There are many things I like about drywall. It's easy to cut, moderately easy to hang (practice certainly helps), easy to paint, is relatively cheap, and a fire barrier to boot. I've probably missed a few positive attributes too.
Drywall mud and tape though… well, that sucks, or at least I suck at it, even with practice. It takes a long time, creates a heck of a mess, and is easy to do a bad job and hard to do a good one.
Mudding and taping sucks enough that I don't mind paying for someone else to do it for me. I may even pay a premium. Except, contractors who I know are good at it are already booked to next year and beyond. There are other contractors available, but they are aren't very good (says painful experience), or at least not good enough for the money they want. There are, I assume, some out there who are both good and available, but invisible to me.
Sooo, what if we just skip the painful part, and just use drywall without mud and tape? What are some creative solutions? that still look good?
Best Answer
Hang everything horizontal. Throw some 1x6s (using wider board will really cover any hanging mistakes - sure 1x4s would work too) on the main seams to make a faux rail. A lot of decorators are breaking up rooms like this now. The rail usually being white and different colors on top and bottom. Your would also need something for the vertical seams. You can go with 1x6s or 4s again. This would look fine for the bottom section and could look fine for top but not common. I guess it would have a alsace/swiss feel.
On corners, including ceiling joins you can use quarter round. If you painted this well it wouldn't really be that noticeable. White for ceiling joins and the same color as surrounding paint for the other corners or seams.
This could be done. It could look great. You could even convince me if you were really good with wood work that this could be done in a similar amount of time as mudding. But you will spend more time on materials and will have a style that not everyone is thrilled with.
On the issue with taping and mudding... If you apply your coats thin enough then it isn't messy at all. I do 5 total coats. I scrape with my knife between each coat. After the 4th coat I might sand a little if I was messy - but not much. It isn't messy or hard. It is very time consuming I agree.