When designing the decor in your home, you should know you aren’t limited to furniture, flooring, and color choices ‒ different types of drywall texture is an underappreciated way to bring out some character in your home’s decor.
Modern trends mostly lean towards simple blank walls and a focus on color to make a room. You can add character and charm to a room while still on a budget, even if it’s just a single accent wall, simply by considering one of the different types of drywall texture that will enhance the interior of your home.
While recent trends have emphasized color and accent walls to bring a room together, the right textured drywall finish offers personality and unique style for a beautiful aesthetic that a paint choice simply can’t.
Any of the different types of drywall texture can even be used to cover architectural and aesthetic flaws, such as cracks in drywall.
From soft modern styles to simple classic techniques, there are many different types of drywall textures to choose from for an elegant finished look.
These textures can help you create warm rustic decor, a modern feel, or any style of interior design you desire.
So if you are looking for various modern different types of drywall textures, you are in the right place. You are a unique person, and your home should reflect your style. Read on to see our favorite types of textures and where you can use each below.
However, if you think texturing is too difficult and you can’t do it yourself, think again! Although texturing may take some practice before you decide to texturize a room in your home, the techniques used to create these wall finishes aren’t as difficult as you might think.
To give you some idea inspirations, we’ve compiled a list of the different types of drywall textures you can use for your next fancy finish.
Whether you like popcorn style, orange peel, knockdown, or sand swirl patterns, find out about the popular drywall textures to inspire your creativity and start your next DIY project.
Different Types of Drywall Texture
Many people just assume they have to stick with the standard drywall texture of the classic, smooth finish. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you shouldn’t hesitate to use more creative textures because you think they’re difficult.
With just a little knowledge and practice, you can easily give your walls a creative texture in the style of swirling sand, orange peel, or popcorn style.
More advanced techniques should probably be left to a professional, but many of the different types of drywall textures are easy to learn and is what even a beginner can do. You can practice in your safe zone and acquire skills in no time.
Changing textures is also a great strategy to not only cover up cracks or give a sleek look but can also add depth to a crowded room.
So, if you are redoing walls at home and want to get creative with drywall textures, you should consider picking one of these 13 Types of Trendy Drywall Textures.
1. Popcorn Drywall Texture
Popcorn texture is probably the most famous of the different types of drywall textures. As a timeless look, popcorn texture for walls and ceilings became popular in the 1960s during the housing boom.
This wall texture was an easy way to hide imperfections, making it attractive to builders. It also required no painting or refinishing, which appealed to homeowners as a low-maintenance solution.
This style is also known as acoustic texture due to its noise-dampening properties, and you may even hear it referred to as cottage cheese texture.
It’s often found in rooms with speakers or other sound components and is best for living rooms and bedrooms.
When applying, you will need to combine the drywall popcorn texture with water, polystyrene, and Styrofoam to create your signature look.
Apply the resulting mud mixture to texture your wall using a compressor and spray gun. Note that the texture of the popcorn is difficult to remove, so you have to make sure you are committed to this look.
2. Orange Peel Texture
Orange peel is another common one of the different types of drywall texture because it’s easy to apply and provides a classic look.
If you’ve ever held most citrus fruits like an orange, you know what this texture should look and feel like. The thick rinds have the consistency of fine pitted.
The orange peel wall texture has an equally understated feel and is ideal for your bedroom, office, playroom, or living room.
Before applying the orange peel texture, it is necessary to clean, sand, and prime the walls. Next, dilute the drywall mud with water until it becomes a thick liquid and apply it with a sprayer and compressor.
Roll the roller over the surface of the still-wet slurry. Repeat the process one more time when the first coat is dry.
3. Knockdown Drywall Texture
Knockdown’s texture has many similarities to orange peel. For starters, the mixing and applying process is almost the same.
However, you will need to use a trowel or finishing knife to smooth out any irregularities in the texture of the crumbled surface. This step “knockdown” the texture and flattens the texture features.
The resulting style is much more obvious than orange peel walls and looks more like a traditional stucco application. This technique provides a warm, rustic feel that would work well in a rustic, Mediterranean-inspired kitchen.
