In 50 years, will artex ceilings in 70s houses be considered a valuable original feature?

[weeducky]

What do you reckon? Apparently, people in the 50s thought Victorian features were hideous.

No.

Our mid 70s house has three different patterns of Artex - all horrible and all catch dust, grease and cobwebs. We had the bathroom ceiling skimmed when it was refurbished (it had a Pampas green bathroom suite and light olive green tiles) but it would be expensive to have all the rooms in the house, plus the hall and landing ceiling, skimmed. The patterns are random swirls in two rooms, a different type of swirl in other rooms (think snow scene iced Christmas cake) and an all over blobby pattern in the downstairs loo. I hate all of them. It's a thin layer of Artex, too, and in some rooms you can still see the outline of the plasterboard sheets where they are joined together grinning through the plaster.

It will be considered an expensive feature as changing means redboarding the ceiling.

I just had mine skimmed (90s house), no reboarding required.

Back to the OP, I doubt they'll be considered desirable but can be liveable.

It depends on the pattern - my reception rooms and kitchen were 'broken leather' which I loathed so downstairs got skimmed quite quickly. Elsewhere was just an ordinary stipple effect so I've left that.

I didn't suggest it would be the same people being wrong about both things.

I was just meaning that if there were people who are capable of liking hulking concrete boxes that almost completely failed to achieve anything their creators claimed they would do and also handily provided great spaces for anti-social behaviour, then there are presumably people who would like asbestos-filled, hastily daubed on ceiling coverings.

Artex is just an eyesore. As mentioned by pp there's zero skill involved. Doubt it will be an interior design trend in the future. Same as carpet in the bathroom that was such a bad idea.

Our 70s house in America has what they call popcorn ceilings here. Where we've renovated, we've put regular Sheetrock ceilings, but we've just left it everywhere else. Tbh I don't even notice it - it's not the swirly patterned variety. I have no idea if they have asbestos in them, but as long as they're painted over and not demolished (releasing dust) it wouldn't be a problem anyway.

I can imagine coloured bathroom suites making a comeback in trendy colours.
trouble will be as always finding a matching replacement loo seat when the original breaks

Our house, built 1995 has artex ceilings - they're ok, dont get particularly dirty. I wouldn't have chosen it but I don't look at the ceilings very much. We're going to have the kitchen skimmed because we need to change the position of the lights.

I’m having all the Artex in my house skimmed over as I do each room - rooms look so much bigger without it!

My first house gad artex ceilings. Owner before us had fancied himself as a bit of a DIY-er. Looked like a relief map of the alps.

No. Because they are not nice.

I'd rather an asbestos ceiling than artex... it's hideous, always has been and always will be.

No, because up until 1999 it was still legally permissible to have asbestos in but most manufacturers stopped mid 80s. Any Artex before 2000 risks asbestos present.. At no stage will something that poses a health risk and is carcinogenic become popular again, and it was a cheap readily available material then.

textured ceilings and walls may become popular again, but never asbestos due to the health risk

Zero skill? Hardly!

Whether you like artex or not, this design takes a lot of skill. Even the designs that look random take skill to actually be random.

All the way through my childhood (80s/early 90s) my parents had a mid-century teak dining table and chairs and matching sideboard. The Ercol type stuff that is hugely popular now. When my mum replaced it around 2000, she literally couldn’t give it away. She kept saying at the time “it’ll come back in one day”.

I hope not. I've just spent loads getting the vile stuff plastered over. The ceilings I had were flamboyant to say the least.

Also the dark plastic fake wood door surrounds and skirting boards. It's taken me 2 years to paint the damned things white with special paint.

I love Artex ceilings. We’re having one skimmed tomorrow because it needs replastering after electric work. I’m sad about it. I love the patterns. Who wants a boring ceiling?

I love Brutalist architecture!

I'm guessing the majority. You can get it reartexed and won't be sad?

Yes I imagine so. Look at Ercol and avocado bathrooms - both desirable again now.

My 1989 house has hand drawn Artex literally everywhere including the bathrooms and inside the stair and airing cupboards. It’s awful, you can’t change the position of light fittings & it’s impossible to repair perfectly if there’s a leak.

Having had skimming over priced up at thousands (and thousands) of pounds, I’m increasingly certain that today’s love of faux panelling is the Artex ceiling of the future where our children will be fuming “FGS couldn’t you just leave the walls alone?!”

I agree it’s an eyesore but the plasterer’s commitment to swirly artex in our 1989 home definitely required substantial skill. I lay in bed often fuming at how ugly it is/costly to remove whilst admiring how well it’s been done.

I think not because it is not a quality product. Ercol is different, it is quality stuff and has been designed carefully.

It's really easy to do OP so if people want to revert ceilings in the future they will - but they'd have to be weird to do so

I know coloured bathrooms are making a come back. But I agree. Unless people want to spend on very high end goods, the loo seat may not last the duration. Even the 1980s grey bathroom suites were nothing like the 1970s ones for quality.

Artex will make a come back. Anaglypta wall paper in certain patterns is also quite trendy.