What Kinds Of Textures Exist For Painting Walls

Thursday, May 30, 2013

What Kinds Of Textures Exist For Painting Walls

Interesting wall textures can add character to your house.

Just as there are many different paint finishes that bring different personality and feeling to the wall you're painting, there are different ways to texture the paint to add a layered and richer look to your walls. Often, this can be accomplished in creative ways using simple materials found around your home. Applying texture to your walls can bring as much style to a room as changing the color of paint.

Orange Peel

Orange peel is a popular texture for its mild but interesting effect. To create this look you'll need to follow three simple steps: loading a paint sprayer with water-thinned joint compound, spraying the wall at a low pressure and painting over the dried compound layer. A regular paint sprayer, purchased from a local home improvement store, works perfectly for this project. You can also purchase joint compound at a home improvement store. The paint sprayer used at a low level will spray the compound in an interesting pattern. Once the compound layer has dried you can apply your paint color. The paint will naturally be textured by the layer of dry compound, creating a stylish look.

Plaster Sand Texture

For a rough texture that resembles sandpaper, you can mix sand in with the paint. The amount you mix is determined by the texture you wish to create. You can load a paint sprayer with the mixture and apply it to walls at an even medium pressure. It also is possible to achieve this look with a regular paint roller; however, a paint sprayer will make the job easier and faster. After this layer has dried you can paint over it for an even color while still retaining the interesting texture you've created.

Popcorn with Glass

A popular ceiling texture called "popcorn" is created by blowing textured paint onto the ceiling with a paint sprayer. In the past, the texture was often created with asbestos or a Styrofoam product. Occasionally, sparkles were mixed in with the textured paint.

You can easily create your own "popcorned" walls by mixing small pieces of glass in with your paint. An old drinking glass, small pieces of mirror glass or even the break-away glass of a car window all work well for this project. The pieces of glass should be fairly small and more rounded than sharp. Craft stores sell small blunted crystal beads that resemble glass. These are a safe alternative and result in a similar effect. Regardless of the type of glass you use, you should wear heavy gloves when mixing and applying the paint, and make sure you never use large shards of very sharp glass.

To achieve the texture on walls, you would paint a base layer on the wall to make sure the color is consistent and then apply a second layer of glass-textured paint after the first layer has dried.

Improvise

You can get creative and use common household items to create your own unique wall texture. For instance, you can use tissue paper bunched up and painted on to create an old wrinkled look to the paint, or mix in strings to the paint. You can also create a modified orange peel by mixing compound directly into the paint and rolling it onto the wall. If you have fun and think creatively, your walls can reflect your ingenuity and style.

19th century paint colors

Thursday, May 30, 2013