We finally got around to working on the ceilings; what a messy job.  I washed the ceiling first (it had been a long time since I had done anything like that.  Just a little kitchen grease in the kitchen, but after nearly 30 years, I guess that wasn't too bad.)

We laid a strip of masking tape along the top of the wall defining the line between wall and ceiling.  Then we draped plastic sheeting to cover everything.  We also covered the floor with plastic. 

The next step was all Bob's job.  He mixed the texture compound and sprayed it onto the ceiling.  After it had dried 'just the right amount' he knocked it down.  (Hence the name 'knock down' texture)

The final job was the clean up.  That part was mostly mine.  And, even though we thought we had the kitchen isolated, there was texture dust all over the house.

Once the kitchen was done, we had to do the dining room, then the living room, repeating the above steps each time.  Whew,  glad that is done!  oh yea,  we also did the hallway.  We actually did the hall first as our practice area, it is darker so not quite so noticeable if we really messed up.

I don't think the picture shows the final texture very well, but it might give you an idea of what we did. 

Now, we have lots of finishing details to work on; crown molding, back splash tiles, etc.  It is finally coming together.