How to Texture Drywall With a Paint Roller for a Stylish Finish

Spruce up your space with texture

Conceptual interior living room
Photo: Victoriia Kovalchuk / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images
Conceptual interior living room
Photo: Victoriia Kovalchuk / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images
Taylor Freitas
Written by Taylor Freitas
Contributing Writer
Updated Apr 11, 2025
SKILL LEVEL
Easy
COMPLETION TIME
1 day
COST
$50–$100
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What you'll need:
TOOLS
  • Drop cloths
  • Cleaning cloth or sponge
  • Five-gallon bucket
  • Mixing paddle or paint mixer drill attachment
  • Paint roller
SUPPLIES
  • Painter’s tape
  • All-purpose cleaner
  • Water
  • Drywall primer
  • Joint compound

Want to elevate your understated drywall? It could be a lot easier than you think, thanks to drywall texturing—a simple DIY project that doesn’t require previous drywall experience. Learning how to texture drywall can enhance the look of your living space and conceal imperfections on your walls.

Heads up: While there are several techniques for texturing drywall, we’ll focus on one of the easiest methods: using a paint roller.

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  1. Prepare the Area

    Drywall texturing projects are messy, so your first task is to cover your floors, furniture, and other walls with drop cloths.

    Next, look for any holes, dents, or cracks in the drywall. You can use a repair kit to patch a small hole in drywall, but if there are several large holes, you should call a pro to replace the drywall before texturing it.

    Once you’ve dealt with any drywall damage, it’s time to clean the wall. Wipe it down with an all-purpose cleaner and a cloth or sponge, then let it dry completely. Finally, cover your baseboards and window and door trim with painter’s tape.

  2. Prime the Wall

    Staircase and tools for painting
    Photo: pattilabelle / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

    Apply drywall primer to a damp paint roller, then prime the wall. Let it sit for at least two hours (or however long the manufacturer recommends on the primer’s packaging).

  3. Prepare the Joint Compound

    Add the dry joint compound (also known as drywall mud) into the bucket. Mix it with water according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You’ll have to use a mixing paddle or drill attachment to combine it thoroughly.

  4. Apply the Joint Compound to the Wall

    Pour the joint compound into a paint tray. Dip the roller in the tray and roll it out, making sure the roller stays evenly coated (but you shouldn’t over-saturate it).

    Beginning at a corner or on the edge of the wall, roll the joint compound on the wall. As you work, make sure the joint compound is going on evenly and consistently. (Keeping the paint roller well-coated helps with this.)

  5. Cover Tight Spaces

    Man painting wall with paint brush
    Photo: Bill Oxford / E+ / Getty Images

    Use a paintbrush to lightly dab the joint compound around tight spaces (like corners and edges).

  6. Let It Dry Partially

    Allow the joint compound to dry partially—but not completely. You can test the dryness by gently pressing a finger into the material.

  7. Apply Another Layer

    Worker applying plaster to the wall
    Photo: Natalia Kokhanova / Getty Images

    Use a clean, dry roller to roll over the wall for a second time. This will pull up some of the partially dry material to create extra texture on the wall.

  8. Let It Dry Completely

    Let the wall dry completely. Depending on the compound’s thickness and your home’s humidity level, this could take between 24 and 48 hours.

  9. Paint the Wall

    Man painting wall with paint roller
    Photo: dlinca / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

    When everything is dry, you can prime and paint the textured wall. This isn’t required, but it can make the wall look a little more polished.

When to Texture Drywall

8 drywall texture types compared visually, including lace, stomp brush, and orange peel
Photos: ooddysmile / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images; LeMusique / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images; Evgenii Emelianov / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images; apugach / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images; Fotografía de eLuVe / Moment / Getty Images; TravisPhotoWorks / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images; YOUNG HOON CHO / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

You can texture drywall whenever you’d like, but there are a few situations where it might make the most sense. For example, if you’re hanging new drywall in your home, that’s a good opportunity to texture it before doing anything else. Not only does texture add a decorative touch to your walls, but it can also help conceal future imperfections.

Otherwise, you might consider texturing drywall while you’re doing other home improvement projects (even if those projects don’t involve installing new drywall). After all, texturing can get messy, so it’s smart to do it at the same time as other renovation work.

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DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

Texturing drywall is an approachable DIY project if you pick a simple texture and technique. Orange peel and knockdown are beginner-friendly drywall textures.

If you want something more complex (like tree bark or skip trowel), we’d recommend hiring a local drywall installer. Creating these textures requires skill and precision, which beginners often don’t have. Plus, if the wall doesn’t turn out how you’d hoped, you might have to pay a professional to fix it anyway.

Pro Tip

The biggest reason to get your walls professionally textured is consistency. If you're trying to match a new room to the rest of your house or make repair work blend in perfectly, a pro will be able to do it much more quickly and effectively than most homeowners.

Bar Zakheim

CEO of Better Place Design & Build

 — San Diego, CA

For a DIY drywall texture job, you’ll spend between $50 and $100 on the required supplies. By comparison, hiring a pro to texture drywall costs $575 to $675, but the results are worth it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, texture can hide minor imperfections and irregularities in your drywall. However, you shouldn’t expect it to cover up nail marks, screw holes, or significant drywall damage. Also, some types of texture are better at concealing imperfections than others. For example, the tiny bumps in popcorn ceilings or walls are great at masking flaws.

Knockdown and orange peel are two popular types of drywall textures. There are a couple of key differences, but the main one is the application process. When creating an orange peel texture, you spray the material onto the drywall. With knockdown, the first step is to spray, stomp, or brush the material onto the drywall. Then, you drag a tool (like a knife or trowel) over the material to create unique designs.

Yes, you can skim coat a wall without hiring a professional. In fact, the process is quite similar to texturing drywall. It involves cleaning and priming the walls, mixing joint compound, and applying it with a paint roller. Then, you’ll smooth out the material with a taping knife or magic trowel to get a sleek skim coat finish.

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Learn more about our contributor
Taylor Freitas
Written by Taylor Freitas
Contributing Writer
Taylor is a contributing writer who has covered a range of home-related and personal finance topics. Her budgeting and home improvement tips can be found on CNET, Bankrate, and more. She enjoys helping people discover new ways to upgrade their living spaces and is most enthusiastic about sustainable living.

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