Texture Paint Design for Walls: 6 Types and Cost per sq ft (2026)

A texture paint design for a wall is made in one of six ways: a thin effect coat worked with a roller or tool, a trowelled stucco plaster, a sand-filled paste, a metallic top coat, a limewash or concrete-look coat, or a thick exterior texture coat. The paint alone costs about ₹6 to ₹46 per sq ft for one coat of Asian Paints' Royale Play effects at its published MRP and coverage, and painting-service sites quote about ₹80 to ₹250 per sq ft with labour.

About the numbers below: MRPs and coverage come from Asian Paints' product pages and data sheets, and Nerolac's data sheets, all read on 21 October 2026. MRPs include taxes and are for paint only. "Per sq ft, one coat" is our arithmetic: MRP divided by the brand's coverage figure. It leaves out primer, putty, base coats and labour. The Berger and Nerolac product pages we read show no MRP, and we found no Dulux India texture product page to quote. The ₹80 to ₹250 per sq ft range is a market range from NoBroker's Mumbai texture painting page (undated) and Asian Paints' Beautiful Homes blog (July 2022), both read on 21 October 2026. Where a figure is marked "our guidance", it is MOA's view, not a brand's.

Texture paint designs for walls, by how they are made

How a texture is made decides its price, how long it takes, and whether it can go outside. Our room-by-room guide to wall colour trends for 2027 covers flat colour; this post is about the surface itself.

Six ways texture paint is made, with the coverage each brand publishes: thin roller effects cover 100 sq ft or more per litre, trowelled stucco about 20 sq ft per kg. Diagram: MOA

1. Roller and tool patterns

The most common "texture paint with roller" or "with sponge" design is not thick at all. It is a translucent top coat over a normal emulsion, moved around with a tool while wet. Asian Paints' Royale Play Special Effects page lists ten effects: crinkle, dapple, weaving, canvas, spatula, colourwash, ragging, sponging, combing and brushing. Its system is primer, putty, primer, two coats of Royale Luxury Emulsion, then one coat of the effect, at 100 to 175 sq ft per litre. Nerolac's Impressions Ideaz data sheet describes the same idea: a designer finish coat over two to three base coats, covering 12.07 to 17.65 sq m (about 130 to 190 sq ft) per litre by felt roller.

Because the film is thin, these designs read as a pattern of colour, not as relief. They are the cheapest way to get a "latest texture paint design" on one wall.

2. Trowel and stucco

Stucco is laid and polished with a steel trowel. Asian Paints describes Royale Play Stucco as a lime-based plaster with a high sheen, in marble, cobbled, slate, igneous and quartz effects, recommended for niches and alcoves, bedrooms and highlight walls. Its Textures FAQ gives 18 to 20 sq ft per kg for one coat, and the product page says a finished wall takes about one to two days on a well-prepared surface. Berger's equivalent is Silk GlamArt Stucco, with patterns named Frost and Marble.

3. Sand and rustic

Sand textures are pastes with real grains in them, rolled or trowelled so the grain shows. Asian Paints' Royale Play Mineral is "infused with natural sand grains" and applied as one coat after primer and putty. Berger's Silk GlamArt Stones and Tones is an emulsion blended with quartz and marble, in patterns called Stone Edge and Laterite. Neither page publishes a coverage figure.

Sitting area design render with a beige wall in a fine sand-grain texture behind two maroon armchairs, a large abstract painting with a picture light and an arc floor lamp — Design render: a fine sand-grain texture across a feature wall in a Rohtak home, behind the seating. Image: RAH Architects on MOA

Our guidance: a sand texture hides an uneven wall well, but every grain holds dust, so keep it to walls people do not lean on or brush past.

4. Metallic and pearl

Metallic designs use a top coat with metallic or mica pigment. Royale Play Metallics covers 100 to 175 sq ft per litre in one coat and comes in more than 120 shades. Royale Play Dune and Safari, which Asian Paints describes with a metallic lustre, cover 40 to 60 sq ft per litre, so they cost more per wall. Nerolac publishes an Impressions Metallic Finish at 12.07 to 17.65 sq m per litre per coat.

Our guidance: metallics change with the light, so look at a sample at night under your actual lamps. Keep them to a TV wall, a niche or one panel; on four walls they tire quickly.

