Home owners can highlight their walls using different sorts like –

• Wallpaper
• Glass
• Texture Paint
• Wood Panels
• Stones or Stone Cladding
• Highlighter Tiles
• ONYX, Marble
• ACP (ACP is very rarely used as highlighters for residential purpose)

Each of above mentioned items can uniquely be used to bring style to wall differently for different rooms of homes. Like for kitchens home owners can have highlighter wall tiles, For bathrooms, glass or highlighter tile too work the best. For living room one can have Onyx, Wooden panel or glass for TV wall, etc. Well, let’s have a look at different sorts of highlighters room-wise.

For Entrance

For entrance i.e. a wall next to or right before the main door can be highlighted with Wood, Onyx Marble, Stone, Tiles or ACP board. The purpose of highlighting the entrance is to create a unique elevation. It also creates an impression on guests for it to be a designer home. One can also relate to home owners style and way of living by having seen the Entrance highlighter.

For Living Room

Texture Paints works very well for Living room. We suggest to use Asian Paints Texture Paints, since they are one of the best paints to add style to your home interiors. Truly for living room, home owners can actually have any sort of highlighter.

An overview to Different Highlighter sorts

Stone
Home owners can choose from a wide array of designer to simple stones as highlighters. There are royal series, glamour series, artistic stone, etc. that home owners can choose from. Theses highlighter stones are available in various colors, sizes and designs too.Usually highlighter stones are used for a wall in living room or dining area. Home owners could have a small wall or a piece of art on a wall used as a highlighter. These are known for their carrion resistance, durability and long lasting finish too.

The cost of will depend on the type and style of stone chosen for highlighter. To give you a rough idea, the starting range of stone is Rs. 250 per square meter for basic style and type of stone. The cost increases with design and type of stone.

Wood

In Wood too, Home owners can choose from a wide array of stylish to simple wood as highlighters.The wood highlighter pieces are available in various designs on its surface and finish too. Wood could be used partly or as wooden panel i.e. to cover a wall. The highlighter wood pieces are used for interior wall use only like for columns, ceilings sometimes, furniture and doors. Whereas wood paneling can be used to highlight TV walls, the bed wall, columns and ceiling. Wood paneling can sometimes be used at entrance too. Having wood as highlighter, adds to the richness of walls and home interiors too.Wooden paneling and also wood highlighters are quite in trend in this modern homes.

The cost will vary with the type of wood, size and finish. But the starting range of wood for wood paneling is Rs. 1200 per square feet.The durability of wood is usually said to be 5 years. To maintain the wood for longer period, we suggest home owners to get it polished every 4-5 years. Polishing wood will not cost more than 200/- to 250/-.

Tiles

Old Fashioned Mosaic design created with ceramic tiles pieces

Old Fashioned Mosaic design created with ceramic tiles pieces

Today where world is getting digital, then why not tiles too. Home owners can choose from a wide range of digital tiles to decorative tiles to highlight their homes. Tiles are usually used in rooms like kitchen and bathroom area. You also have simple design tiles used on walls in living rooms too.

Tiles work the best for home owners with minimum budget. The starting range of highlighter tiles is Rs. 95 per piece. The cost increase with design and style of tile. For designer tile, a design is crafted or created on C4X block, since its only with C4X that are design can be created.This is used as highlighter tile on any wall. The cost for designer tile will depend on type of design chosen since the job work here completely differs from basic highlighter tiles.

Onyx Marble

Onyx is highly admired for it durability, superior quality and beautiful looks. There are different designs and types of onyx marble available. Well, whichever Onyx marble type you choose, it’s a lifetime material in your homes. Onyx Marble highlighter is the only highlighter that is maintenance free. Surely, with looks and beauty comes the price. Onyx are the most expensive highlighters to have. Home owners with really good budget can only afford to have it. The starting range of Onyx marble is Rs.1,800 per square feet.

Texture Paint

Home owners can add style to their walls with to most inexpensive and easy to have Texture Paints. Texture Paints add visual depth and dimension to walls and home interiors in the easiest way. Texture paints can be used for TV wall, the dinning wall, wall behind the bed, corner wall, study table wall, or a beam/column that home owners want to highlight.
The starring range of texture paints is Rs.75 per liter which can cost upto Rs.650 per liter. The cost varies with design brand of paint. Texture paint are said to last for minimum of 5 years’ time.

Zinc /Zing

As like texture paint, this one can be prepared and applied in a day’s time. This is also said to have last for minimum of 5 years’ time. To maintain the look and feel of this one, home owners shall clean the wall with soft cloth. One shall avoid using harsh material and chemicals to clean his highlighter wall.

The starting range of this highlighter is Rs.125 per square feet. An exterior coat is required for this particular highlighter, but that will be an added cost to highlighter cost.

[Updated on 10-Mar-2023 by Nitin, founder of Contractorbhai.com]

Highlighters are used in a room to create eye magnet. If we have a big room with all walls in the same colour, it looks good. However if you have a certain wall with a sofa or wall with some statue, this is colourerd in darker shade or bolder texture, it creates eye magnet. It brings more attention inside the room. It brings that wall nearer to the eye.

Back side is always the best side to create highlights. Or the side wall. You have to decide as per your interior concept, however highlighter is created on a wall which is not visible the whole time…

Bathroom Highlighter

Wall behind the commode or behind the shower unit is highlighted using a different shade or size of tile. Slightly darker shade or tile compared to the colour of tiles on other walls, this gives a good touch to the bathroom.

Digital Printed Tiles

Old Fashioned Tile Design for highlighter

Old Fashioned Tile Design for highlighter

There are innovative tile texture & prints available, which are easy to clean & maintain. They create a different look on the wall, compared to other walls in the room.

Back painted Glass

Back painted glass is used in many rooms to create an attractive wall surface. You will find this commonly in the study room, behind the study table. This is also used next to the kitchen platform.

Basic Tiles

You can creatively use the same tiles which are used for other surfaces inside the room. Tiles can be cut into smaller pieces, spacer can be kept between tiles & it can be filled with coloured grout. This will create an art work using the same tile surface. You can also bring in a few tiles of different colour & create a mixed design using both tiles.

Niche & Different materials

Niche to keep decor object can have darker colourerd background.

Colour lamination, veneer application, wood with normal polish, wallpaper, textured colours, glass, tiles design – these are some of the common materials used by interior designers to create wall highlighters.

Stainless steel bar
Design can be created using bars of stainless steel in middle of tiles edges.

Digital stickers / Decal

Digital stickers can be applied on the wall. There are vendors who have huge collection of designs & also provide custom design cut outs. These stickers are also called Decal.

Italian marble

If you are applying Italian marble for flooring. You can use a combination of two different Italian marbles to create highlighter. You can also use the same marble, but create design using grooves & polish it.

Tv unit

A big sized tile can be used to create a bold & attractive background for a tv unit. Wooden finish or rich italian marble finish, these look good for this application.

Wall garden

If possible to use plants / green walls inside the room or balcony area, this creates a very good highlighter.

When to avoid Highlighter?

If the room is not very big. If there is a lack of natural light. If already some wall has decor & it creates a strong eye magnet. In such cases there is no need for additional highlighter in the room