How to Apply Decorative Textures to Ceilings

Apply a 1/8 inch skim coat of drywall compound to the ceiling with your 12-inch drywall knife. Hold the handle of the knife and scoop up a healthy dollop of compound. Keep the blade of the drywall knife at a 30 degree angle to the ceiling. Drag the knife across the ceiling leaving a solid layer of compound behind.

Dab a wet sponge into the compound repeatedly to produce a light texture. Keep your sponge clean and damp, but not wet, throughout the process to obtain consistent results. Maintain the same hold on the sponge so that the entire ceiling is textured consistently.

Drag a wet sponge across the compound to make a series of intersecting arcs. Wet your sponge and wring out the excess water and compound after each arc. Try long, wide arcs and short, tight arcs to see which type of swirled texture you prefer.

Dab the tips of a soft bristle scrub brush repeatedly into the compound to produce a stomped texture ceiling. A little variation in the pressure from one side of the room to the other will show drastically in certain lighting schemes. Keep your texture consistent to prevent this variation.

Load your sprayer with the paint and drywall mixture known as orange peel. Spray the orange peel onto the ceiling in long, even sweeps of the spray nozzle. Squeeze the trigger of the sprayer at the beginning of each sweep and release it at the end to spray in bursts so you will not have texture thicker in one spot than in another.