If you do not want top go to the trouble of putting up lath and a 3 coat plaster job, you can easily fill in the missing lath with some drywall and then finish the repair with Durabond.

Depending on the plaster thickness, a layer of 1/2 inch drywall and then 1/4 inch of Durabond makes an decent repair.

Oh that sounds like it might work, thanks, I didn't think of it. I know I am going to have to do some work to keep my plaster so the more ideas hubby might go for, the better.

We had a house once, not particularly special, just old bumpy poorly repaired lathe and plaster with no trim. THAT I was planning to tear out but this house has some character.

Congrats on your house purchase -
This has come up many times before, try searching, most here agree to salvage plaster whenever possible -
It has so many wonderful qualities about it - my favorite is the acoustics/sound deadening it provides in old homes.
Removal of plaster is a huge undertaking, makes a huge mess and typically will send lead airborne so not advisable w/o the proper equipment and certainly not if children are living in the home while that work is going on.

I love brickeyee's idea!
GL

I'm trying to find what durabond to use. It looks like there are quite a few products and I am a little lost. Can you tell me what works best? Thanks so much!!

It is not too hard to repair lath & plaster with original materials. They can still be obtained, but you will have to do some searching to find them. The lath can be repaired and/or replaced, it is simply rough sawn cedar strip, nailed to the vertical wall supports, called studs. Basecoat plaster can be purchased from a building supply company, the local hardware store will not have it in stock. It is quite simple to spread and smooth basecoat, because the final surface does not have to be smooth. Finish coat plaster is the more difficult part of the process. The materials must be of good quality, and in particular the gauging plaster must be dry and free of lumps. You will have to locate a source for finish lime, preferably lime that contains significant magnesium, also known as "dolime". The mineral used to make the best finish lime is dolemite. Be sure to pick up a pound or so of retardant when you purchase finish lime. You will be successful with finish coat plaster if you begin with a small repair, on the order of one or two square feet. Eventually you will acquire confidence in your skills, and be able to do a larger wall repair, say 50 square feet. Plastering a large ceiling will require a combination of skill, strength, and conditioning. Anyone can get the plaster up there, but not everyone will be able to produce an acceptable finish. If you have to do ceiling work, it should be put off until you have gained experience and success at wall repairs.
As others have pointed out, your existing plaster might be coated with paint that has lead pigment. Getting this material off the walls, bagged, and into a landfill without exposing yourself to lead dust is possible, but it requires thought and planning. Be aware that vacuum cleaners have an exhaust outlet, and that very fine particles will be ejected from the outlet when the vacuum is in operation. To remove old plaster safely, you must be concerned with the large visible pieces, and also the dust that is too fine to see. Cleanup must be thorough. Young children could pick up the fine particles on their skin, and end up ingesting it when they put their hands in their mouths.
The good news is that the raw materials used in plaster repair are not too expensive. If you can supply the labor, the total overall cost might well be under 1000 dollars, even for the extensive repairs you describe above.

Ericwi:
Thanks for the detailed explaination. I hate drywall, and I wish I could do real plaster in the part of my kitchen I am remodeling, but since it will be behind cabinets... well, I'm "cheating" with drywall.
When I get around to adding on a new bathroom, however, I'm definitely going to do plaster, and your explanation is a big help!

Carla in Sac

"As others have pointed out, your existing plaster might be coated with paint that has lead pigment."

Lead oxide as a pigment is rarely seen in anything less than 100 years old.

The most common lead found in paint is lead acetate (AKA 'sugar of lead') that was used as a drier, hardener, and gloss improver.
It is not normally found in non-gloss paint.