My sister has a house built in the early 1900's. The basement is sound but like most houses of that era the inside has a few flaws and a bit of minor crumbling. Apparently, then, it was the custom to mix lime into the cement. She wants to paint it to give it a fresher look. Should she use regular basement cement paint or is there something better out there.

Also she wants to do the living room ceiling which has a few flaws--no cracks just not as smooth as it could be. She wants to put up paintable textured wallpaper and then paint it--good idea or not?