PROJECT STORY · POPCORN REMOVAL, STAIR REFINISHING & MATCHING DOORS · FOREST HILL

Smooth Ceilings, Refinished Stairs & Matching Doors in Forest Hill

We removed popcorn ceilings across this lived-in Forest Hill home, added pot lights and refinished the staircase and doors in a matching colour. The most demanding work was beneath the curved staircase, where uneven surfaces took roughly six skim coats to bring into a smooth, flowing curve.

Forest Hill, Toronto, OntarioPopcorn ceiling removal, pot-light installation, stair refinishing and matching door refinishing

The furniture stayed, and so did the pictures

This was a furnished home, not an empty renovation site. The dining room still held its furniture, the pictures stayed on the walls and the homeowners’ belongings remained in place throughout the work.

We masked and protected the work areas, using our dust-free process to remove the texture without filling the rest of the home with renovation dust. The work extended from the main floor to the basement and upper levels, including the ceilings beneath the stairs. Keeping everything in place was part of how we planned the job—not something left to the cleanup at the end.

Furnished Forest Hill dining room with heavy popcorn texture across the ceiling before removal. — Heavy popcorn texture above the furnished dining room before removal.

The same furnished Forest Hill dining room with a smooth ceiling after popcorn removal. — Heavy popcorn texture removed from the dining-room ceiling, with the furniture remaining in place.

Forest Hill foyer during skim coating with the ceiling drying and the walls protected behind plastic. — The foyer’s second skim coat drying, with the walls protected behind plastic.

Smooth ceilings and more useful light

The foyer had heavy popcorn texture, a wavy ceiling and a central light fixture. We removed the texture, brought the surface smooth and replaced the central fixture with four pot lights. The living room needed more light too. Its new smooth ceiling was paired with twelve pot lights, making the room brighter and cosier without changing the furniture or the character of the space.

We coordinated the lighting with the ceiling work. The electrician came in after the popcorn had been removed and before we skim coated, so the electrical work was incorporated into the new finish rather than followed by another round of repairs.

Forest Hill foyer ceiling with heavy popcorn texture, an uneven surface and a central light fixture before work. — Heavy texture, a wavy ceiling and the central fixture in the foyer before work.

The same foyer with a smooth ceiling and four pot lights after popcorn removal and finishing. — A smooth foyer ceiling and four pot lights replaced the heavy texture and central fixture.

Matching wide after view of the furnished living room with a smooth ceiling and twelve pot lights. — After

Wide before view of the furnished Forest Hill living room with its popcorn ceiling and central fixture. — After

Portrait before view of the Forest Hill living room with popcorn texture and a central ceiling light.

Matching portrait after view of the living room with a smooth ceiling and twelve pot lights.

The room kept its existing furniture and finishes while the ceiling and lighting changed.

The hardest ceiling was under the stairs

The underside of a curved staircase is not a simple flat surface. It follows the stairs around the turn, and every change in direction has to look smooth. Here, the popcorn covered uneven drywall and a pronounced ridge along the corner bead. Removing the texture was only the beginning. Those irregularities still had to be worked out.

We returned to the underside throughout the job, building up the finish with successive skim coats. It took roughly six coats of plaster before the surface was smooth. That was the difference between taking the popcorn off and properly finishing what lay beneath it. The curve needed to look right from the entrance, from the stairs and from below—not just from one convenient angle.

Curved underside of the Forest Hill staircase during a skim-coating stage with surrounding surfaces protected. — Another skim coat beneath the staircase, partway through smoothing the curve.

Uneven popcorn texture following the curved underside of the Forest Hill staircase before skim coating.

Matching view of the curved stair underside after the uneven surface was brought smooth.

Roughly six skim coats brought the uneven underside into a smooth curve.

A ceiling repair that finally blended in

One room had already been patched after an earlier leak. The repair had then been sprayed with more popcorn, but the different textures made it stand out rather than disappear.