The knockdown texture is ideal for kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms, where it will add warmth and depth.
4. Spray Sand Texture
The texture of a spray sand wall ultimately looks a lot like the orange peel style without the distinctive cracking. However, different materials and application methods are involved.
The choice between crushed sand and orange peel depends largely on personal application preferences.
To use this technique, mix a bag of sand with water or a primer and let sit overnight to give the sand time to settle. Afterward, you can apply the mixture to the wall the following day using a spray gun.
Spray sanding can take a lot of time and patience, but the result is a durable, even surface.
5. Combed texture
The comb is a popular texture that has a stylish groove on the wall or ceiling. The comb texture got its name from its characteristic pattern, which resembles the marks made by a hair comb.
In this case, the texture is usually applied with a toothed trowel. These slots can be evenly spaced for people who like symmetry or unevenly spaced for a unique design.
To apply a combed texture, roll the drywall compound onto the wall, then gently use a toothed trowel to create patterns and designs in the still-wet mixture. There are several modern styles of comb texture application.
Some people create wider arcs, like the shape of a rainbow, while others create overlapping concentric circles. The most popular pattern is the half-fan which repeats in a way that resembles a fish scale pattern.
This style from the different types of drywall texture is excellent in a vintage-inspired room with art decor elements. You can get creative with combed textures and use all the shapes you want.
6. Sand Swirl
The sand swirl wall texture combines two techniques, spray sand texture and comb texture. First, you will mix a bag of sand with water or a primer and let sit overnight; the next day, you can apply this mixture to the wall.
To achieve the sand swirl texture, you will apply the mud in the same fan shape that you would use when applying a combed texture to the wall.
Instead of a toothed trowel, you can use a brush with thick bristles (medium or even thick). You can create different patterns, such as interlocking spirals or fan shapes in rows.
If you want to try out more intricate designs, you can also use a traditional paintbrush. This whimsical texture is an excellent option for a child’s room.
7. Slap Brush Texture
Also known as a crow’s feet or stomp brush, the texture of the slap brush has an exceptionally unique yet natural look that would fit into a craftsman-style home.
You can use a standard, ready-mixed drywall compound and mix it until you get a fine, runny consistency. Apply the mud to a small, adjustable area in a thin, even coat using a paint roller.
While the mixture is still wet, you will need a slap brush, which can be any stiff-bristled brush. Dip the bristles of this brush into your bucket of drywall mud before tapping it firmly against the wet mud on the wall.
Repeat this repeatedly, and don’t be afraid to overlap the brush strokes. The result will be a ridged, intricate texture that resembles a sunburst or flower petals.
8. Slap Brush Knockdown
Slap brush knockdown, which can be known as stomp knockdown, is also another of the different types of drywall texture that combines two texture styles, slap brush and knockdown textures.
By combining the slap brush technique with the knockdown smoothing process, you can achieve a cool and creative pattern.
You will need to start by recreating the brush texture on a small section of the wall. This involves rolling a thin layer of compound mud evenly onto the wall, then using a slap brush to apply the texture.
Once you are done with the brush texture section, you can let the drywall mud dry for 10-15 minutes. Next, you’ll move on to incorporating the knockdown technique by pulling out a wide drywall knife and knocking off the top of the bumps left by the slap brush.
Do this until the room is complete! This texture looks excellent in Mediterranean and Southwestern style decor.
9. Skip Trowel
The skip trowel is a drywall texture made from mud or plaster. This textured interior look is difficult to create, but it has an attractive and artistic effect that is worth the extra work. Plaster or drywall mud has to be applied by hand, which is very time-consuming.
For the application of this texture, use a large curved knife and spread very thin layers of the material of your choice. Then hold the knife at an angle and jump across the wall’s surface in overlapping circles.
Finally, you’ll have to go back over the still wet mud with a clean trowel, held at an angle to get some of the texture but leave the rest. This layering technique creates a spectacular stucco effect.
10. Spanish Lace Texture
Spanish lace is an elegant and beautiful wall texture, similar in appearance to rolled lace but also challenging to create.
