I'm assuming you know what drywall is - a 4ft by 8ft sheet board composed of an inner core of gypsum covered with heavy, smooth paper. It is attached to your framing and then the seams are covered with tape and then filled in with a putty-like material to smooth everything out. After that, you can leave it smooth or texture it.

That final decision is usually determined by the style of house and what is common in your area. In my area, it is generally left smooth. Unless you have a style of house that calls for textured walls, I would leave it smooth.

When we finished the basement I was not asked. They textured it. I suppose it hides flaws better than a smooth finish. We have cats and one of them likes to jump up on the window sill. The window is quite high and he uses the wall for support to get up. It now has white scratches where the texture has been knocked off. It is also my son'd room and just leaning a guitar against the wall will leave marks. I would never do textured walls again.

Smooth walls are much harder to do than textured, because the walls have to be perfect.

In my area, the most common wall finish is orange peel or knock down, but a lot of high-end homes do skip trowel, which looks like an aged plaster. Our house has a texture called crows feet, which I think was common in the 70s. You can probably search the internet for picture examples of all of these.

The main part of our house had this weird texture on the walls (a skip trowel look except I think there was sand in the paint - very rough) and we prefer smooth walls. Since it was the main part of our house, we changed to smooth walls, and it was hard to get the walls perfectly smooth.

Like graywings said, it seems to be regional thing. In the south, more texture seems to be used, in the north , it seems less common.
I personally like textured walls. There are two general types - orange peel, little bumps and knock down, heavier texture with larger flat areas protruding (heavier texture is sprayed to the wall, let to dry a little and then "Knocked-down" with flat edged device, creating the textured surface). For me knock down creates richer color experience, as there are more light play (lights and shadows).
Price wise, orange peel is the cheapest (only one step), then knock down (two steps) and completely smooth is the most expensive, as you have to do a really good job on all joints and there is nothing that distracts the eye from little imperfections.
As for durability, with dogs and kids, I have not had any trouble living with texture. For me it makes the room come alive and makes it warmer/more inviting than smooth. But again, it is personal preference and regional as well :)

I lived in Houston 35 years ago and textured walls were the thing. I hated them but then again I'm from up north where we have smooth walls. I think they are used do that you don't see any flaws and the drywall people don't have to be as careful when they tape. I also found that the dust clung to the walls and made them look dirty. I remember my first born fell against the wall and it ripped his diaper. That was when Pampers had plastic covers!

Hi:
In my area, Ohio, smooth walls are the norm. I prefer smooth, but that could just be because that's what I'm used to. I think I would prefer textured in a southwestern themed home.
Dee

I guess it must vary even in the south, I've lived in the south my entire life and have never had textured walls nor known anyone who did! I like smooth walls, but that is all I have ever known :-)

We are in Virginia, and smooth walls are the norm. As Denali implied, textured walls can be a hazard. Until I read this tread, it never occurred to me that textured walls were cheaper. We had drywall installed in the livable part of the attic last year and the installer had no problem with hiding seams, etc. Just make sure you have an experienced drywaller.

As an FYI, making walls perfectly smooth is about touch more than sight. My DH is too vigorous when he sands, so now he leaves the drywall repair work to me.

You will want to run your fingers over the finished walls before you make the final payment to the contractor.

You guys are superb!

Thank you! We did walls and ceiling in the guest bedroom already and it's very smooth. I'll have to check now to see if any seams can be felt. Can't check pics, but "orange peel" sounds like a perfect description for upstairs walls. "Knock down" might be what my brother has.

Cool! Very helpful to know these things, so that my decisions are a little more informed. Walls are a bit busy in the room where this decision is most critical, so I'm leaning toward keeping things smooth.

Wellspring

We used to have smooth until the remodel. I had them put an extremely light texture on it where it's hardly noticeable. I really like it!

When we lived in Calif., walls were done with a skip-trowel texture. It take skill for someone to do it since it's done by hand and no spray machine is used.

We've lived in many areas of the country and I have rarely seen texture so rough as to tear a baby's diaper and catch dust. Doesn't mean it's not out there, just that I don't think it is the norm.

Throughout my current home the ceilings are a knock down texture and the walls are a light orange peel. I'm one that prefers textured walls.

Here in my area of Florida textured walls and ceilings are the norm, which is fine for the Mediterranean style homes that are prevalent here. I felt strongly that smooth walls would be better for this house and fought and fought our builder who tried to insist on textured walls. He admitted that texture is used to cover less than perfect work! I ended up telling the builder I would rather live with imperfect walls in this house than have texture.

