Carte Blanche Decorative Painters

I will be live this evening with the amazing Sarah Pelley of Home Revival who has been running a series of interviews with industry experts associated with Professional Furniture Painting. Very touched to be invited as I join a very eminent guest list. Come and watch us on Home Revival's page at 8pm tonight

As most of you know, I have always enjoyed sharing knowledge and my skills through groups, magazine articles, and videos. But there is never enough time to do it so I have joined with my good friend and colleague Lesley Anne Kinney of Bespoke Decorative Finishes who is of the a similar business vintage and we will be creating a Membership Group and a distance learning hub where you will learn useful and financially rewarding techniques. We will help you with business tips and... during lives, we can answer your questions. There will be subscription boxes where you will receive the products you need to create some of the finishes we are teaching. Members will be able to buy these at a discounted price. Please join our group - this is just the very beginning, we are taking baby steps just now. https://www.facebook.com/groups/Kinneyand WhitsonCreativeCoaching. You may be eligible to join our Membership group as founding members at a special rate.
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Here are the doors installed. What a lot of work ....but partly it was because I was getting used to the material. Next time I’d be super confident. Handles still to go on before I had to leave but pleased. Hope the client loves them too (away on vacation till tomorrow)

Gibson sanding the Metallicoat

We’ve been doing a new thing - this is Liquid Metal from Metallicoat. A lot LOT of processes and we’re only half way there. The first pic is is after sanding with 240 and 400 grit then we went 800, 1500, 3000 and 4000 grit. I’ll post a wee video of Gibson sanding at 3000 stage. The final pic is of the control panels we made and the patination tests I was running with various chemicals. So it’s exciting stuff here....next stage is patination, that’ll involve 3 processes and then waxing and final polish. It’s all a bit nerve wracking but now we’ve got to this stage I’m feeling happy.

Such a pretty wall finish we did in this domed en-suite in a tiny turret at Fasque House bridal suite. Back 7 years after application to do a few tiny repairs and despite heavy use it has stood up really well

FAME AT LAST!!! For the third time in 2 months there has been a mention of us, our product and now ME in the #PDAmagazine....thrilled to be featured in the "spotlight on.." section of the magazine. The first image is from this month's mag, 2nd and 3rd are from last month's. Wayne de Wet's product review on our lovely Whitson's primer and the charming Charlie Budd added a little piece about our Instagram feed which if you don't follow it is @paintycait

This is a bit of a teaser - its no way finished. But this pair of connecting Demi Lune tables are on their way. I seldom do something just for me and I designed these ages ago and had them made. Years on I’m starting doing “spec” work again. I’m working in these to put them up for sale. ....I’ll be doing a “how to” on this marble for the PPD magazine and a video ...I’ll post again soon

Many of you will know that I love matching things. So here was a project that was perfect for me as #woodgraining is of course one of my favourite tasks too. Wasn’t quite finished when I took these photos - still needed the skirting done and the varnishing. The door surrounds are old but the new door had to be matched to them and the existing Georgian pine doors in the rest of the building .

So here is the completed ceiling And a few progress shots. We were thrilled today to receive this from the architect.
“Good afternoon Cait.
... I was on site this morning and saw the drawing room ceiling and congratulate you on a job very well done. It’s impossible to tell the old from the new!!! Many thanks for all your effort.”
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We are just in the process of completing that ceiling we posted before Christmas - oh gosh we got cocky. Everything pre- Christmas went like a dream but this week we faced a few issues. The ceiling has had numerous repairs over the years so there are multiple colours up there. The main thing is to get it to “read” well across the ceiling from all directions.

Today we set up to restore this amazing ceiling in the county of Angus - my home county. The scaffold came late in the day so it’s not up yet but I’ll be posting stage by stage on Instagram mainly (but I’ll put some here too) along with interior details of this gorgeous house that has many original features. This is how I saw this last - since then Fisher Plastering have waved their magic plaster wand and repaired it.

Complete! Handrail to be fixed soon

Between the painting and decorating show and the preparation for it, and preparing and hosting the class for Whitson's last week I have not done any paid work for three weeks until today. Lovely job in a fabulous home, local to me, matching the two bottom steps risers to the other ones. It was rather delicious to settle down mid morning in this warm quiet house to do what I love doing and suddenly think wow ...I get paid to do this Before and afters - varnish tomorrow.

Whitson‘s new YouTube channel will host all the demos of my finishes I did at the Painting and Decorating Show and more. Whitson’s is now the educational arm of the 2 businesses so please like Whitson's and follow the channel to get updated on new demos.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was demonstrating for the Painting and Decorating Show #p&dshow2018 and it was a blast. Of course we were also manning our own sister company’s stand Whitson's. What a great two days. Thanks to everyone who came to chat and watch and talk product with us. For those that wanted to see the demos but missed them (they weren’t in the program the first day and they weren’t announced) we’ll be creating a Whitson’s YouTube channel in the next week or so with the first demo being the malachite and we’ll follow up with the others. If you want to see them follow Whitson's where they will be announced. Anyone who wants a product list and instructions for any of them please dm me #fauxfinishdemos #decorativefinishdemos #livedemos #decorativepaintingclasses #wallfinishes #cabinetryfinishes @ Ricoh Arena

I’ll be demonstrating at the Painting and Decorating Show next Tuesday and Wednesday at the Ricoh Centre. I’ll be on stand 15 demoing for the show and our sister company Whitson's will be on stand on 14 where my colleague Lesley Anne Kinney from Bespoke Decorative Finishes will be demoing polished plaster from Stucco Italiano. Free tickets here http://sut5.co.uk/sLKSRvD4sUCSkLvait2I8fH 6ofajpPf6q_mu__v9_….. Wow that’s a helluva URL Pop in and see us

Very excited about this 4 day class hosted by our sister company Whitson's taught by Gianni Polistena the founder of Stucco Italiano - the class is split into 2 x 2 day classes. 2 places left on the first two days, 4 places left on the last 2