Texture and color go hand in hand as professional house painters will tell you. Today, textured walls and ceilings are in fashion, but it was not long ago that smooth was the standard. A variety of textured finishes has eliminated the need for craftsmen to create a perfectly smooth surface for a ceiling or wall. What once took years of apprenticeship to learn can now be done faster and easier thanks to advances in materials and new technology when it comes to interior painting services.
Types of Texture
There are several types of textures used in homes around the world. The different styles include the following;
– Knockdown
– Popcorn
– Orange Peel
– Splatter Coat
– Skip Trowel
– Swirl Coat
– Stipple and more
Today, textured surfaces are common place on ceilings and walls, although the style does vary depending on the location of the home. The homes in the southwestern US for example use a skip trowel as a common finish for surfaces. The skip trowel technique is essentially a random skipping pattern while orange peel, splatter coat and knockdown are variations of that technique.
Essentially, the more water used in the drywall compound mix will dictate the type of finish that is produced. The more water present, the smoother the texture. Orange peel is essentially a loose mix of water and drywall compound that when applied by an experienced house painter will look random and not sprayed.
How to Apply Texture
In fact, each type of texture requires skill and experience on the part of the painter to achieve. But each texture type has differences in the level of skill needed to pull off the effect. Most house painters will use one color for the base and a second, complimentary color which is usually a lighter or darker version of the base.
Apply the base coat in a semi-gloss finish, then mix in a small amount of the secondary color and apply the colored glaze to the wall randomly. It takes a little practice, but by working in small section the effect can be achieved. Plus, you can always start over since this is just paint.
Popcorn, swirl coats and stipple are generally used for ceilings as they are too rough for walls. However, making a small repair in the ceiling with one of these textures is difficult without it being noticed. In popcorn for example you will need to tape and use two skim coats of drywall over the prime coat that will bond everything together. If done incorrectly, the result is a patchwork appearance that tends to peel away.
Hiring professional house painters to do the proper texture effects for your home is the best solution. They have the knowledge and experience to create a number of unique texture effects that work best for your home. The result will be a proper texture effect that lasts for years and can be repaired without having to rip out the entire effect. This means you not only enjoy the reduced building costs of using textured walls and ceilings, but also the customizing effect that helps make each interior space unique and personalized.
