Most popular Drywall Textures in Walls and Ceilings.

Below you can see the most popular drywall textures in 2023 from most popular and new on top to less popular and old at the bottom.

The textures are over a wall painted black so you can see them better, the white is the drywall compound applied to the wall and the black is the places where drywall mud will not be used to create the shapes that will be left.

The most popular drywall texture in 2023 is the skip trowel texture / hand texture it is done by hand, you can order it in light, medium and heavy, light meaning almost flat in the wall and the heavier the most drywall compound it's going to have so it's going to be sticking more from the wall, but the pattern it's going to be the same, it can have more or fewer shapes, bigger or smaller shapes.

If you want to see how the walls and ceilings look when they are primed and painted please go and see the pictures in our Portfolio page.

We service Summit, Eagle counties and surrounding areas in Colorado including Breckenridge, Blue River, Keystone, Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillon, Copper, Vail, Eagle-Vail, Avon, Edwards, Etc.

If you want any of these textures done in your property even if it have been textured before we can do it, for a good explanation of how is done please go to the Walls and ceilings re-texture page.

please give us a call 970-457-7292 or send us an Email for your free estimate.

link to go to the contact us page

Latest Drywall Texture Reviews

Emma T.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Skip Trowel Texture is really beautiful, in my home state we do not have textures on the walls but since here in the Mountains flat walls are not used we decided to do it and they look nice.

Sophia P.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Did an accent wall and wanted a different color and a different texture in this wall too, they did a Skip Trowel texture for this wall and I love the result, I recommend it if you want something nice and different.

William G.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I like it, they did my whole leaving room, the ceiling was showing some joints, they did the Skip Trowel Texture to hide them and it look good, I do not see the up and downs anymore, thank you.

Elizabeth S.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I had this weird-looking texture from the 70s. on the walls and called them to erase it and see my options, they have to go over the whole area with drywall mud and texture it, now I love the walls.



Most popular Drywall Textures in 2023.

Frequently asked questions about Drywall Textures.

Most People think that there are a lot of Drywall Textures to choose from but the truth is that there are only around 4 drywall textures that have been in use in the last 45 years, these textures are in order from more popular and newer on top to old at the bottom:

  1. Skip Trowel Texture.
  2. Knock Down Texture.
  3. Orange Peel Texture.
  4. Popcorn Ceiling Texture.

There are a few more that were used in the 60s and 70s in the walls when the Popcorn Ceiling texture was used like the Crows Feet, Brushed and Stomp Textures, they are not used any more but we still found them when doing drywall repairs in a few places is why we know how to do them to be able to match the repairs.

No, until a different texture is been used for most New Construction around here the Skip Trowel / Hand Texture is going to be considered the most popular and newest and right now is the only one being used, most people think that is a lot better than the drywall textures that were used before made with a machine.

The Skip Trowel Texture is the one that we always recommend, is the most popular and up to date drywall texture right now.

If you are remodeling your property is the only one that will show that it have been remodeled recently, giving your place a better re-sell value for the future.

No, most clients think that leaving the walls or ceilings with no texture, "smooth" will be cheaper when in reality it will be more labor intensive.

To do smooth walls or ceilings you have to do around 2 drywall mud coats more than if you have wanted any drywall texture and even after this most of the time you will see bumps and some drywall sheets not aligning perfectly is for this reason why we do not offer smooth walls in any project that is not a commercial job.

In commercial jobs steel studs are used in the walls and ceilings and steel is perfectly straight not like the wood studs used in residential construction that can be bent inside or outside making a straight wall almost impossible.

The Skip Trowel Texture and All the textures that we do can be primed and painted the traditional way with just a Brush and Roller or an Airless Paint Sprayer.

The steps that have to be done are the same in all of them and the only difference depending on the thickness of the Hand Texture a ticker nap in the roller have to be used if is going to be painted this way, the same for Popcorn Ceiling Repairs.

The Skip Trowel is the easiest texture that a property owner can repair since is made of random shapes that can be done with hand tools.

