Faux By Kathy

Faux finishing is Kathy Carroll's passion. As owner of The Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes, Kathy enjoys teaching a variety of specialty finishes for walls, floors and furniture. She also finds that her students appreciate her knowledge of the large range of products available to decorative finishers, including “Green Products.” After the opening of her eStore in March, 2005, Kathy experienced a considerable expansion of her faux finishing supply store. Presently there are over 5,000 items from a variety of manufacturers to choose from. You will often hear her say that “One Manufacturer is Not the Answer to All." Kathy has been a visionary in the business of decorative painting, beginning her career in teaching as one of the “Big 8 Schools” for Faux Effects. In 2001 decisions were made that changed the course of the Chicago Institute of Decorative Finishing to its present charter: The Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes. While changing the name of the Institute was easy, acquiring new products and alternatives to the ones used in the past was challenging. Looking back over the last nine years has proven that things really do work out for the best and that this change now allows The Chicago Institute of Fine Finishes to offer its customers and students “The Best of The Best.”