Easy interior paint techniques for disguising flawed walls

In a way I envy people who live in newer homes with beautifully smooth walls. But I wouldn't trade me century-plus old home for the world- even though some of the walls are so flawed that they look wrinkled. Others look like they have terminal pits. At least they did, until I discovered that paint could hide a multitude of sins.

Take our guestroom. The plaster in there was cracked, and to make matters worse the previous owners had done a bad job of wallpapering over it - and then painted over it later - several times. The paint was so thick that removing the wallpaper wasn't really an option. So I got out my trusty sea sponge.

Sea sponges are the natural sponges that are irregularly shaped and have holes of varying sizes from very small to about the size of my little fingernail. Sponges, when used in place of a paint brush will produce what is called a "broken finish" - not a smooth paint job but rather an impression of the sponge pattern in a color that contrasts with the solid paint onto which you are sponging.

You can create a broken finish by simply moistening the sponge (damp - not dripping!) and dipping it into latex paint - using a color that will contrast slightly with the wall color. For instance, use pale pink on top of medium pink, or instead choose a shade slightly deeper than the wall. Thin the paint by adding 1 part water to 2 parts paint.

Dip the sponge lightly into the paint, and then dab the paint-loaded sponge onto a sheet of newspaper until you are getting a clear imprint of the sponge pattern and no running paint. Then start using the same motion to apply paint to the wall.

The only real trick here is to keep the amount of sponge dabs per foot roughly equal. Don't start out with very tight, close spacing in case you get tired - better to start with a loose spacing, since you can always go back and do it again for a more dense sponge pattern.

To create something more intricate, use two contrasting colors. Sponge loosely with a color slightly darker than the wall, then when that is dry go over it using a paler color.

Color choice is up to you. You can even sponge two different colors over plain white, or two complimentary colors over a tinted background.

When you step back to admire your work you will also notice that the flaws in your walls have all but disappeared. Since none of the color on the walls is even, it helps the unevenness of the walls to dissolve into the broken color.

One of my favorite techniques requires me to go over the walls three times. In our guestroom I used a medium and a dark blue over light blue walls. When those were dry, I did a third sponging using a silvery gray. All three sponge jobs were spaced fairly closely, so that very little of the base coat showed through. The gray created what looked like streaks of light through the blues - and at a glance, the entire wall looks as though it were covered in suede.

You can achieve slightly different broken paint effects by using material other than a sponge. Sometimes I use plastic cling wrap. Sometimes I bunch it up and use it like a sponge. Other times I paint a strip of wall and then apply a flat sheet of it to the painted wall and pull it off. Some of the fresh paint will life off to reveal the underlying color - but the effect is like the wall has been covered with crinkle fabric or panne velvet.

Other materials work well, too. Try bunching up a wad of cheesecloth or burlap for a textured effect. Always be sure to dab away at a piece of newspaper until you have only enough paint left to show the weave of the fabric as you daub. Don't worry about the fact that your first dabs are darker than subsequent ones - that is part of the charm of the broken paint surface.

One last - and very luxurious - broken effect is top use lace. You can wad and dab it, as with the sponging technique, or you can use the lace as a stencil.

An old lace curtain or tablecloth will work fine for your stencil. Ideally you will be able to cover a portion of wall from crown molding to baseboard. You can then either sponge paint onto the wall (making sure you cover evenly and don't let the paint run) or you can spray paint it. The effect when you remove the lace is amazing - as though the curtain were still on the wall. A light unevenness actually makes the lace look dimensional.

Using these techniques may sound time-consuming and difficult, but in reality it will take you less time to sponge a room - even in three colors - than it will to paint it the traditional way. For one thing, you are not covering the entire wall with the color, and for another you don't need to worry about missing spots - you're supposed to. And it really saves on paint - I did my entire (huge) kitchen and the back stairs, plus the guestroom using a quart of paint and having some left over.

Not only will you have lovely walls with individuality - think how much easier and less expensive this is than having all your walls replastered!