Today I'm going to share some inexpensive wall ideas. I don't think I've yet explained the condition of this house when we first bought it. To give you an idea, let me just say that we paid $13,000 for a 3200 sf house. Does that give you an inkling of the kind of shape it was in?

Needless to say, the walls needed some major work and previous remodelers (I use that term loosely) had done some serious damage. Here are my cheap fixes in a few rooms. I'm hoping the pics give you an idea of the textures. (Had to hide MANY sins)

This room was the WORST. The "remodelers" had attempted to texture the room but did it by hand, and in two different "pattern" (huge swooping arcs and big blobs). Not only that, they had huge beams at the top of the ceiling. When we removed them we found that the drywall didn't go all the way up. Our home has gorgeous mouldings and if I added new drywall to cover this up, it would stick out further than the moulding. This room is HUGE (also part of our kitchen/dining area) and tearing it all out was not going to happen. FINALLY, (after a couple years of contemplating) I bought big five gallon buckets of drywall mud and slopped it over the entire space, floor to ceiling, making it look like plaster. Then, I took quarts of a brownish red, grey, and putty brown and dry brushed streaks over the entire wall. THEN, (yes, this was quite a process) I went over the entire thing in a watered down off white, which blended it all together. You can't really see the streaks unless the light is just right. I ended up loving the walls and get lots of compliments. Not sure what to do when it's time to paint again, though! lol

Our walls are 12 feet high, so papering the entire thing is spendy. To avoid that in our dining room, I painted below the chair rail to look like a marbled-type paper. I painted on a VERY dark green. Then I painted over a section in the same green mixed w/some white (I'm never one to buy more paint if I don't have to!). Before it dried I blotched it with wadded up trash bags. Looks great and was really easy.

The border is a raised border that I painted a burgundy, then went over with a brayer to pull up some of the paint on the raised portion. Gives it a bit of a worn look.

This wall is my "claim to fame" as Queen of Cheap in town! These bedroom walls were horribly mudded and I really didn't want to re-do them. So...I had my friends save up paper grocery sacks for me. When I had a bunch, I tore the sacks into large pieces, crumpled them up, spread them back out, and papered them to the wall. I painted them a gold and then sponged over it in a darker gold. The wall has kind of a leathery look. I like it, but this move is probably best reserved for desperate situations!

This is my formal living room (still in process). This technique was quick, easy and cheap. I simply purchased a special split roller from Walmart, along with a pan that lets you put different colors of paint on each half. I used "Oat" and "Brazilian tan" and blended them on the wall until I had a parchment look. I LOVE these walls.

In my entry, I papered the ceiling rather than the walls in order to give it a bit of luxury. (My camera battery died, sorry)

Since my home is Victorian I try and stay somewhat with a Victorian "feel". I can't afford an abundance of paper, but have managed to add luxury and texture with some fun and unique techniques.