My grandfather was from northern England. His grandfather, was a cabinetmaker who taught him a method for simulating wood and stone, called "faux finish." Faux is French for false or fake, and my grandfather could make particleboard look exactly like fine oak or granite. During the war, he was sent to India, where he discovered sunshine. When he returned to his rainy home, he decided to follow a fellow neighbor who had moved to California, who could help him get a green card.
My grandfather eventually moved all his family into a home he built by hand –with the help of his two sons– on Louisiana Avenue, in West L.A. He established his faux finishing business –the first in America, he was proud to say– and was soon making hotel lobbies look like Carrara marble temples; Movie stars –like Elizabeth Taylor– hired him to give their bathrooms and kitchens exotic wood finishes; and for years, he taught many lucky students his technique. He insisted my mother learn a trade rather than go to university, because "with a trade, you can work during a war.” And so she did, and when I grew up, so did I.
My grandfather eventually moved all his family into a home he built by hand –with the help of his two sons– on Louisiana Avenue, in West L.A. He established his faux finishing business –the first in America, he was proud to say– and was soon making hotel lobbies look like Carrara marble temples; Movie stars –like Elizabeth Taylor– hired him to give their bathrooms and kitchens exotic wood finishes; and for years, he taught many lucky students his technique. He insisted my mother learn a trade rather than go to university, because "with a trade, you can work during a war.” And so she did, and when I grew up, so did I.
