Give your home star treatment by entering 2022 Painted Ladies Competition

Earn bragging rights for your home by entering Bloomingdale's Chicago Paint and Coatings Association's 37th annual "Chicago Finest Painted Ladies and Her Court Competition."

This "beauty contest" for homes and businesses is a great way to showcase your sense of color and style. The home or business must have been painted between Labor Day 2021 and Labor Day 2022.

This contest encourages not only the more traditional Victorian style homes and businesses to participate but other styles as well. Examples of other styles include Tudors, Georgians, Colonials, etc. Also, other creative projects will also be considered as separate categories, such as gazebos, entry doors etc. A list of categories can be found on the online entry form at www.chicagopaint.org.

The CPCA is a non-profit trade association made up of member companies who are manufacturers, raw material suppliers and distributors for the paint and coatings industry.

Even in difficult times like now, paint provides a cost-effective fresh look to the exterior of homes and businesses. It's a solid investment for the homeowner.

The entries are judged on how the paint and colors chosen were used to enhance the appearance of the property. Also taken into consideration by the judges is how well the colors fit the neighborhood and/or the area that surrounds the structure. The public libraries have books on how to create a "Painted Lady." The trend of paying more attention to choose of color and detail seems to be part of current living. In some instances, entire neighborhoods have been inspired to freshen up their homes and there are literally hundreds of colors or shades of colors to choose from to create a better looking home or business.

The Chicago and Northwest Indiana areas are divided into five sectors: North, Northwest, West, Southwest and South; and two categories "non-professional" and "professionally painted". Entrants are requested to submit before and after photographs or high-quality digital pictures printed on high quality paper to ensure accurate color representation. Paint chip samples must be submitted along with the official entry form. Winners are selected from the categories found on the entry form.

Not every category may produce a winner in a given year and more than one winner may be selected from a category. Once selected, the winners will be notified by phone. As in the past, the home or business owner will be awarded a professionally photographed picture of their home or business that is matted, framed, and presented at a special dinner in the fall.

Please contact the Chicago Paint & Coatings Association to obtain more information. Applications are on the CPCA website www.chicagopaint.org. For further information e-mail director@chicagopaint.org, or write Chicago Paint & Coatings Association, 360 W. Schick Road, Suite 23-#191, Bloomingdale, IL 60108.