My favorite texture for Drywall is a smooth finish.

We went with a smooth finish. It is gorgeous, but it is really unforgiving to nicks, dents and other imperfections. And, it was tougher to paint because all the small rollermarks, drips etc show up.

If your only choice is a sprayed on texture, I agree with your builder on a light knockdown. Orange peel, (called splatter out here), looks just that...splatter'd. A hand troweled texture such as skip troweling or old world finish is going to cost more than a sprayed on texture assuming you have finishers out there that can hand texture drywall. There are many options out there if you have experienced finishers in your area. Here's an example. Search engine drywall textures for more sites.

Here is a link that might be useful: texture pics

We just went through this the other week. The sheetrock guy recommended orange peel but our builder suggested a medium to heavy knockdown pattern. Our sheetrock guy actually blew a few different patterns on the wall in the garage for me to look at and choose between. You may want to see if that's an option so you can see it in person before they texture your whole house.. We went with the medium and it's lovely!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information. My builder is sending me to a place that have all the textured wall in the store to help me decide. DH doesn't care anyway or the other.

Sierraeast: Thanks, the link is helpful

Eyegirlie: I may just do what you suggested, thanks

Wall texture is a regional tradition issue. In parts of the Northeast a very hard smooth plaster veneer finish (commonly known as blueboard) is used and it is generally cheaper than taped drywall and is hard to damage, easy to patch and paint lasts longer on it.

Most builders here do textured because it's easier to do a sloppy drywall job and get away with it. It is MUCH more difficult to patch a textured wall and have it not shout PATCH than it is to do the same with a smooth wall. Textured also hold on to dust and dirt far worse than a smooth wall and is more difficult to scrub and have it look clean. It also takes more paint to cover. All in all, a smooth ceiling and wall is easier to maintain long term than is textured. It's a more classic look, while the varying styles of textures go in and out of fashion. And, it just looks BETTER, IMHO.

I would definitely use smooth . . . maybe more dings but easy to touch up yourself with a little patching compound and a q-tip. I can't imagine how you would touch up a textured wall? I have 3 boys and I have a tub of patch compound and my hallway paint color in the kitchen cabinet for touch ups ;)

We are in the South, though, where smooth textured walls are the norm. . . not sure how it is in other parts of the country.

I thought I'd link my new message to this old thread to see if popular opinion has changed in the last year or so! We are at the point of deciding on texture (we want texture and not smooth) and my husband doesn't care for the "new" thing around here of hand-trowelled "old plaster" look. He thinks it looks as if someone has not done a good job of finishing the wall and thinks it will be difficult to clean. He really likes orange peel, but I have lived in homes for the last 37 years with orange peel and would like something different. He also likes a popcorn ceiling, but I believe I have him talked out of that! :) Are any of you willing to share some pictures of orange peel texture in your home that you like? Or another type of texture that is different from that mentioned above? I am afraid the orange peel texture will date my house before it is even done...or am I wrong? I am willing to be swayed!

It's really so regional. Up here in the far Northeast, textured drywall = cheap builder's grade, and a smooth wall finish is vastly preferred. If you have the choice, around here the smooth would be a bonus at selling time; it's quite expensive to smooth out textured/sprayed walls.

But I know that in the West a stucco type of wall is often preferred, so again it's a really regional thing.

I'd recommend smooth at least for the kitchen and bathrooms, where I can't imagine having to wipe down walls with some kind of bumpy texture that grabs all the dust, grease etc.

Go for something as subtle as possible, if you must do texture?

Smooth is always better from a touchup and painting aspect. Textured is considered to be a builder's grade technique here. It allows a builder to use unskilled labor to apply the drywall and then the poor workmanship can be hidden under the texture. The only skilled labor he has to pay for is the guy with the gun and taping knife.

Don't confuse a plastered wall with a textured one. Skim coating blueboard with plaster leaves a perfectly smooth finish and is about as close as you can get to the old lathe and horsehair plaster of old. There just aren't very many craftsmen outside of the Bostom region who are even familiar with the process, let alone have the skill to do it.

There's also Venetian plaster, which if it's a true plastered finish and not a faux finish, contains marble dust in it, and is burnished to a subtle gloss. It's not "textured" either. It's a very labor intensive upscale finish that is also hard to find applicators to do.

I would choose smooth.

Second choice would be knockdown. My sister has it in her new, modest home and it looks very nice.

Anything other than smooth reminds me of really gross bad skin. I couldn't live with it without itching...lol

This is so interesting learning about regional differences regarding building techniques and supplies! I live in the SE...and texture on the ceilings is considered dated and/or builder grade (MANY people attempt DIY removal of popcorn ceilings that had been installed in older homes...often the process is a hot mess and they turn to the pros to complete!) It is a negative around here, for sure. I have never seen textured walls in custom homes here, but I have seen real plaster and it *is* gorgeous! Would love to have it in my house!

Our builder recommended Old World as a more economical alternative to a perfect smooth finish. In their homes that we walked through, we could honestly not tell that the Old World wasn't perfectly smooth unless we got up really close (It depends on your level of OCD. For me, anything that doesn't look smooth would bug me.

Thanks for the input everybody! I think you hit the nail on the head, Caben, with the levels of OCD...ha! I don't notice texture in 99% of the places I go into, and all of a sudden it is the most important decision ever! :) We are probably going to go with a light "Santa Fe" texture. Our drywaller did a sample and it is the one we both agreed on.

We are doing a hand troweled.