A few weeks ago I talked about wanting to paint the suspended ceiling grid system downstairs. It was brown, and the ceiling tiles are white, and it looked something like this.
I thought painting the brown grid white would make the ceiling disappear a little, fade into a bit more nothingness, so you wouldn't feel those brown lines looming above your head.
I started in the little room off to the side to see how it would work out. First I took the ceiling tiles down. Then I scuffed up the grid and wiped it down. After that, it was time to put up some painter's tape around the edges of the room. And then it was time to paint.
Two coats later, the painting was done. I vacuumed up some cobwebs that were hiding behind the ceiling tiles, then put the tiles back up. Presto, chango!
The ceiling is no longer the first thing you notice in the room. OK, there are other things you now notice first that you probably shouldn't. (Like the black hole where the register has to go.) But that is a renovation for another day.