Available in light and dark shades, many homeowners use this lace texture to cover up cracks, stains, and other imperfections.
Spanish lace is an intricate and ornamental wall texture among the different types of drywall textures and is a great choice for a fixer-upper house.
Full of character, the lace texture is a particularly decorative variant of the slap brush knockdown style. You can use mud or drywall plaster in the same batter-thin consistency as in the slap brush technique, but you can apply it with a roller or a spray gun.
While the clay is still wet, you can use a knife to carve intricate, repeating designs like a Spanish lace mantilla. Then paint your textured designs with the color of your choice. Once this layer dries, you will need to repeat the whole process.
Carve a slightly different lace pattern to add extra variation. To complete the look, coat the texture again with a lighter shade of the same color.
11. Rosebud Drywall Texture
The texture of Rosebud drywall is, in principle, very similar to the slap brush technique. It is usually very common on ceilings in the Midwest United States.
Mix the drywall compound until it is thin and runny, then apply one section at a time. Then get a round brush with thick bristles.
You may find some rosebud style soft bristle brushes listed explicitly as suitable for applying rosebud textures.
Stomp this brush evenly into the drywall compound, then tap it firmly and deliberately against the wall. If you had used the slap brush technique here, you would have overlapped the brush marks.
On the other hand, the texture of a rosebud is much more precise. You want each round print to be crisp and clear so that it resembles the crisp lines of a rosebud in full bloom. This style would be great in a sunroom that overlooks a garden or a romantic bedroom.
12. Venetian Plaster Finish
Venetian plaster is a type of texture for walls and ceilings, which is obtained by mixing plaster with marble dust and applying the plaster in thin layers with a spatula.
The multiple tiers are then polished to create a smooth, sleek surface that adds an extra dimension of character to your home.
Compared to most of the other different types of drywall texture in this article, the Venetian plaster finish is one of the more sophisticated and expensive options.
Texturing walls for a practical and artistic finish is not a new phenomenon. The Venetian plaster finish is an ancient style and has been documented for hundreds of years as a more refined version of plaster.
Today, this particular technique is considered relatively high-end when compared to other finishes. You can find it in famous buildings around the world, including museums and other places with impressive architecture.
While the Venetians came up with a complex formula for plaster, now you can make a more simplified version by mixing plaster, marble dust, and water into a putty-like mixture.
Apply a thin layer to the wall using a steel trowel, carefully varying the length and direction of the strokes.
You should deliberately avoid patterns and ensure the strokes overlap for enough coverage. Further, let the plaster dry completely for about five hours, then smoothen the surface by sanding and buffing.
This process should then be repeated several times. The use of 7 or 8 coats would not be considered excessive. Allow the coating to dry, then sand and buff between each application.
The end result will show many variations in texture and color gradation, and some areas will be so polished that they appear to shine. It is a laborious process that uses many layers mixed with marble dust, which makes it very expensive.
13. Hawk and Trowel
The hawk and trowel drywall texture has a natural impact as it resembles flowing waves and sometimes random circles of mud.
Like the floral-inspired styles of rosebuds and shell-shaped comb styles, this pattern would add a lovely organic element to Art Nouveau decor.
This technique is named after the tools used during the application process. As it’s known, a trowel is a flat metal tool, often rectangular in shape. On the other hand, a hawk is a flat metal plate with a handle attached to it.
Use both tools to add large amounts of drywall along the wall, but keep in mind that this technique requires quick hands and lots of practice.
Conclusion
Now that you have some basic knowledge of the different types of drywall textures, it should be easier to decide which style will work best for you.
Since many of the types above are close relatives because they use very similar techniques, sometimes, the differences are only a matter of degree. The knockdown texture compared to the orange peel texture demonstrates this fact.
Whatever you decide for the walls in your home, know that all of the different drywall textures mentioned above can be flexible.
You can adjust the size of the swirls, the shape of the combed texture, and the amount of flattening in the knockdown style.
Especially if you’re the creative type, give yourself the freedom to experiment with how you adjust whatever texture you choose.
