Your home helped you shelter-in-place - now show it some love
Enter the Chicago Paint & Coatings Association's 2020 Painted Ladies Competition
Submitted by David Brimm
Your home has sheltered you during the COVID-19 quarantine. Now show it some love by giving your home enhanced curb appeal and entering your home or business in the Chicago Paint and Coatings Association's, (CPCA) 34th Annual "Chicago Finest Painted Ladies and Her Court Competition. This "beauty contest" encourages homeowners and professional painters to compete for the 2020 "Chicago's Finest Painted Ladies and Her Court" award. The houses or businesses must have been painted between Labor Day 2019 and Labor Day 2019.
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. Link to
http://www.chicagopaint.org/PaintedLadies/2020_Painted_Ladies_Application.pdf
The CPCA is a nonprofit 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 adds color, change and provides a fresh look to the interior and exterior of homes at a reasonable cost. It's a solid investment for the homeowner," commented Bill Heiden, CPCA spokesperson.
The 2019 competition found Elgin continuing to take home the most winning honors with four awards.
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. Public libraries have books on how to create a "Painted Lady." The trend of paying more attention to choice 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 "nonprofessional" 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. In addition, a Grand Prize winner will also be selected and will be honored with an engraved plaque. Professional contractors are awarded a certificate. Many of the winners are featured in area newspapers!
Please contact the Chicago Paint & Coatings Association to obtain more information and an application. Call, 847-240-0102, or write CPCA, 5105 Tollview Dr., Suite 259, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 Please visit our website www.chicagopaint.org for more details.