5. Limewash and microcement look

Soft, cloudy walls usually come from limewash or concrete-look coats. Asian Paints' Royale Play Marmofresco is a lime wash applied in two coats over primer and putty. Royale Play Archi Concrete is an acrylic-siloxane plaster with a 0.5 to 0.7 mm grain, also two coats. These are paints that look like lime or microcement, not the real materials; for traditional lime wash and araish, see our guide to lime plaster and traditional finishes.

Bedroom design render with a pale grey concrete-look wall above a walnut headboard panel, divided by thin dark inlaid lines, a matching arched niche on the right, sheer curtains and a wood floor — Design render: a pale concrete-look finish on the bed wall of a Bengaluru flat, split into panels by thin dark lines above a walnut headboard. Image: Brick and MoRa on MOA

6. Exterior textured coatings

Exterior textures are much thicker. Asian Paints' Apex Duracast RoughTex sheet gives a trowelled coat of about 2.5 mm covering 2 to 2.5 sq ft per kg, in horizontal scratch, vertical scratch and rainfall patterns; Duracast FineTex is rolled at about 0.5 to 1 mm and covers 10 to 12 sq ft per kg. Both then take two to three coats of exterior emulsion. Asian Paints says the Duracast range is for professional use only and not sold in retail stores.

Terracotta-red exterior walls with a coarse grainy finish around a window with a projecting ledge, seen from a corridor with a deep red parapet, palm trees beyond — A coarse, grainy exterior finish in terracotta red on a school block in Halvad: the texture shows most where daylight rakes across it. Image: 540X Partners on MOA

Where each texture suits

Texture paint for the living room and TV wall

Our guidance: texture one wall, usually the TV or sofa wall, and keep the rest flat. Roller effects and metallics suit a TV wall; sand or stucco behind a sofa adds depth without pattern. Fix the TV bracket and wiring first, because a patched trowel finish rarely matches.

Texture paint for the bedroom

Our guidance: use the headboard wall, in a smooth or low-relief finish (stucco, limewash, concrete look), since deep grain catches hair oil and dust where pillows touch. Bed back wall layouts are covered in our coming post on bed back wall design.

Texture paint for exterior walls

On the elevation, a texture coat hides undulations and fine cracks, which is what the Duracast and Createx pages claim for it. Our guidance: use it on bands, boundary walls and the ground floor, and keep a smooth finish on sills and ledges where water sits. The RoughTex sheet asks for three coats of top coat on horizontal surfaces such as window tops and ledges.

Texture paint cost per sq ft in India

Material: Asian Paints MRP and coverage

Asian Paints is the only brand whose texture MRPs we could read on its own pages. Its interior textures page lists each product per litre, inclusive of taxes.

Product (Asian Paints)	MRP, incl. taxes	Coverage, one coat	Paint per sq ft, one coat (our arithmetic)
Royale Play Special Effects	₹1,111 per 1 L	100 to 175 sq ft per L	₹6 to ₹11
Royale Play Metallics	₹1,815 per 1 L	100 to 175 sq ft per L	₹10 to ₹18
Royale Play Dune	₹1,772 per L	40 to 60 sq ft per L	₹30 to ₹44
Royale Play Safari	₹1,825 per L	40 to 60 sq ft per L	₹30 to ₹46
Royale Play Stucco	₹879 per L listed; sold in 1 kg and 5 kg	18 to 20 sq ft per kg	Not worked out: units differ
Royale Play Archi Concrete	₹6,874 per 10 L; ₹16,727 per 25 L	Not published; 2 coats	Not available
Royale Play Marmofresco	₹23,000 per 25 L	Not published; 2 coats	Not available
Royale Play Mineral	₹5,400 per 25 L	Not published	Not available

For exterior walls, the Asian Paints exterior textures page lists per-litre MRPs worked out on the largest pack: Apex Ezytex ₹48, Apex Createx Roller Finish ₹76, Createx Scratch Finish ₹85, Createx Dholpur ₹114, Ultima Allura Reserva ₹147, Concordia ₹149, Meraki ₹187, Venezio ₹300 and Torino ₹346. That page gives no coverage, and the Duracast range carries no MRP, so we could not source a per sq ft figure for exterior texture.

Labour, and the installed price

Asian Paints' painting cost guide puts labour for "texture or designer paint" at ₹25 and above per sq ft, against ₹8 to ₹12 for basic repainting. Its Beautiful Homes blog (July 2022) gives texture paint at ₹80 per sq ft onwards, with labour extra.

For a quote that includes paint and labour, NoBroker's Mumbai texture painting page lists smooth textures at ₹80 to ₹100 per sq ft, metallic at ₹100 to ₹150 and pebbled at ₹150 to ₹200, and says putty, primer and damp-proofing may be charged on top. It does not mention GST.