We are very pleased with this decision. There are slight imperfections here and there but we don't care and no-one else has ever noticed. There are plenty of more interesting focal points than the dry wall finish.
Incidentally, if you decide at some time to wallpaper the walls, how could you paper over texture?

Skip trowel would be my preferred choice if I could afford it. However, it requires a skilled laborer which of course costs more and at that time, there was no more to spend.

I have always lived in homes with textured walls and it has never collected dust (I do live in the desert, no shortage of dust) and never been rough enough to do damage. The texture itself has never suffered at the hands of my rambunctious children either. My current house has knockdown but I prefer the look of orange peel. Coincidentally, the more texture your walls have, the more paint they need to cover the area.

I've almost always had textured walls and do like the look. No they don't collect dust (well done walls) nor should they be rough enough to tear anything. My cats brushed against the knock down all the time, fur did not get stuck in it...knock down should be very subtle texture, not huge ups and downs in the thickness of the finish.

I prefer a knock down texture on drywall....mostly because I find that's an easier finish to replicate myself when I have wall damage (moved walls, holes filled etc). To me orange peel feels very 70s (don't ask why...I have no idea but maybe I lived in a 70's home with orange peel?)

To wallpaper over textured walls you just skim coat and then sand quickly, it's no big deal at all.

I also like a hand drowled wall and have several in the lake house. It's a mix of textures, from knocki down to hand finished to venetian plaster (smooth). In the victorian we have real plaster, which is smoothish heh heh (you can see imperfections from the last 100 years but that's the beauty of victorians, flaws are just character).

I live the West, and smooth walls are not very common here. Most homes have some type of textured walls. Mine are knockdown on the ceilings and orange peel on the walls. When we bought this house, prior to remodeling it, some of the rooms had very very heavy texture in circular swirls. Eeeek!

My parents' home was built in the early 70's, and living/kitchen/dining had heavy texture. The bedrooms are orange peel. They eventually sanded down most of the walls and redid them with orange peel, so they could wallpaper or paint.

My inlaws are from the East, and when they built a vacation home here, they didn't like the texture of the walls. They asked the contractor to do a smooth finish, and he was very put out. I don't think he had ever done it before, and it was much more labor intensive.

I like smooth walls.
Texture is just another name for contractor 'short cut'.

Igloochic, you've pegged it. This house was built in 1974. Much in it reflects that sensibility. But I'm going to have to ask around as to whether there's a regional reason as well.

The person I'm using for this project comes with great recommendations. I'm going to be curious now what he likes to do with dry wall. I've heard he's good, but haven't asked him for specifics on the wall and ceiling work. I know he has a passion for working with tile and stone. That's another story for another time, but brother and mother have talked me out of the cheaper route and into tile (with heating layer) for the floor in the same room that will be getting the dry wall.

Thanks all, once again. I'm still leaning toward orange peel or smooth for walls; some texture on ceiling. Don't know what future owners will do, but paint, not wallpaper for me. The golden oak wood in the fireplace area will remain (70s strike again). Brick work (painted white and discolored) will be refurbished with stone or stone tile.

Wellspring

I love smooth walls / hate textured walls so much we had the knock down walls plastered shortly after moving in two+ years ago. I'd do it again in a New York minute!

This past year I smooth coated our powder room (it wasn't done when we did the rest of the house) and while it was work I loveloveLOVE it! I love the smooth walls and love all they imply -- to me, textured / orange peel / knock down, etc. walls look uber cheap, like lower-end builder's grade. (no offense to those who like them) We also find smooth walls easier to invisibly repair (e.g., fill a nail hole). It was painfully obvious where the previous owners had repaired the (knock down) wall -- I know that won't be an issue for you but it is something of which to think.

We live in Boulder, Colorado and so many homes here along the Front Range (of the Rockies) have knock down walls; another transplanted family came over to our house and the husband joked: "Well, you'll never be able to sell your house as people in CO seem to only want texture!"

So, ha ha on us (he was being silly), but that's my two cents.

I've lived up north - smooth walls were the norm.
I've lived in the mid-south for just as long now and smooth walls are the norm.

Has he asked you abuot CEILINGS?
That will be their next question!
Please do yourself and everyone who lives in your house after you a favor and put in smooth ceilings! It may cost you a few pennies more but definitely worth the little extra expense in the long run...unless you enjoy scraping texture/popcorn off ceilings.

I must admit to not reading all the posts but I will write a short answer....it is very geographical. I lived for 23 years on Florida where smooth walls are the norm and then moved to the Pittsurgh Pa area where we had one of the greatest builders and he would absolutely not do smooth walls. Said he didn't want his name associated with that. Plaster is the norm there and it is not done to cover up mistakes nor is it a shortcut. It was very professionally done...knock down and at first I hated it and after a while I decided I really liked it and now I have moved back south to SC where I can't get it and wished I could. Go figure.

