Product is Everything

Another dynamic group in the world of faux finishes is Pro Faux. John Catalanotto of Pro Faux says that they are a small company, but powerful when it comes to providing the decorative painting industry with a wide selection of plasters, glazes, and finishes. One of the products he is most proud of is their unique Pro Faux Adobe product, Catalanotto claims that it is the only strippable product available of its kind: it can be removed with a tool like the Paper Tiger by Zinsser. “Sometimes when customers think about applying a complex faux finish, they are stopped by the thought of having to remove it at some point in time. Pro Faux Adobe is easy to remove and is a less permanent solution than any other faux finish.”

Pro Faux also makes finishing products that appear textured but are, in actuality, completely smooth. Their product, Finitura Liscia (fin-eh-tour-ah lee-sha), which is Italian for smooth finish, creates an array of pastel hues using various color combinations. This smooth finish will look textured, but can be painted over when a homeowner needs to, if selling a home or changing décor styles.

Catalanotto thinks the vast number of choices available in finishing products will create the trends of the future. "Designer's clients want unique and unusual effects for their clients' homes and now decorative painters can bring that to them by mixing finishes in unusual ways. A really exciting technique being used right now is metallic waxes over Venetian plasters. We are also seeing the application of metallic and iridescent waxes being applied to wall papers, and anaglyph-style wallcoverings," says Catalanotto. Shimmer and sparkle are so important in fabric trends right now; it certainly follows that this trend is being carried onto the walls of today's beautiful homes.