I'm a renter so I don't want to do anything drastic, but I have been given the OK to do what I please within reason.

Half the walls in my basement have this weird speckled (white with blue flecks) texture. It's almost like popcorn, but not really. I don't know what to do. It's SO ugly.

Should I paint it and if so - how (what kind of rollers? Should I spray paint the walls?). I did do a test paint on a small part with the paint I used on the other walls - and it seems to come out substantially darker.

Other options than painting that don't require labour intensive work? I just don't have the time to sand (and I'm worried about inhaling whatever it is on my walls).