How Professional Architects Compare Paint vs. Wall Coverings
- October 17, 2025
- By: Sanyukta Baijal
- INFLUENCERS
Diwali 2025 and the Home Makeover Mood: As Diwali 2025 is right outside the door, one thing which comes to mind during this time is renovation. The festive season practically turns into a nationwide makeover month, with everyone eager to revamp their spaces for bright and beautiful Diwali home décor. For ages, paint has been the traditional go-to method for giving homes a fresh look. Whether it’s a festival, celebration, or wedding, paint has long served as the one-stop solution for most. But not anymore, as we step into a new era of design possibilities, there’s so much more you can do with your walls than just add a coat of paint.
Why Paint Isn’t Enough Anymore
Basically, paints and coatings only colour your walls; it doesn't necessarily protect them from damage or wear. Over time, it can fade, peel, or simply start to feel monotonous, lacking the texture and depth modern interiors demand. In a tropical country like India where there's a lot of humidity, paint tends to start peeling off and walls look old and spooky. As a result, users are switching to other substitutes.
Modern Wall Covering Alternatives: Colours tell a story but other alternates may add character to your walls. Options like wall panels, tiles, wooden cladding, metal sheets and more are quiet these days. Over the recent years, these materials have seen a surge in demand from new age home owners. These options come with multiple benefits like durability, low maintenance nature and versatility which means one can easily experiment with patterns, textures, colours and designs. markets are stuffed with a huge number of options of tiles, panels and other types of wall coverings.
Architects Compare Paint and Wall Coverings: Not just buyers, in fact many architects and designers are voicing their opinions on this new design debate of paint vs other options. Talking about the user behaviour in today's era, Ar. Naveen Goyal said, "Architects and designers are using other materials than paint because of two reasons, first: They're low maintenance and second, they add character to a space."
Climate and Maintenance Factors: Ar. Kalpana Swaroop of Bhavnagar said, "We are using other products more than paints due to the climate change and excessive heat. They are maintenance free, easily usable and can be cleaned without much hassle. There are a lot of options and ideas to choose from like wall panels, louvers and other good things. So, paints have become a secondary choice for people nowadays."
Ease of Installation: One of the advantages of wall coverings is that it doesn't take much time in installation. One can buy it straightaway from the store and it's easy to install. Ar. Rony Payuva says, "When you get something which is out of factory, and it's a pattern and it will be computerised or digitalised which turns out to be flawless. However, when you talk about paint it may take more time as it involves a whole process, skilled labour and may take many days to complete. Mainly it is about the finish and the time. So if I buy something which is out of market, I can put it in just one day. Meanwhile, if the labour is available and I have time, I'll go for paint for the sake that it looks more artistic."
Trends vs. Functionality: Supporting his statement, Ar. Ashish Jani and Ar. Bhavna Jani said, "These things are related to trends, people follow trends. Otherwise as an architect I feel there are different applications for different products and we have always been using things along with paint. But it's always a rational decision. Trends come and go but the technical part always stays the same- where we have to use paint we always use it. However, if another application is required then we go for something else."
Client Choices Still Matter: While some architects and designers are preferring paints over tiles and wall panels, some depend totally on the client's choice. Interior Designer Gautam Aggarwal of Siliguri expressed his opinion saying, "Paint or other materials vary from designer to designer. I won't say that I pick other options over paint, I like using paints wherever it's possible. Overall we have to look at which product suits which area and accordingly make decisions. There are multiple designers who recommend different products these days. However, people with more simple tastes prefer paints and textures and as per their taste they take their call."
Paint Still Has Its Place: Ar. Disha from Jalandhar said that paints are being used wherever required despite new items entering the picture. "It's all about designing paint that has its own quality and impression. If we're replacing paints it is because of designing. At times we are replacing paint with vinyl, sometimes we are replacing it with tiles, marbles and wallpapers. This is simply to add a certain design element to the room not to replace paint totally. PU paints are quiet these days which have better finishes, variety in shades and texture options. Textures which are coming in the market are giving a rich feel altogether. Having said that, it's not like paints are not being used, they are being used where they're supposed to be."
Texture Defines the Final Choice: Meanwhile, Bhavnagar's architect Richal Patel focused more on the product's texture instead of picking paint or substitute options. She said, "Which is better between the paint and the new materials depends on the approach. Ultimately it's about the feeling of how a paint's texture feels and how other products like limestone feels."
So, what will you choose for your walls this festive season: paint or wall panels?
