Upcoming Courses:

Our Spray Booth Is Ready for You

The Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes wants to remind you of a recent addition to its full menu of services for the faux finisher and decorative painting professional: a fully-equipped spray booth system.

The use of our spray booth, which comes supplied with an HVLP, enables you to take advantage of its many benefits, including:

• Superior finish for your project.
• Less paint and primer used.
• Faster and even drying.
• Elimination of dust and small particles.
• Large enough to accommodate furniture and cabinet doors.
• Economical at just $50 per day for the spray booth with use of the HVLP.

As the first customer to use the spray booth, Joanne Voll of Creative Finishes highly recommends it to other faux finishers and decorative painting professionals and plans to come back for more. Because of the lack of space in her home studio, Joanne decided to try the booth. Her first project involved dining room cabinetry that needed to match the color of her client’s new furniture.

"Using the spray booth, I was able to achieve a much more uniform, professional-looking finish since there were no drips or brush strokes," Joanne explained. "My clients were pleasantly surprised at how the cabinetry perfectly matched their new dining room table. They were so impressed with the end product that I plan to use the spray booth again to add a stencil design at the top of the same cabinetry."

You, too, can experience similarly impressive results by using the spray booth at the Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes, a decorative painting studio. Call 800-797-4305 (outside Illinois) or 630-653-2400 (in Illinois) today for reservations.

Learn Marbling & Graining From the Best

The Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes is pleased to bring in one of the foremost faux finishers in the UK for an exciting five-day course in marbling and graining.

From July 7-11 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.), you’ll experience hands-on instruction on mastering brush techniques and different methods of building depth and realism for the following finishes: Oak, Mahogany, Satinwood, Walnut Burl, Carrara, Porto, Grey Breche, Sienna and Verte Antique.

During the class, a variety of approaches and materials will be explored so you can tailor them to your clients’ budgets and site needs. At the completion of the course, you’ll have nine completed sample boards.

Cait Whitson, the course instructor, has been involved in the decorative arts since 1985. She trained in London at Leonard Pardon’s School for Specialist Decoration and at the late Bill Holgate’s school. Established in 1996, Cait’s current business Carte Blanche attracts clients throughout the UK and Europe, including titled people, noted families and owners of historic houses. She teaches at her own studio, which is the only private School of Decorative Finishes in her native Scotland, and travels extensively to instruct at technical colleges worldwide.

Cost of the course at the Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes includes continental breakfast, lunch and all supplies ($1,695.00 total). Class size is limited to 10, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from a world-class artisan and add these versatile finishes to your portfolio.

Reserve your spot today by calling (630) 653-2400 or sending an e-mail to kcarroll@fauxbykathy.com

Faux By Kathy - Frequently Asked Questions

What type of faux finishes do you teach?

At The Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes, a decorative painting school, we teach the art of faux finishing to those wanting to change careers, professional decorative painters and professional painting contractors, who want a wide variety of finishes. Our Professional Faux class is a hands-on, full-participation experience and is taught using a three-step learning process: hear it, see it, do it. You will hear how the finish will be applied, while following along using step-by-step guides for each sample, watch the instructor complete the sample, and then create the finish on your own sample board.

In class, we discuss the entire process for applying faux finishes on walls. Topics covered include masking, wall prep, base coats, artistry and clear protective coats. We will fully discuss translating the finish from your sample board to the wall, including how to handle sections and corners as well as ceiling and floor lines and troubleshooting on the job site. We teach both positive and negative glazing techniques, using several different tools to explore the variation achieved with each. You will also learn the correct way to blend colors to accomplish expert, sophisticated, elegant looking faux finishes.

It is important that your portfolio contain a wide variety of samples. You must give your clients choices of finishes and of price ranges. We start with broken color work, and work our way to furniture. We offer the most diverse assortment of samples for professionals in the industry. Your portfolio will include a wide variety classic finishes. These are not variations on a theme. No two are the same. For specifics on any given class please refer to the class description.