Decorating expert Santos adds 3 clinics

Over the years, Brian Santos has been a regular and crowd favorite at the Deseret Morning News Fall Home Show.

Over the past five years, Santos has educated, entertained and empowered his audiences to decorate their homes using a few easy, time-saving do-it-yourself tips.

This year Santos is back to basics by adding three new clinics: "Painting Secrets — Fun Effects For Your Home," "Old World Effects For the New Age" and "It's Not Your Grandma's Wallpaper."

With more than 20 years of experience, "The Wall Wizard," named for his magical ability to create stunning, decorative effects with simple, quick, low-cost techniques, is a seasoned home improvement specialist.

Santos is a fourth-generation decorative artist and contractor from the San Francisco Bay area. He is also the author of Better Homes & Gardens/Ortho Books' popular how-to-book "Painting and Wallpapering."

Santos has appeared on numerous national television shows, including HGTV's "Smart Solutions," ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "Today" show.

In 2004, Santos launched a new book, "Painting Secrets from Brian Santos the Wall Wizard." The book focuses on learning how to create beautiful rooms with simple painting techniques and finishes. Coming out in spring of 2006 is Santos' new book, "Faux Finish Secrets with Brian Santos the Wall Wizard."

"This year I am emphasizing fun with painting fundamentals," said Santos. "Recently, we have seen a wave of home decorating shows on TV. These shows offer the inspiration of ideas while my seminars provide the perspiration by learning how to achieve the desired look."

The first seminar in the three part series is "Painting Secrets — Fun Effects for Your Home," which will focus on painting essentials. Attendees will learn how to use new tools that will cut painting time in half. Santos will also focus on painting furniture, cabinets and doors and will also use new environmentally friendly products such as non-toxic paints and the benefits of using scrubable paints.

The second class in the series is "Old World Effects for the New Age." Santos will take simple ideas and transform ordinary walls into masterpieces by demonstrating beautiful faux finishes that will provide any home with an instant update. New this year, Santos will show how to make metallic glazes, a copper patina and create the popular "Venetian Plaster" finish.