I was responding to Monwheels who has only a few cracks +skimcoat - indeed very do-able by anyone with some arts& crafts ability. The roughcoat + finish plaster can be bought at a specialised bldg supply store (not HD or Menards.) Ive just used Gardz on repairs + any raw plaster Ive found but OP might want to research which primer if its very old type of plaster Yes a bit of a learning curve - but generally worth it for old house owner if there are more rooms with issues than just the one. The skill set needed for crack repair is nowhere near what is necessary for a big job re-doing a whole wall of traditional 3 coat old style lime plaster over lath or board. Thats assuming one is using a bonding agent in place of mesh tape that sits on the surface - I would agree that amateurs do NOT do well with mesh tape. I had to undo all the crack repairs my PO had blobbed on -they looked like giant scabs all over the walls! My plaster guru taught me that mesh tape or any of the fabric bridges should NOT be used - reason being it shouldnt be recracking again in any major way -but if it does you want to be able to get at it to fix it again and/or address the problem thats causing it (may have been a poor quality application to begin with). FWIW, repairs I did 10-20 yrs ago are still holding with no sign of recracking. But as the saying goes, your mileage may vary. Theres a lot of different approaches to how to repair old plaster, and all old houses are different.

I taught myself to repair drywall with the assistance of people on the gardenweb forums. It is a DIY project, but there are a couple tricks you need to know about, especially since you are going to be painting. First, paint the damaged drywall with oil based primer. Then skim coat with drywall mud, sand, skim again, sand again, and maybe even a third time. Once it is smooth and the way you want it, prime again with oil based primer. It would be a good idea to do a google search for skim coating so you know what equipment you need and learn some techniques. But most of the on-line advice fail to tell you about the importance of using the oil based primer, and using it twice. It acts as a shield, first between the damaged drywall and the drywall mud, and then the second time as a shield between the drywall mud and your latex paint. If you don't use it, you can end up with the repaired area having a slightly different sheen from the rest of the wall. This is the best tip I ever got off gardenweb. I have read that Zinsser Garz works the same as the oil based primer, but I haven't used it.

Dianalo, thanks for the doors link! Funcolors, I just don't like the grooves that are routed into the doors. Those are the white lines you see on the doors in the photo. Andee, yes I'd remembered the gal who painted her counter. I think there are some online tutorials. Sheilaaus122, aren't we officially just sweet kids until we reach 65? ;) Rosie, fundraisers? Yes we really do deserve laundry rooms that make us smile. I called my utility company the other day to ask if I could sew a "cozy" for my electric water heater. The gal put me on hold and when she came back she said they were all chuckling over the idea and I was the first person to ask that. Can't imagine why, because I can't be the only woman alive sick of staring at an ugly water heater. Htnspz, I've been looking and looking for that paper or close to it. I'm still looking. I should start a thread on that. Emagineer, you said "but you have pulled off ideas we never thought would work." Thank you! That is what I like doing, taking something that's a bit edgy or different and seeing if I can pull it off. I've made some colossal mistakes that way, but also had a few nice triumphs. If it's any comfort, I can't find the paper either and I sure have tried. If one of us finds the stuff, we should alert the other. Which bedroom pic inspired you? You know the one that got to me was the bed with big orange flowers, orange checked bedskirt, and lots of pale green trim in the room. Never could find that quilt anywhere. Pamghatten -- that's a great compliment, thank you! You're right. Ordinary has never been my goal. I prefer "wow" if I can manage it. I have often had to kiss a lot of frogs before finding the prince, decoratingly speaking. ScoobyRuby, thanks for the tip about Ikea. It never would have dawned on me that I could get a pre-made. Bronwynsmom, you said, "it combines two things that would be better by themselves." It combines two things we don't normally see together. That's the whimsical part that made me laugh -- but hey, I'm glad there are people on this earth with all sorts of tastes that are different from mine. I enjoy seeing what they do. Good thoughts about the laundry room. The green in this guest bath will be low; it shouldn't reflect on the guests' skin. I've spent a lot of time on Thibaut's home page. I agree with you they have some great stuff. Sheesh, you're right that hardware needs to go. I'm thinking I'll put up wainscoting (I probably have enough left over paper for the bathroom) and paint that and the vanity green. To those of you who didn't like the paper, thank you for sharing what is so for you. I go out on decorating limbs a bit, but with hopes that I can make it work. Sometimes I can. Sometimes I can't.

This photo has been heavily filtered. That’s tile. do you want me to find the tile or something Close in wallpaper?