Textures like orange peel or knock-down require the wall or ceiling to be really straight, smooth and use a texture sprayer to do them making them really difficult to match by a property owner.







Faux Painting.

Next you can see Faux Painting sponged / ragged using a color for the base and the same color in a different shade "darker" for the faux finish paint. The skip trowel texture was done ticker to better show the work in the pictures but usually the texture is lighter than this.

First you can see how a piece of wall 2 X 2 ft. look using one coat of primer and 2 coats of traditional paint and next you can see how it looks using different semi-transparent colors on top of the regular color for the faux finish.

Notice how now you can see the pattern of the skip trowel / hand texture instead of the flat look that you see in painting using 2 coats in the traditional way.

As you can see this kind of paint can be done using any color that you like. This kind of paint can be done in a whole area like the leaving room, bathroom, kitchen, etc. or just like in an accent wall or small space.

sample showing a 2x2 piece of drywall after its been textured, primed and painted.
Faux Painting sample showing a 2x2 piece of drywall after its been faux painted in blue on top.
sample showing a 2x2 piece of drywall after its been textured to a skip trowel texture, primed and painted, some times you have to re-texture the walls to do this.
Faux Painting sample showing a 2x2 piece of wall after its been faux painted in purple on top, this kind of paint is only used on walls.
sample showing a 2x2 piece of drywall after its been textured with a hand texture, primed and painted.
Faux Painting sample showing a 2x2 piece of wall after its been painted using a faux technique in camel brown on top.
sample showing a 2x2 piece of drywall after its been textured with a skip trowel texture, primed and painted.
Faux Paint sample showing a 2x2 piece of wall after its been painted using a faux painting technique in russet brown on top.
skip trowel texture, primed and paint are done.
Faux Painting technique with brown on top, the drywall texture is a skip trowel texture.
piece of wall 2x2 square feet with skip trowel texture, primed and paint done.
the drywall texture is a skip trowel texture and Faux Painting technique with chestnut on top.
piece of wall with hand texture, primed and paint done.
Faux Paint with taupe brown on top.
piece of wall with skip trowel, prime and paint done.
Faux Painting with coffee color on top.






How to do Faux Painting Step by Step.

If you are wondering how Faux Painting is done there are a few steps that have to be followed for the final product, we always recommend doing it over a skip trowel / hand made drywall texture for the best results but If you want to do it over a different texture it can be done, here are the steps for the best results:

  1. The first step will be to skim coat (cover with drywall compound, dry and sand) the walls If they have a different drywall texture if you want to change it.
  2. The next step will be to texture the walls with a skip trowel texture and sand it after is dry.
  3. Now prime and paint of the walls will be done the traditional way with 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of paint, the paint that will be used in this step will be the lighter shade of the two that will be used.
  4. The next step will be slow but really important, use a sponge or a rag with the faux color (darkest shade of color with the semi-transparent agent) to rub it all over the wall in little increments and then take it off with a clean rag right away leaving the semi-transparent color only in the shapes of the texture or areas as wanted. The rag has to be in a little ball with no wrinkles and move it in circles to be able to remove the excess paint without making lines or scratches.

Below is a little animation of the different steps done, this is a time-consuming process but in the end the results are great.

animation showing the steps needed to do ragged / sponged faux painting
slideshow with the different steps done during faux painting






Next you can see the same Faux Painting samples in a bigger size so you can see them better.


Faux Painting sample showing a 2x2 piece of drywall after its been faux painted in blue on top.



Faux Painting sample showing a 2x2 piece of wall after its been faux painted in purple on top, this kind of paint is only used on walls.



Faux Painting sample showing a 2x2 piece of wall after its been painted using a faux technique in camel brown on top.



Faux Paint sample showing a 2x2 piece of wall after its been painted using a faux painting technique in russet brown on top.



Faux Painting technique with brown on top, the drywall texture is a skip trowel texture.



the drywall texture is a skip trowel texture and Faux Painting technique with chestnut on top.



Faux Paint with taupe brown on top.



Faux Painting with coffee color on top.




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