking difficult to reverse, ugly and damaging things that were not even close to covered by the security deposit.

They take great pride in their properties being clean and in good repair and leave them vacant for months sometimes when good tenants are hard to find. They are very wary of any changes (yes, even paint!), knowing that one tenant's red living room is possible turn-off to the next potential tenant and a huge waste of a weekend to try to cover up.

They have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in these houses and they have to rely on complete strangers to take good care of their property. I am amazed at what renters think is ok to do to a house that they're renting for a piddly thousand a month.

Yes, I am still bitter for being used as child slave labor cleaning out rentals:)

I don't buy the statement that tenant's rent barely cover expenses... if that were the case, they wouldn't be called 'investment properties'. Some landlords are slumlords, and if it still has popcorn ceilings it's probably safe to say they haven't put much investment into their property lately.

And I'd say keeping the light in your bedroom to a minimum might distract from the ugly popcorn effect. Lamps and soft light.

If it's really bothering you, check with your landlord about having it taken down. The worst they could say is no, and you have to find a way to live with it. Also, I would get it checked for asbestos no matter what you decide.

@ShangriLyla An investment property does not always mean that you are making any money immediately off that property, often it means that you won't make any money until it comes time for you to sell it. If I were to rent out my condo right now, I would not be making any money, actually, I would be taking a loss on it. And just because a landlord refuses to do everything you ask or even allow everything you ask does not make him a slumlord.

Popcorn ceilings are ugly but I have learned to live with mine. I have also been told that they diffuse sound between apartments and considering I have never had noise problems in my place, I am grateful for it. Once again, style wise not what I would have chosen for my place but I have learned to live with them and if anyone can't live with them then find another place.

wow... a lot of comments on this. so many people suffering from the same, including me right now. my ceilings also have the glitter. in every room except the kitchen and bathroom. i have ceiling fans too and the dirt kicks up to the ceiling and sticks there. i hate it. i've seen the draped fabric...pretty cool look. i would ask your landlord. he/she may appreciate the advice. no one wants this popcorn look that i know of. also important to test for asbestos. i heard it is easy to scrape off just a mess. also you don't know what is underneath the popcorn ... needed repairs etc.

What are the landlords posting here so upset about? This is "APARTMENT" Therapy - not Home Owner's Digest. People want advice about how to deal with their small rented spaces. This is exactly the kind of post you should see all the time.

Anyway, I like bed canopy idea combined with dark walls - it'll make it harder to see the ceiling.

I agree that just drawing attention away from the ceiling is the best bet. But you can ask the landlord about what options there might be.

Honestly, I think the comments about slum lords are kind of extreme. Just because an apartment has popcorn ceilings does not mean it's owned by a slum lord. Yes, popcorn ceilings are really ugly, and if I were re-doing a place, I would get rid of them, but from what I understand, they do help with noise reduction, so I can see why someone wouldn't want to get rid of them. If you hate popcorn ceilings so much, then don't rent an apartment that has them! Or negotiate with the landlord to have them renovated before moving in. Maybe comparable apartments that have been fully renovated would have higher rent, but that's how it is--you pay for what you get.

If I were a landlord I'd be furious if a renter painted the ceiling a dark color. It's hard enough to paint a ceiling - but a popcorn ceiling is worse. Hope she just left it alone and added pieces below to draw the eye away from it.

One comment on popcorn....
When I moved into my apartment with my glass tables/shelving etc. the place was dusty all the time. One day I wore some black pants, and that night I threw them over the back of a chair. I woke up to find the pants covered in white powder, and even small chunks!

I'd tried to paint the ceiling in a previous apartment, and found that FLAT paint will not keep the dust from falling, but an Eggshell or Satin will. The Satin paint has some sort of vinyl/rubbery stuff in it that flat doesn't. You have to make sure you don't miss anyplace, because it does have a slight shine in bright sunlight and you'll be getting the paint back out :)

Anyway, I know that doesn't solve your dilemma, but for anyone with a dusty apartment I'll just say I went from dusting my furniture daily to one every couple of weeks! Not to mention what I must have been breathing.

Yeah, just because you are renting out your property, which makes you a Landlord, doesn't mean you don't care. You might be a home-owner who can't sell in this market, so you need to rent it out (at a loss, I might add). My mom, a widow, made her living and raised a family as a landlord. It's a job and she is NOT RICH.

I had popcorn ceilings in the 1980's and hated them from day 1. Although I loved that house, that was one of the few reasons I was happy to leave it. LOL, popcorn ceilings are UGLY.

At least it's just popcorn. Every bit of ceiling in my entire house is popcorn with glitter. It's so tacky, but honestly, after all these years, I don't notice it unless a new visitor points it out. And then it's just a good conversation starter. And this house was built in the 90s, two decades after the glittery popcorn craze should have died.

We manage 84 units, between 5 buildings. In 2 of the buildings, we go through and completely update as much as possible. To bring it in on budget, thats painting the existing cabinets, sadly :( Anyway, here's a question we get asked: can we paint? Technically, here according to the paperwork you can if you paint it back. I make people sign that they will not paint the unit. If they live there for 5 years, then we'll talk.

Here's my issue with tenant run "renos" and modifications. People say they can do all kinds of stuff until you see their end result. My adding the no painting clause was a direct result of a paint job in one building that had more paint on the floor, ceiling, the front door and multiple other areas than on the walls. Another group was told, "neutrals" and we got bright blue, dark blue trim and fuscia. It was horrendous. AND it was right by the front door so every single person entering the building saw it. It looked like the big top at a redneck circus. So I killed it for all. We chose a color called "versatile grey"-which, PS I would LOVE to show you all, but as I have sent multiple e-mails to AT that I might be worthy of a post and failed to even get a 'no', alas it was not to be :(Anyway, the point is, I chose a color that isn't standard beige, and put a lot of thought into creating apartments that may not exactly match the specific tastes of the renters, at least they can take solace in that someone(ie.me) has made a choice on materials and colors, and hasn't grabbed the most neutral, and cheapest materials in the bin.

