ITALIAN SYSTEMS · LONDON STUDIO · ISF ACADEMY · INSTALLER NETWORK · ONE JOINED-UP FRAMEWORK FOR REAL UK ROOMS
ISF at a glance
What ISF is
A Framework that holds Italian surface systems in the UK — linking Valpaint, the London Studio, ISF Academy and an Installer Network into one chain of responsibility.
What it does
Turns “nice plasters and paints” into bathrooms, floors and walls that can be drawn, priced, installed and cleaned — with risk and behaviour mapped ahead of time.
Who it’s for
Designers, installers and clients who want Italian surfaces in real UK rooms, with one method running from Studio decisions through training to site.
On this page
A surface finishes company you can put on drawings — and on walls.
Italian Surface Finishes (ISF) is the modern UK Framework that sits between Italian manufacture and real UK rooms. Today every system in the Framework is built around Valpaint, an Italian manufacturer specialising in decorative and architectural coatings. We work only with high-end Italian systems for walls and floors — concrete-look plasters, metallics, silk and suede finishes, textured coatings, seamless “microcement” bodies and waterproof bathroom systems — and hold them together inside one joined-up Framework. Where the old decorative world often revolves around heritage stories and individual plasters, ISF exists for what happens next: Italian surfaces held in a modern UK Framework that designers, installers and clients can all work to.
In practical terms, surfaces are chosen in the London Studio, taught in the ISF Academy and installed through the Official Valpaint | ISF Installer Network, all connected back to Italian research. For you it simply means one approach to design, training and installation so walls perform as well as they look.
What ISF is
A specialist company focused on architectural walls and floors — not a general paint shop.
A Framework that links Italian manufacturer, London Studio, ISF Academy and Installer Network into one system.
A team that can be on your drawings, on site and in the room with clients when surface decisions matter most.
What ISF is not
- Not a catalogue on a counter. We do not sell DIY tubs or scatter products without method.
- Not just a distributor. We work in deep, long-term collaboration with Valpaint in Italy, whose systems we understand in detail from chemistry through to installation.
- Not an abstract consultancy. Our Framework grew from stands, studio walls and live projects, not from a slide deck.
One Italian–UK ecosystem
At the heart of ISF is a simple chain: Valpaint (Italian manufacturer) → London Studio → ISF Academy → Installer Network.
In the UK, that chain is built exclusively around Valpaint systems and ISF. What you agree in the Studio is what installers learn in the Academy and what appears on site — backed by Italian research and UK fieldwork.
From scattered experiments to a joined-up way of working.
ISF did not start as a logo and a brochure. It started on stands, studio walls and building sites. At trade fairs and design shows — Coventry, Surface Design Show, ExCeL, NEC, Harrogate and Cologne — we kept seeing the same pattern: decorative products looked impressive on sample cards, but struggled in damp British houses, busy restaurants and real bathroom cleaning routines.
Read the full origin story
Looking for better answers took us to Italy, where manufacturers had already built serious systems for concrete, stone, silk, suede, metal and textures. When we used those systems on our own work, the quality was obvious — but so was risk: without the right preparation, training and follow-through, even the best chemistry can be misused.
Instead of simply importing more tins, we built the structure we wished had existed from day one: a Studio where surfaces can be seen full-scale under real light, an Academy where those same systems are learned properly, and an Installer Network that works to a shared method on site — all anchored back to the Italian manufacturer.
ISF is young on paper but built on dense experience: exhibitions, Studio sessions and projects treated as feedback loops, not photo shoots. The Framework you see across our pages is simply that experience written down so materials, people and projects move in the same direction.
A young company, old questions
Italian Surface Finishes was created in 2023 to formalise work that had already been happening for years — bringing scattered surface experiments into one organised way of working for UK projects.
Proof over heritage
We do not trade on age. We trade on proof: finishes questioned under show lighting, walked on, cleaned and lived with — then refined and folded back into our method.
Why Italy?
Because the chemistry and surface language we needed were already there: disciplined systems for concrete, stone, silk, suede, metal and textures, built as serious technical bodies rather than thin decorative skins.
Why a Framework?
Imported products without structure lead to hit-and-miss results. Our Framework ties together manufacturers, Studio work, training and live projects so the same logic runs from first sample to final clean.
Valpaint (Italian manufacturer) → London Studio → ISF Academy → Installer Network
Today that loop is built exclusively around Valpaint in Italy: Italian research and chemistry feed a working London Studio, a multi-Level Academy and a certified Installer Network. The same systems run through every part of that loop, so a decision made in one place is supported in all the others.
What it feels like to work with ISF.
The Framework only matters if it makes projects clearer and calmer. This is how a typical journey runs once you are inside the ecosystem.
Studio — from images to real finishes
You bring drawings, moodboards, photos and constraints. We move quickly from “we saw this online” to real surfaces on real boards.
In the London Studio we compare concrete, metal, silk, suede and textures at full scale under controlled light and alongside timber, stone and glass. It’s where you decide if you want a concrete wall in a bedroom, a soft silk in a restaurant or a waterproof artistic finish in a hotel bathroom — and see what that actually looks like.
