Painting a ceiling to look like a circus tent is one of those ideas that could go so very wrong in the wrong hands, but you really nailed it.

WAAAAOOOUU!!! <3

This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing!!

What a fun room!

did you have to do anything to prep the ceiling for painting? ;)

Thank you!!! the taping was a nightmare, but it worked out. I was VERY scared. Now we just need some vintage circus posters to finish up the look!

So we had one of those old fashioned popcorn ceilings. We sprayed it with a mixture of fabric softner and water and then scraped it. it was messy but came off easily. If you have a smooth ceiling, you wouldn't need to prep.

And this was a two person job...if you want details on how we did it, i'm happy to provide that.

Excellent! I really appreciate this circus canopy trick. This is for sure a great toddler/child room deco inspiration and worth the time and sweat.

This is really fantastic!

This makes me HAPPY!!!

Looks like that is probably a small room. The tent illusion really opens it up.
Love the light fixture too!!

Um...the word is 'courageous' not 'scared'. That is one amazing paint job. And re the popcorn ceiling "if you want details on how we did it, i'm happy to provide that."

Yes, please. And thank you. Did a good bit of research on this a while back but never ran across a mention of fabric softener. Preparing to get busy now and would be grateful for any info you're willing to share. It's been a battle to get hubs to agree to this project, lol, but we're about to replace flooring & HE actually suggested now's the time to get rid of those nasty ceilings. I recognize opportunity when it comes a knockin.

Lucky for you, Discerning, we JUST finished this room so it is still very fresh in my memory. We essentially made a solution of mostly hot water and a little fabric softener (about 2/3 water, 1/3 softener).

Once you have your solution, cover the floors with drop cloth, spray or sponge one area, let it soak for a minute or so and then you can just scrape with something like a putty knife while holding a tray or bucket to catch some of the scrapings. You'll have to wipe down the walls a bit after your done.

OH, if your house is pre-80s i would check for asbestos first, but even if you don't have asbestos make sure to get a mask. it gets very dusty!

AFTER we finished we found that Home Depot sells this contraption that will catch the dust while you scrape and it was only like $20. OH WELL!

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202061374/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=ceiling+scraper&storeId=10051#.UIDGy8XAcs8

The stuff comes off fairly easy, it just takes a while...this room is really small, and it still took pretty much 4-5 hours. This was our first time though. We then painted the ceiling white to fix the uneven paint due to scraping. It is not COMPLETELY smooth, but I think we're the only ones that notice the imperfections. You could sand those imperfections down if it bothers you.

Years ago I decided that I wanted a vintage circus theme for my conceptual nursery, and this is the greatest tent top I could have imagined!

Excellent job, and you scraped off a horrible popcorn ceiling? Kudos, I love it.

Can I be your kid?

Poor kid. It's like having someone fire off an air horn every morning when you open your eyes. Doubt the parents would choose it for their ceiling.

@jettsam - Maybe their kid loves it. I love it. I don't think I'd have any problems waking up to this pattern.

That ceiling is awesome and I really like the color combo!

actually kids need more stimulation than adults so this is a really good design especially for babies and toddlers who are spending lots of time on their back looking at the ceiling. Feel free to read up on studies about child development and you'll find that kids have very different needs when it comes to color and decorating.

I actually wouldn't mind this in my bedroom at all. This is fantastic.

The ceiling is mega cool, but I would have anxiety at night from it. It would only encourage my sleepwalking habits. But the paint colours and decor is fantastic.

This is really cool! Great job!

BIG top! Super cool & a great color combo.

This is awesome! It almost looks like a peaked ceiling in the photos!

@jettsam,
you should see the gigantic smile on their kid's face. and my kid face when he sees these pics and knows he doesn't have a big top room :(

Amazing room! That ceiling is awesome!! Nice job.

I think the number of Re-pins really speaks for how awesome this room is and how it embodies what I believe the point of this contest should be. It's been re-pinned way more then many of the other leaders, including the finalist (like 183 vs 58). I think this room really shows how paint alone can really make a room cool, and since it's sponsored by sherman-williams, isn't that really the point? It's been repinned because a lot of people can actually do this single project rather then buy a million little things to decorate with like the finalists.