SHARON lives in a period property with lath and plaster walls. She would like to put up some wallpaper, perhaps on just one wall. Unfortunately all her walls are uneven; she would have to have them replastered, which would cost hundreds of pounds. Are there any cheaper ways of doing It, or alternative decorative options for a single wall?

Carol Bennett, of Designed Interiors, says:

The ideal option would be to skim-plaster the walls but, as Sharon knows, this is a rather expensive way to achieve the look. Although the result will not be as good as a plaster finish, a cheaper alternative would be for her to have her walls cross-lined with a 1200-gauge lining paper, which can be bought from most wallpaper suppliers or from any good hardware store.

Once hung, the lining paper will clearly show any remaining uneven sections in the wall, which should then be filled in with a good-quality decorator's filler. The next stage is lightly to sand down and seal the walls before applying the final wallpaper.

Both filler and sealant can easily be found at a builder's merchant or decorator's supplier. One thing to take into account is that wallpapers with a larger print, such as a floral or trailing design, for example, would conceal any irregularities in the surface of the wall better than a linear design, which would only emphasise the uneven nature of the wall. If the walls are in a particularly bad condition, then we would advise Sharon to instruct a professional wallpaper-hanger. However, if she is feeling confident she could do this herself.

As alternative decorative treatments, we would suggest that Sharon paints one wall in a contrasting colour to the others, making sure that the paint used is a flat emulsion as opposed to eggshell or gloss, which would again emphasise the imperfections.

Another option, albeit a costly one, is to commission an artist to use the uneven aspects of the walls and work them into a mural. Or, bearing in mind that Sharon has been inspired by some attractive wallpaper samples that she has seen, she could always use the wallpaper as artwork and create panels by laying the paper on canvas or MDF and then hanging them on the wall.