Okay ... now I'm getting a teensy bit confused.

It doesn't quite make sense to me that all smooth dry wall means that and all textured means this. At least, as to whether it's "cheap". Seems to me that poorly done walls are what would look cheap, regardless of texture. It also seems like knowing how the texture ... or smoothness ... will work with paint gives me a card in my hand that I can choose to play or not. Played well ... and that's a gamble with me, I'm sure ... and the texture (or smoothness) might add a little something. Not much, not anything that anyone would say "Oh, isn't that dry wall doing a great job of making this room superb!"

I'm pretty sure my brother's home beats mine in terms of its basic craftsmanship. He has richly textured walls that I'm guessing will turn out to be knock down or skim trowel. As it turns out, I didn't particularly like the "feel", but I could imagine the way that texture could enrich the space.

I may go with smooth. It's what was most recently done in the already finished guest bedrm on the lower level. I may go with orange peel. That seems to be what I've got in the LR, DR, upstairs hall, and entrance foyer. I'll ask about the ceiling.

Wellspring

Photos:
http://www.drywallschool.com/textures.htm

Up here in the Great White North (around Toronto) smooth walls are the norm. Textured walls are a novelty. I like both, but having a husband who is like, "I'm going to run cable up to the bedroom tomorrow," and then proceeds to cut holes in the walls where necessary makes me really like smooth walls. They're much easier for me to patch up and make seamless, unlike where we have had to patch holes in our textured ceilings, which I can never get to match properly and always look like crap, post 'patch'.

I hear that on the patching, donka. Most all walls are smooth where I'm at now. With the exception of older homes that are plaster walls. (Boy, is plaster a good insulator!) A couple of the rental properties are plaster and if tenants leave a particularly bad gouge, sometimes I have to get creative with the spackle or joint compound to make it blend well!

We live in Ohio & are in the process of remodeling a home. We have somooth walls. DH sanded the walls after the drywaller was done & sanded again after the primer coat. LOL! Our walls are very smooth & it's fine by me. What I really really love is our rounded corners! I have not seen them in any other house, but they really look awesome & I think will take care of the problem of chipping paint.

I live in northern Wisconsin, and our walls are textured. I like them that way, as I think it adds visual interest. The walls are done in the knock-down way, while the ceilings are skip-trowel texture. I don't believe either way looks "cheap" inherently. It's really a matter of preference.

wellspring,

Read graywings' response above again. Drywall is the board that's nailed to the wall, as opposed to plaster or something else. The texture is how it is finished - smooth, orange peel, knock down, etc. As you can tell, people have different strong opinions. Most people who come to your home will not walk away remembering your wall texture, even if they happen to notice it while there.

I grew up in Ohio in a 1950s house with real plaster. The little bumps were pretty sharp and could hurt if you rubbed against it - could probably rip a diaper.

I just redid a bathroom in my current 1980s house (original duck in bonnet wallpaper directly on bare drywall). I was going for a smooth finish and spent much time to that end. However because of roller stipple while painting, it looks like a light orange peel. I'm actually pleased with the result. Fortunately I didn't have my heart too set on that smooth finish.

Wellspring...drywall is the board, it's nailed or screwed (mostly the second) to the wall. To cover the lines where the drywall meets they apply a plaster on top of tape that fills the gap. So that's the first step. Step two is when they spray a finish on the drywall that has been installed. (Or trowel on, etc). Step two is optional. (the texture)

I grew up in a house in PA with plaster walls. They were perfectly smooth. I have never lived in a house with anything other than smooth walls, so that is and always will be my preference. Igloochic is right about the application process, although we always call it drywall mud rather than plaster.

Ohio here. Never lived in a house with textured walls or even drywall for that matter. Always smooth plaster. In fact I hate texture so much I won't even use a roller for paint. Brushes every time.
If I had to pick a finish for drywall I'd go with smooth.

Another vote for smooth walls and ceilings. The previous owner of our house used Ralph Lauren suede-finish paint on the living room. I dislike how it looks and feels. Plus it attracts more dust than the smooth walls. DH is a braille-reader, so he has sensitive fingers. He hates how it feels when he touches one of those walls! I'm dreading the sanding that I'll have to do to clean up this mess.

Another thing to consider is how the wall looks when you have to patch a hole. It takes some effort, but blending a patch into a smooth wall is well within the ability of most do-it-yourself folks who are patient. Matching texture is a lot harder. A picky person might end up have to re-texture the entire wall.