What about a paintable wall paper? Some are as inexpensive as $7.00 per roll and since you are only doing the upper half of the wall, you shouldn't need too many rolls.

Here is a link that might be useful: paintable wallpaper

Hi Susie,

I used textured paint on the ceiling of my den and have always regretted it. Once you have it, it is difficult to get rid of. Now it looks very dated, too. It was popular in the 70's when we bought the house.

If you decide to go ahead, here's a tip: do the job straight through. If you start and stop, and it dries, you will have a hard time disguising the point where you stopped and started again. The stuff is very thick and messy to work with, plus you have to get your "texturing technique" down just right -- you don't just slap it on.

I really recommend that you don't use textured paint. Why not just paint over the wallpaper if it is in decent condition -- not peeling? Choose something neutral.

Scroll through this thread on the decorating forum to see what paintable wallpaper can look like.....

Here is a link that might be useful: wall treatment thread

Ha ha , Alexa. Great minds think -- and post! -- alike.

yep!

If you have a minute though, check out those walls half way down my second link. Some are absolutely TDF!

Alexa

Ditto to what dedtired said - do NOT texture paint walls. You'll bring down the value of the house.

If the walls are bad I'd repaper - it'd be easier and cheaper than trying to fix them yourself - it's hard to do. Hubby and I did the taping and spackling with joint compound when we remodeled the upstairs ourselves and there's a reason those people get the money they do for those jobs! It took us forever to do what would have taken them minutes. And the walls still aren't perfect. Unless you do a really good job spackling and sanding with the joint compound, the walls will still look beat up. And new paint with show every blemish.

My family owns a paint company/wallpaper store, so I paint and wall paper all the time. I don't really care for wallpaper, but when you have a bad wall, it does cover up many sins. The paintable wallpaper is really nice, but that's two jobs - wallpapering AND painting. Not exactly a quick fix!

You can always paint over the wallpaper as long as it's not peeling anywhere. It's a no-no usually, but if you're looking for a quick fix...

Lisa

I agree with the texture paint thing. About 15 years ago I had to pay several thousand dollars to do a light smooth coat over the textured walls that looked dated.
In the house I am in now, the price was over $5,000 to lightly smooth coat over the texture, so I didn't do it. But they definitely look dated. I think it is a risk. However, if the walls are rough, then it may be your only alternative.

I would say not to texture the walls, but get them smooth and paint them a beige color. I normally don't like beige, but it's very neutral and popular right now. Avoid yellows and grays - they will also look dated, in most cases, even though I like them, except for yellow unless it is a Tuscan yellow.

Lars

Lars, that is a good idea.

We have a neighbor who is a designer and the big thing with her clients is a plaster-ish technique that's easy and cheap (and I doubt the clients know that). She mixes drywall mud and white glue and trowels it onto the wall. It dries and she sponges out the cracks and trowel marks. She did a small hallway for me and added some black shiny sand. Sounds weird (I was scared), but it's very subtle and I love it. I'm going to have her do our bedroom and bath (with recycled glass tiles imbedded for backsplash...no sand).

I agree with Lars, that the simplest treatment is the best in a small room and smoothing out the imperfections and painting a light buff, beige or ivory would be the best for a bedroom.

I think textured walls would be out of place in other than a large room or foyer and they might not appeal to a prospective buyer.
A more neutral solution would leave the buyer free to add textured wallpaper later if he wished.

SharonCb

Thanks guys...I will not texture the walls.
I will take down the old paper today and stand back and decide my next move.
My whole house is in shades of beige brown and taupe so I will see if I can find something along those lines.

I really do not want to paper-not really a wall paper kinda gal.
But who knows??

I may take the paper down and HAVE to re-paper LOL!!!

Thanks for all the advice!!
Its great to come here and ask all sort of questions and there is always someone who has the answers!!! You guys are the best!!

Cheers!
Susie

You might try a sponge paint kind of thing. I think it looks good when done with very light colors. That's what they did in the kitchen of my house, covers up lots of imperfections. It adds a light texture but is not overwhelming. I would do it with two very similar colors though, because upstairs in my house I think the mom who lived here let her kids go wild with their bedrooms and I had one room with white walls sponged over with hyperlink blue. It looked like a Smurf had exploded in the room! The hyperlink blue trim didn't help the effect, nor the blue radiator. Here are the pics from my house--how to do it (the kitchen shot) and how NOT to do it (the bedroom shots). I called the other bedroom "The Mudroom."

Oh, and P.S. You CAN fix the walls, but it does take a while. I had to fix quite a few cracks in the "Mudroom" when I eventually painted it. It took a good day of prep work.

Here's a shot of the "Mudroom" AFTER. It might give you some ideas. I sort of wish I had painted the paneling, but it is actually REAL wood paneling stained that weird way. IT kind of grew on me (like a fungus) so I chose the wall color specifically to go with it. I think the room would be too cold now if I painted the paneling. When I redid the floors in the room though, they ended up kinda clashing with the paneling.

I papered with the paintable wall paper a number of years ago and it is NOT cheap by any stretch of the imagination....as you have to match up the pattern and that creates wastage right there. The product was new at that time and was expensive then.
I have re coated my walls with a thin layer of joint compound on many occasion. Using the pre-mixed, a large trowel and laying it on the wall in large swiping motions going in many different directions. It makes for a more Tuscan look...but covers many sins.
If you don't like the raised ridges it creates, simply sand them down.
This process needs a primer coat prior to the final paint.

Hey Lpink, what a cute house! An exploding Smurf -- great description. Big improvement in the Mudroom.

I just took all the old knotty pine paneling down in my den. I'll post before and after pix one of these days. I impatiently waiting for the contractor to come back and replace two more windows that he mis-measured the first time. I still have that awful textured ceiling and I don't know why i didn't have that replaced.

Deborah, DH did our porch like that. He mixed it like a thick paint and rolled it on with a long-napped roller, then sponged it down. It looks good....covered up our poor taping job quite well. Tuscan is a good description.

Hi all...after a trip to Home Depot for a trowel I chatted wuth the fella there and he sold me "joint tape" (jessy be nice LOL)
Told me to tapeover any rough spots and spackle.

It did the trick and the walls look ok-not great but ok.

I have everything primed and ready for color paint tomorrow. I used valspr high coverage primer to cover the red. It worked about the same as regular kilz.

The room looks very large now!!

AS for booboo paint-Lowes had a gallon of a light misty mint green in semi-gloss. I really like it and I think it would look good agaist the crisp white trim....and it would go good with Amy's bedding.

Funny she called tonight while I was painting....asked me what I was doing LOL!! She has NO IDEA I am doing this so won't she be suprized!!

I did take before pics...I'll post then later!!

Cheers!
Susie