Decorative finishes.
Beyond flat emulsion there's a growing range of decorative finishes that turn a single wall into a genuine feature — glitter paint, polished pebble effects, transparent glazes and trowelled screed textures. Each one behaves differently to apply and suits a different kind of room, so it's worth knowing what you're asking for before you commit a whole wall to it.
Glitter paint — impact in small doses.
Glitter paint uses fine reflective particles suspended in a clear or tinted base, and it catches the light in a way flat paint never will. It works best as a genuine feature — one alcove, a chimney breast, a child's bedroom wall — rather than a whole room, where it can quickly feel overwhelming. Application needs care: rolling too hard can bury the glitter and dull the effect, and a top coat of clear glitter varnish is often needed to protect the finish and stop particles shedding onto furniture and clothing.
Polished pebble and stone-effect finishes.
"Polished pebble" finishes, sold by B&Q and other decorative paint ranges, mimic the look of aggregate or polished stone using a textured, trowel-applied product rather than a roller. They're popular in bathrooms, hallways and feature walls where a bit of tactile depth is wanted. This is a specialist technique — the product is built up and worked with a trowel or float rather than painted on, and getting an even, professional texture across a whole wall takes practice, so it's a job best left to a decorator who's done it before.
Transparent paint and tinted glazes.
Transparent paint for walls — sometimes called a glaze — is designed to let colour, texture or a base coat show through rather than covering it flatly. Layering a transparent glaze over a solid colour creates subtle tonal depth or a softly aged, washed look that flat emulsion can't achieve. It's unforgiving of an uneven base, though, since every patch and roller mark in the coat underneath can show through, so the wall needs to be properly prepared and the base coat applied evenly first.
Wall screeding paint and the polished-concrete look.
Wall screeding paint is a thick, trowel-applied product that mimics polished concrete or microcement — a popular look in modern kitchens, hallways and feature walls. It goes on in thin layers built up and lightly sanded between coats, then sealed, and every trowel pass is visible in the finished surface, so consistency matters more than with ordinary paint. If you like the idea of any of these finishes but aren't sure which suits your room, get a free quote and we'll talk through what will actually work on your walls.
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