I had tin tiles in a bathroom in my old house. They were ugly and rusted, but I painted them anyway. Made a HUGE difference and lasted several years! I think we used epoxy paint, but it was a long time ago. I'm sure a paint dealer would sell you the right stuff. It was not hard at all...just like ordinary painting, looked flawless and there were no brushmarks at all...had a high gloss, mirror finish! Easy to keep clean, too. As for wallpaper, I love the stuff. I have it everywhere! I have vinyl type in my kitchen, where I do a LOT of cooking, and it washes easily and well. I have it in my main bathroom, too, and despite all the steam four of us could put it through every day for the past 9 years, it still looks terrific. And those walls were (still are) awful underneath the paper. I think paintable wallpaper is a good suggestion, but why not just use wallpaper and eliminate one process? You will always see the seams on wallpaper, paintable or not, but done correctly, printed wallpaper seams are almost invisible - IMO, they are far less visible on printed than they are on paintable wallpaper. If you didn't notice the bad walls under the old paper, you probably won't be able to see the bad walls under new paper, either. I also think 5 years is not long enough for such an expensive investment as good wallpaper. But, then, I'm not much for change in my house. And whatever paper you use, be sure you size it first!

I put bead board up on only one wall in my bathroom. It is a long but narrow room, and whoever installed the toilet wedged it so tight against the wall that you can't even get a piece of paper back there, much less any bead board. (At least I don't have to worry about the tank ever tipping over. Ha-ha.) The seams weren't a huge issue. I just sanded down the joints so they fit as tightly as possible, nailed them down near the joint, caulked, and painted. It isn't perfect, but it doesn't appear horrible to my eye. I added some nice moldings too. Anyway, I think it looks fine. It added some nice interest in an otherwise pretty plain room.

Moonkat, wow, it looks like you're making just great headway. I hope you're not overdoing it as I know overhead work is hard on you, especially on the neck. Ouch! If you have one of those seed-filled u-shaped neck pillows, you can put it in the microwave (for 1-2 mins, no more) just before bed and fall asleep with it wrapped around your neck. Yum. I do that every night all winter long. I'm so happy you got a sander you really like. The right tools make a huge difference to getting the job done -- or even wanting to. Hmmm... I ordered on the 26th, and the due date is "January 30, 2009 - February 4, 2009." I ordered through amazon.com but it's coming from the same place yours did. I am eager to see it - lol. ~~ Laurie, yes you can buy a kit (from http://www.elitetrimworks.com/home.php) but I was just doing my own thing and sort of copying the photo. I have a chop saw and I really like it, though I'm super careful with it because it could take off a finger in a blink. ~~ Helene, oh you did wallpaper over it. I am hoping after my mudding and sanding that my walls will be fine under the wallpaper. But I don't think they're good enough to do that other kind of panelling with the little boxes, at least not yet. The longer wall got super torn up from removing those boards. I like the idea of doing it horizontally. that could save time, too. I'll keep it in mind. ~~ Well, everyone, I am trying to decide if I can make the walls look good enough with the beadboard wallpaper, since the other way is so much work and I'm wearing out. What do you think? If you had a split entry, would you do beadboard panelling on the walls? Or opt for something more formal at your entry?

Hi Gabriella, I just wanted to tell you that snapfish is one of those site that can't be shared, so anyone wanting to see the pics, has to sign up and open an account. ;o)