Run your hand across a handcrafted wall and something shifts. There’s warmth there, and a quiet sense that someone made this. Nadine van Vuuren, Cemcrete marketing manager, shares why, in a world of digital everything, feeling has become one of the most sought-after qualities in a home, and how surfaces have become one of the most expressive ways to achieve it.
At Cemcrete, texture has always been part of the story. Every finish is mixed, applied and refined by hand, creating natural tonal variation and movement that never feels static or mass-produced. In 2026, Cemcrete is embracing what they believe is the year of texture and tactility: a return to finishes that feel alive.
Earth, reimagined
Few textures carry as much quiet power as rammed earth. Its layered appearance and deep connection to the natural landscape create something that feels simultaneously raw and refined, ancient yet entirely at home in a modern interior.
Traditional rammed earth isn’t always practical in a residential setting. Cemcrete’s DecoCrete, a pre-coloured decorative plaster, captures its warmth and layered depth in a far more versatile application. The result is walls that feel excavated rather than painted, with tonal variation that shifts beautifully in natural light.
This approach was used to striking effect at Nobu at One&Only Cape Town, where DecoCrete in Sandstone, Pink Sandstone and Machado created feature walls of earthy warmth and quiet drama.
Walls that feel handmade
Texture is increasingly replacing traditional painted walls throughout the home, and BrickWash, one of Cemcrete’s newest launches, makes a compelling case for the change.
Inspired by raw desert landscapes, BrickWash is applied directly onto brick or plaster with a block brush, celebrating expressive brushstrokes and subtle colour variation rather than concealing them. The finish doesn’t try to look perfect. That’s precisely the point. The result is a wall that feels layered, natural and genuinely alive.
Light and shadow as texture
Not all texture needs to be rough to be felt.
Three-dimensional patterned walls are gaining ground as designers move beyond colour alone to create depth and atmosphere. At Six Senses Southern Dunes in The Red Sea, dimensional patterns beneath cement finishes created surfaces that shift throughout the day as light moves across them, subtle in the morning and dramatic by afternoon.
It’s a reminder that texture can emerge not only through materiality, but through shadow and form.
Terrazzo: Movement underfoot
Smooth can still tell a story. Terrazzo has been one of the most enduring flooring trends of recent years, and 2026 marks the launch of Cemcrete’s own Terrazzo system.
Applied in situ and polished to reveal curated marble chips, the finish creates movement and character across the floor surface. Exposed aggregates catch the light and shift with every step, while the overall finish remains beautifully smooth underfoot. It’s the kind of floor that rewards a second look.
Where land meets water
Pool design is evolving toward something more immersive, with spaces that feel less like a feature and more like a natural extension of the landscape around them.
Pool Quartz, another new Cemcrete launch, was developed specifically for beach-entry pools and transitional spaces where the boundary between water and surrounding surface should feel seamless. Acid washing reveals a sparkling quartz aggregate beneath the surface, adding both visual texture and subtle slip resistance where it matters most.
The most memorable homes are not simply seen. They are felt, in the grain beneath your fingers, the movement of light across a wall, the warmth of a floor that carries its own quiet history.
Visit www.cemcrete.co.za or email info@cemcrete.co.za
Featured image: Cemcrete Finishes at Six Senses Southern Dunes in The Red Sea
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