How to disguise a not so smooth wall

Do you have one of those walls, with nicks and bumps and just all round tired looking wall?.. Maybe you removed very old wallpaper and its left a wall that either needs to be replaced with new drywall or plastered.

Well, if this project was not in your budget this year, then why not try working with it, instead of covering it up!. Have you ever done a faux finish?.. painted a mural?.. well both of these methods are great ways to extend the life of a "not so nice wall".

First of all, make sure you wall is clean and dry, and any loose bits have been removed, then decide on your color theme. A mottled look is a great quick way to give the wall some life and a old world plaster look, and you can achieve this by painting the lightest color first. Your color theme should be of similar colors or just different shades of the same one for a mottled effect.

While that is drying, get your next colors ready in small trays and add some glaze, (this extends the drying period to give you time to work with it) or if you can't get any glaze, thin the paint with a tiny bit of water, but you will have to work fast. Once your base coat is dry, start dabbing on your next color and find the effect you like, or take a cloth and basically "wash" the wall lightly with it, and keep adding other colors that are part of your theme.

You should end up with a mottled look, that can appear like old plaster, and with your walls lumps and bumps this will actually help give it the look! You can experiment with different techniques, you can drag a dry paint brush through the wet paint to give a linen look.. just try different ideas, you have nothing to lose, this wall will look way better no matter what you do at this point!.. So don't worry if you are not a great artist, this makes for a nice bit of artwork when done and extends the life of the wall.

Another great way is to paint a mural.. pick something simple to begin with, and then make sure you have the colors needed.. a quick hint, you don't want to be spending hundreds on all different colors of paints, just pick a simple scene that can use different shades of about 3 colors or whatever you have around your house.. if using latex, you can mix them to get your shades.. such as for trees, or sky or water.. make your mural simple and not too busy, and have fun! Depending on where this wall is, you could also let older kids become artists!.. especially since they love to paint on walls anyways, and this would definitely become a conversation piece!

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