How to Make Old-Fashioned Swirl Ceiling Textures

Flat, plain-looking ceilings can make a room appear uninteresting and boring. Although you can decorate and embellish a room to add interest, it is less expensive to simply add texture to the ceiling. For example, you can make a ceiling look old-fashioned by applying spackle mud in a swirling pattern using a few basic home improvement tools and supplies. Adding ceiling textures yourself also enables you to avoid the high costs of hiring a professional painter or craftsman to do the work.

10 gallon bucket
Spackle ceiling mud
Long-handled paint roller
Spackle brush, 18-inches wide
Paint scraper

Instructions

- 1
  Fill a 10 gallon bucket with spackle mud, then coat a long-handled paint roller with the spackle mud.
- 2
  Roll spackle mud over an 18-inch wide section along the length of the ceiling.
- 3
  Wipe an 18-inch wide spackle brush in a half-circle swirl, then move the brush to the edge of the swirl and repeat the process to create a row of half-circle swirls along the spackled area. Position the swirls so that the rounded sides face the wall.
- 4
  Roll a second 18-inch section along the length of the ceiling directly next to the finished half circle swirls.
- 5
  Wipe the brush over the second spackled section, positioning the half-circle swirls so that the rounded edge overlaps the first row of swirls by 3 inches.
- 6
  Repeat this process until the entire ceiling is covered with old-fashioned swirls. Drag a scraper along the edges of the ceiling to remove any excess spackle. Allow the ceiling to dry for 18 to 24 hours before painting the ceiling, if desired.

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