We removed the texture and refinished the ceiling as one smooth surface. The central light was replaced with pot lights, and the old patch no longer interrupted the ceiling. The basement ceilings were treated as part of the same project, replacing the discoloured texture with smooth surfaces and new lighting.

The same ceiling refinished as one smooth surface with pot lights in place of the central fixture. — After

Ceiling before refinishing with a conspicuous previously repaired area, resprayed popcorn texture and a central light. — After

Basement stair area in the Forest Hill home with discoloured popcorn ceiling texture before removal.

Matching basement stair area after the ceiling was smoothed and pot lights were installed.

Discoloured popcorn texture replaced with a smooth basement ceiling and pot lights.

A new finish for the staircase

We refinished the existing treads and handrails, then updated the railing with new posts and spindles. White risers and stringers gave the stained wood a clean contrast.

For those white stair components, we used Benjamin Moore Scuff-X in Pearl finish. The staircase and ceiling work came together in stages. The stair finish was already complete while some of the surrounding popcorn remained, including the difficult ceiling beneath the curve. Finishing that surface completed the view around the staircase.

Matching wide after view with refinished dark treads and handrails, new posts and spindles, and white risers and stringers. — After

Wide before view of the Forest Hill staircase with its original wood finish, posts, spindles, risers and stringers. — After

Full portrait before view of the Forest Hill curved staircase with its original wood finish and railing.

Full portrait after view with dark refinished treads and handrails, white risers and stringers, and new posts and spindles.

The full staircase before and after refinishing, with new posts and spindles and white risers and stringers.

Portrait before view along the curved Forest Hill railing with its original posts, spindles and wood finish.

Matching portrait after view with the refinished handrail and new posts and spindles.

The new posts and spindles continue around the curved railing.

Matching overhead after view of the refinished dark treads and handrail with white stair components. — After

Overhead before view of the curved Forest Hill stair treads, handrail and original wood spindles. — After

Portrait before view beneath the curved Forest Hill staircase with the original stair finish.

Matching portrait after view with refinished stair wood, white components and a smooth curved underside.

The staircase finish and curved underside changed together through the project.

Bringing the doors into the same colour

The original door colour did not work with the new staircase finish, so we refinished the doors to match. After the final coat of varnish, the doors were left to dry before being reinstalled. With the doors and staircase in the same colour, the entrance no longer had competing wood tones.

It was a way to bring the existing woodwork together without replacing doors that could be refinished.

Close view of the original Forest Hill door colour before it was refinished to coordinate with the staircase. — The original door colour before refinishing to match the staircase.

Refinished glazed doors protected around their glass panels while drying after the final coat of varnish. — The doors drying after their final coat of varnish, ready to be reinstalled.

Completed Forest Hill entrance with the refinished glazed door installed beside the matching staircase. — The refinished doors back in place, matching the staircase colour.

A different finish, in the same furnished home

The result brought several changes together: smooth ceilings, better lighting, refinished stairs and doors that matched. The curved ceiling no longer carried the heavy texture or the ridge that had stood out beside the staircase. The foyer and living room had the light they needed, and the stained wood was set against freshly painted white risers and stringers.

The furniture stayed in the rooms and the pictures stayed on the walls. The ceilings and woodwork were what changed.

Completed dark-and-white staircase beneath remaining popcorn texture and the pronounced ceiling ridge beside it. — With the stair finish already complete, the remaining work was the textured ceiling and ridge beside it.

The same staircase after the surrounding ceiling and ridge were brought into a smooth finish. — The completed stair finish beside the newly smooth ceiling.

FINISHED PROJECT

Smooth ceilings and coordinated woodwork

Completed Forest Hill entrance with the refinished curved staircase and matching glazed door. — The refinished doors back in place, matching the staircase colour.

Wide completed Forest Hill living room with its smooth ceiling and twelve pot lights. — The furnished living room beneath its smooth, newly lit ceiling.

Completed overhead view of the curved staircase with dark refinished treads and handrail beside white stair components. — Refinished treads and handrails, new posts and spindles, and white risers and stringers.

CONTINUE EXPLORING

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