DIY // How To Repair Your Walls with 3M DIY & A Bedroom Makeover

Our house was previously a rental property that experienced some abuse from tenants.  The owners had fixed it up and rented it out; only to have to replace the carpet and paint the walls after the tenants destroyed the place.  I totally get the frustration of having to fix what you've just repaired but using a paint sprayer while frustrated really does no good to anyone.  Drips are not attractive or easy to remove once they've dried.  The same rings true for wallpaper that's been painted over.  Unfortunately, we inherited both as well as a million nail holes all over the room. What on earth were they hanging?  I will always wonder…

After living here for 2 1/2 years and staring at the eyesores, I finally gained the motivation to tackle it all.  Actually it didn't quite work out that way.  My curious little 4 year old noticed a piece of the wallpaper peeling so he pulled at it....and kept pulling at pieces.  He took most of it off and I finished the rest for him with my trusty knife from the kitchen. Hey, it was quick to grab and I was impatient.

Then, I used hot tap water in a spray bottle to wet the paper backing which came off really easily.

With the wallpaper border removed, I broke out my trusty supplies from 3M DIY Website and my paint scraper to tackle the rest of the problem areas. I scraped off the paint drips using a paint scraper and used 3M™ Advanced Abrasives to sand down the raised paint runs as well as the edges where the border and the flower appliqué used to be.  I made sure to wear my 3M™ Safety Products (Respirator, ear protection, safetyglasses) when I was scraping and sanding to help protect my eyes from flying particles and my lungs from that nasty paint dust. 

To fill all the nail holes and random dents I used 3M™ Patch plus primer which was easy to apply, plus I loved that it already included primer.  Then there were a few spots in the wall that were in really rough shape and required application of joint compound. 

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Once the spackling was dry I sanded it smooth with the 3M™ Advanced Abrasives and wiped the walls down with a damp cloth to remove any sanding dust to ready the room for paint.

// TIP // When you have less than perfect walls, choose a paint that has a low sheen -flat paint hides most blemishes and a high-gloss will highlight every single eyesore.  I usually buy an eggshell finish.  It's a bit easier to clean than flat but hides more than a satin.

When we moved in the entire house was painted a creamy white color and little by little I've moved through each room of the house to completely rid our home of that color.  The bedroom was the last room left - I chose to paint it the same color as our hallway 1) because I'm low-budget and we already had the paint on hand and 2) I just really love the smokey blue-gray color.

The wall below was definitely in the worst shape and these photos show how much better it's looking now.

I still have some work to do in here - painting the closet doors, crown and ceiling white, plus replacing the carpet but it's already feeling like a whole new space.

I am proud to be a 3M- sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate new products from 3M DIY Website . Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me. Follow 3M on 3M DIY Twitter , 3M DIY Facebook , and 3M DIY Pinterest.