If I walked in and saw tenants in the middle of raping the ceiling of its popcorn texture, I would flip out. Move in, and live your life. If you were looking for a before photo for your personal tastes, you should have mentioned that when you looked at the place.

If you are renting just ignore it. If you think the ceiling will define you in any way you've got a problem.

To allisonnf: Wow!

Lemme explain something. There are all kinds of landlords. Some have a basement suite, and all the way on up to being a property manager in charge of 100's of units. Yes, my apartment is your 'home', but you borrow your home. It's still my house. I don't mean this to be rude, but its the nature of the game. I live in 1 of 84 apartments under my control. I have, since we started this management business, basically devoted 1 1/2 years of my life to re-habbing crappy apartments to look like gems. I took one that had holes in the shower and made it look magazine worthy. Holes. Don't worry, before I arrived on scene, it was repaired with clear packing tape and saran wrap.

I get this from our own tenants, so really, I'm calling them out here, not you :)

I don't have time to worry about you feeling homey in your place. I have to make sure everything is running in 84 apartments, make sure that apartments that come up are brought back up to speck, which on one last month was $9500.

My point is, its the exact opposite of being a slumlord that has me saying no. We have spent soo much, that I ask you move your stuff in, sit down and just live your life. Pay your rent on time and keep the stereo low.

Yeah, occasionally a tenant improvement will work out. Mostly, it turns into a PIA. Saturday night, we get a call from a building where we are on call while the owners are on vacation. I have a leak. My boyfriend and I were trying to replace a faucet. That was too hard, so we broke the drain trying to get my necklace back, and its leaking. Of course it is! Of course its Saturday night and you are doing this. Of course I need to drive for an hour to go and fix it.

Now yes, the owner should have either had it fixed for her, or said no to repairs-I wasn't privy to that but I get that part. I use it purely as an example of a tenant repair gone wrong. I'm a professional, I know when I pull up to a chrome sink drain to just have a new one sitting in the bag, because its going to break apart like an egg when I touch it.

The tenant sees it on tv and it looks so easy!

I don't have any idea on how to mask it or make it look less apparent, but can you believe that in my area, new houses are built with popcorn ceilings !

Hey there -- I'm reallly surprised no one has mentioned this - but home depot and other places sell the ceiling wall paper that you can put up with thumb tacks.

It is a thick white paper and it is textured / patterned, almost an antique look.

Don't waste your time with the landlord discrepancies, it becomes a political thing of decision making and meeting in the middle.

Make sure when you leave to tear it down. Do not leave your removable improvements for the next tenant. I believe the bad of the apartment should remain.

Since everyone here 'calls it like it is' and says it's THEIR HOME that we just sit in, I say leave it looking as shabby as possible when you move out. If they want it to look nicer in any way, they can do it themselves. Since it's theirs and all. :)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00270FMU4/ref=asc_df_B00270FMU41827295?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B00270FMU4

Gosh, some landlords can totally forget that the people paying to live in their "investment properties" are putting food on their tables! Talk about an attitude problem!

I am a landlord and I would rather pay a bit of money to have a healthy, peaceful long term landlord-tenant relationship than have a short term renter who will be a pain in the butt because of a sour relationship. Plus, in the case of anything even remotely popcorn, other renters would eventually ask to have it removed somewhere down the line, so why not see this as an opportunity to make said "investment property" more attractive to future tenants and perhaps even convince them to pay more for it?

Oh, and maybe the person who is stuck with that popcorn has other more important criteria besides their dislike for popcorn, really likes the place and popcorn is the only thing they have a problem with? Ever thought of that? Maybe they are in a town or neighbourhood where it is already hard enough to find a place, any place? Huh? Has it ever crossed your mind? Of course not! You are a landlord, so YOU don't have that problem and therefore wouldn't know how to deal with it, now, would you?

Some landlords really shouldn't own property!

Having said that, I am with those who suggest to talk to the landlord and see if you can reach an agreement. As a landlord, it would make sense to me. Depending on the case, I might not want to go as far as pay for it (although I just might), but as long as it is done properly, I would be happy to get rid of an undesired element in an apartment, especially when it makes my tenant happy at the same time.

I know I'm late on this, so it's less for the OP and more for anyone cruising through for workarounds. I would advice you do NOT touch the popcorn ceiling for a number of reasons. However, if you're allowed to paint, make your paint line a few inches BELOW the ceiling (about where crown molding would be) and leave the top few inches of wall white. It'll bring the white of the ceiling down around the top of the walls and do two things: visually raise your ceiling height AND act as a visual "buffer" between the walls and the textured ceiling and basically mask the unsightliness with a tweaked transition between wall and ceiling. A little side note on popcorn ceilings: If you're on the top floor of the building the overall ambient temperature of your home will raise a good 10-20 degrees if you scrape it off. If you are on any other floor you will lose an exorbitant amount of your sound insulation from neighbors above. We're talking hearing every step, every creak, every baby sigh coming from another apartment...and they'll hear you. Popcorn ceilings are hideous, but they are incredible thermal and sound barriers. Ugly as they may be I think you'd be in for a nasty surprise if you removed them. Now if you own a single family home in a moderate climate...tear those suckers out now.....do it for the children. Think about the children!!!!