Texture paint cost for one wall: a 12 ft wide, 10 ft high TV wall is 120 sq ft. At NoBroker's ₹80 to ₹250, that is ₹9,600 to ₹30,000 installed. The same wall in Royale Play Special Effects needs about one litre of the effect coat (₹1,111 MRP for 1 L), so most of the bill is base coats, preparation and skilled labour. For a whole-flat budget, try MOA's free home cost calculator.

Damp and crack checks before you apply texture paint

A texture coat does not stop water. The Duracast RoughTex and FineTex sheets both say the product should not be applied on surfaces with continuous seepage or dampness. Check these before you book the painter:

Seepage first. Press a palm on the wall after rain and look for flaking putty or salt marks at skirting level. Fix the source first; our guide to waterproofing by climate covers roofs, bathrooms and walls.
New plaster must cure. Asian Paints' sheets recommend 28 days for new masonry. Nerolac's Impressions data sheets say new plaster should cure for at least 12 weeks. The brands differ; follow the sheet for the product you are using.
Fill cracks. The RoughTex sheet fills cracks up to 3 mm with a crack sealant and dents with putty or a 1:3 white cement and sand mix. Our guidance: a crack that is wider, diagonal or keeps returning needs an engineer, not a texture.
Treat fungus. Nerolac's sheet treats fungus with a fungicidal solution and leaves it 6 to 8 hours before priming.
Try a sample. The Royale Play Stucco page advises ordering a swatch before you finalise. Our guidance: ask for a 2 ft by 2 ft trial on the actual wall.

Maintenance and repainting

Cleaning: Nerolac says to sponge Impressions Ideaz with mild soap solution, after two weeks of drying. Asian Paints says Stucco is washable after two weeks and suggests a protective clear coat.
Exterior: the RoughTex sheet asks for algae and fungus to be washed off every six months.
Repainting: Asian Paints' Textures FAQ says primer is mandatory when repainting. NoBroker notes that removing an old texture adds labour and material cost. Our guidance: a thin roller effect can be sanded and painted over; a deep sand or trowel texture needs a putty skim before it goes smooth again.

For colour choices by direction, see vastu colours room by room. Our coming posts on wall paint colour combinations and wallpaper cover the other two ways to dress a feature wall.

FAQ

What is texture paint?

Any wall finish that adds pattern or relief instead of flat colour, from a tool-worked effect coat to a trowelled plaster or a thick exterior texture.

How much is texture paint per sq ft?

Paint alone is about ₹6 to ₹46 per sq ft for one coat of the Asian Paints effects whose coverage is published, by our arithmetic from MRP. Installed with labour, NoBroker's Mumbai page quotes ₹80 to ₹250 per sq ft.

Can you put texture paint on wall putty or existing paint?

Yes, on a sound wall. The Asian Paints and Nerolac systems all start with primer and putty, and Nerolac's sheet lets repainting on smooth emulsion skip straight to primer. Do not apply over damp or flaking paint.

Is texture paint good for a bedroom?

Yes, on one wall, usually the headboard wall. Choose a smooth or low-relief finish where pillows touch (our guidance).

Which texture paint is used for exterior walls?

Exterior textures such as Asian Paints' Apex Createx, Ultima Allura and the professional Duracast range, finished with exterior emulsion. The Royale Play Special Effects and Metallics pages list those coats for interior walls.

Planning a feature wall or a new elevation? Find interior designers on MOA, filtered by your city.

Sources

Asian Paints: Royale Play Special Effects (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Royale Play Metallics (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Interior textures, per-litre MRPs (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Textures FAQ (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Stucco Marble texture, TXT1048CMB1169 (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Royale Play Marmofresco (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Royale Play Archi Concrete (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Royale Play Mineral (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Exterior textured finishes, Apex Duracast, Createx and Ultima Allura (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Apex Duracast RoughTex product information sheet (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Apex Duracast FineTex product information sheet (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints: Painting cost per sq ft in India (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Asian Paints Beautiful Homes: Cost of painting a house per sq ft in India, 19 July 2022 (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Nerolac: Impressions Ideaz Designer Finish data sheet (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Nerolac: Impressions Metallic Finish data sheet (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Berger Paints: Silk GlamArt Stucco (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
Berger Paints: Silk GlamArt Stones and Tones (accessed 21 Oct 2026)
NoBroker: Texture painting cost in Mumbai (accessed 21 Oct 2026)