| |
|
|
| |
Press |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Countertop Transfauxmations feature
BY KATHRYN RIDDLE
While painting techniques such as trompe l’oeil and faux bois have been employed by artists and craftsmen for centuries, the ease of faux finishing is now available to everyone, thanks to Michaela Harbert, interior designer and now entrepreneur with the launching of her Countertop Transfauxmations. It is, she said, a process she has simplified to completely change and rejuvenate existing laminate countertops. |
| |
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
The results are simply stunning, as evident in both kitchen and bath countertops that I saw in Michaela’s own home in Chester Township.
Born in Wales, Michaela Harbert came to Cleveland 14 years ago to study interior design, an auspicious move that led not only to meeting her husband Joseph but also subsequently to opening her own faux finishing company in 1996. In addition to refinishing and painting furniture that she sold at the former Market House in Chagrin Falls, among other places, Michaela transformed clients’ homes with unique murals and faux painting techniques. It was, in fact, the challenge of “doing something” to the red laminate countertops in the kitchen of a client who was selling her house that initiated the technique Michaela then incorporated into her business.
“My client knew that it was an experiment,” Michaela said of this first project “of high-gloss countertops, worn though to white and at least 45 years old, but I was willing to try even though people at stores said you can’t paint over laminate; they’ll still tell you that. Well, I did do it, painting them to match the linoleum on the floor. Then I did the process in our first house, in the kitchen and recreation room.”
After adding the painted laminate process to her business, Michaela said she was “swamped” by clients requesting the technique that can be accomplished in as short a time as 10 hours, including drying time, and with minimum disruption to the household. The timing was perfect, too, for the Harberts as they began a family, welcoming first a son, now six, and then four-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. As a new mother with her family her priority, Michaela found her creative niche business far less time-consuming than whole house painting jobs.
“The balance shifted to more countertop business, and by the time I had the children, this fit better into my life,” said Michaela. “I had simplified the process-it’s four steps and virtually anyone can do this, to change an awful color or cover damage, at far less than a replacement cost, and the finished product is durable.”
“I’ve had a good team of people helping me,” she said, acknowledging Tom Federico, founder and director of The Project Group, and Gail Fein, who has handled marketing and public relations for her. Michaela, founder and president of Countertop Transfauxmations, narrates and demonstrates every step featured in a complete, do-it-yourself DVD that also includes a written manual of directions, helpful hints and shopping list of all the necessary supplies, with this kit available for only $39.95. Both the DVD and manual have simple, step-by-step instructions for applying even granite, marble and rag-roll finishes. She said that even buying top-quality paint, something she highly recommends, the cost is about $70 to complete an average-size kitchen with 35 square feet of countertop. Only the bonding primer is oil-based; the rest is water-based paint for easy clean-up during the project. Routine cleaning of the finished “transfauxmation” is easy, too: Michaela uses a scrubby and household bleach on her own kitchen and bathroom countertops.
Countertop Transfauxmations received its first exposure to the public in February at this year’s Home & Garden Show where, Michaela said, “I could have picked up a thousand jobs!” The innovative do-it-yourself kit appealed to homeowners, professional painters and home renovators and land lords: the possibilities and the market are endless. Late in March, Michaela was a guest on “Good Company,” too, and other promotional opportunities are in the works.
She herself says “I’m successful already because I knew I had a good idea and I did something with it. It would have been a sin to keep this to myself and not share it with people.”
The Countertop Transfauxmations kit is currently available through its website www.countertoptransfauxmations.com or by calling (866) 584-8900. |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
