Plywood wall - wallpaper or paint?

We just peeled some horrific old wallpaper off of our kitchen walls, only to discover that the wall is not drywall, but instead it's plywood! If we paint on the plywood, you will be able to tell it's wood. We don't really want to skimcoat the wall with plaster because of the huge mess it makes when sanding. Anyone ever use that wallpaper that looks like paint? We just want a solid red on the wall because 1 of the 4 walls in the kitchen is brick, so the red will be a nice compliment. HELP!