My house is 76 years old and has plaster ceilings that have patterns brushed into them. The ridges on the decorative pattern are atleast 1/4 inch deep. They are also damgaged from old water leaks. It woudl be impossible to mimic the sweep of pattern.

To remodel this ceiling we are considering putting a new ceiling right on top. Maybe a textured wallpaper and paint or a fake tin ceiling. Will textured wallpaper stick to a ceiling with the deep grooves of the pattern? What other textured ceiling options are there? We definately don't want a popcorn ceiling and are looking for something more fancy like tin ceilings. although we can't afford them. Any other ideas?

 

You can repair the ceiling and skim entire thing smooth. If its in really bad shape you could remove and hang new drywall. I think it has to be pretty smooth for any paper to look good. And of course you can match the texture that is there. Hard to say without seeing it. It sounds like it was done with a brush. You can get a stippling brush and get the same effect. A stipple brush is about 5 inches( in diameter) round. Load it up with mud and twist.