Survey & design — choosing systems, not just colours
We look at the background: substrates, moisture, heating, traffic, cleaning and risk zones before we confirm any finish.
From that survey we propose systems — primers, mesh, body coats, decorative layers and protection — not just colours. Those systems are easy to read on drawings and easy to price, so you know what is happening behind every wall and floor finish.
Academy & teams — everyone using the same playbook
Installers learn on the same systems you have seen in the Studio — not on demo products that never leave the classroom.
We match installer experience to system complexity and make sure everyone understands the sequence and limits before site work begins. Drawings, training and on-site method all refer back to the same playbook, so there is less room for improvisation and finger-pointing.
Installation — one method on site
On site, ISF teams follow the cycle you’ve already seen on paper: preparation, body, decorative finish, protection, handover.
You are not dealing with a chain of separate suppliers. You are dealing with one team and one method. That keeps decisions, mock-ups and site work aligned, with fewer surprises and fewer conflicting instructions.
Handover & maintenance — clear expectations
At handover you receive simple guidance on cleaning, care and realistic lifespan, so surfaces behave the way you were told they would.
We talk openly about ageing, patina and repair strategies. That way owners know what to expect from a concrete-look stair core, a suede-effect restaurant wall or a waterproof artistic bathroom — and installers are not blamed for promises the system cannot keep.
For designers, that means fewer unknowns. For installers, it means systems that make sense. For clients, it means walls and floors you can live with, not just look at.
Homes, hospitality, workplaces — one method behind them.
Designers & architects
You are balancing light, materiality, budgets and client expectations across homes, multi-residential, hotels, bars, restaurants and gallery spaces. We give you a surface language you can draw and specify, with systems mapped for each zone.
The London Studio works as an extension of your office: full-scale walls under controlled light, checked against your details, with documentation that drops cleanly into specifications and schedules.
Installers & craftspeople
You already know how to work with walls and floors. What’s usually missing is a clear path into serious decorative systems: microcement-style bodies, waterproof bathrooms, metallics and plasters that respect your skill.
Through the Academy you learn the exact cycles we use on projects. We then place you on jobs that fit your level, with support and method rather than just products arriving on site.
Clients & operators
You might be planning a single bathroom, a whole house, a restaurant fit-out or a hotel floor. You want surfaces that feel right and are practical to live and work with.
We help you move from “we liked this on Instagram” to clear choices: which finishes go where, how they will be cleaned, how they will age and who is responsible. You can see and touch everything in the London Studio before you commit.
The Valpaint systems inside the ISF Framework.
Valpaint — Italian chemistry inside the Framework
Today, every system in the ISF Framework is built around Valpaint — an Italian manufacturer specialising in decorative and architectural coatings. Valpaint brings the chemistry: mineral plasters, metallics, silk and suede finishes, textured coatings and continuous bodies such as E-VOLUTION PLUS and I-BETON PLUS.
- Recognisable families. Meteore concrete and stone readings, Klondike metallics, Valsetin and Valrenna fabric-like finishes, Sabulador and Arteco textures, Mavericks waves and more.
- Complete systems. Primers, bodies, decorative layers and top coats designed to work together as serious technical build-ups, not just decorative skins in a tin.
- Global fieldwork. Systems used in homes, hotels and public buildings worldwide before they enter the UK Framework.
What ISF does with Valpaint systems
ISF’s role is to make that chemistry usable and reliable in the UK — and to protect it from being reduced to “just another effect”.
- Framework, not stock. We map Valpaint products into surface families, bodies and systems that can be drawn, taught and installed across UK projects.
- Learn-first deployment. Systems are embedded into Studio walls, Academy Levels and the Official Valpaint | ISF Installer Network before wider use.
- Continuous feedback. Questions from UK homes, hospitality and workspace projects are fed back into Valpaint so future cycles respond to real conditions.
The Framework sits above any single range, but our commitment is clear: in the UK we currently collaborate exclusively with Valpaint, and we intend to build that partnership over the long term. New cycles are developed in Italy, tested at full scale in the London Studio, refined through Academy training and exhibitions, and only then released to projects through the Official Valpaint | ISF Installer Network.
For designers, installers and clients, that means Italian-made systems from Valpaint, held to a single UK method with ISF as the single point of responsibility.
Ways to start working with ISF.
Whether you are a designer, installer or client, there is a clear way in. The same Italian–UK ecosystem sits quietly behind each route.
Visit the Studio
Book a session to see and touch Italian surfaces at full scale under real light, with drawings and people in the same room. It’s the best way to decide which finishes belong in your home, restaurant, hotel or workspace.
Visit the London Studio →Train at the Academy
Explore the Academy Levels and find the right place to plug in — from decorative plasters and metallics to concrete-style bodies and waterproof bathroom systems. You learn on the same cycles we use on projects.
Explore Academy Levels →Arrange a project review
Share a plan, a moodboard or simply a problem wall or bathroom. We’ll tell you plainly what’s possible, which systems we’d use and how the work would run, before you commit to a specification.
Arrange a project review →THE BIG DIFFERENCE
Why ISF feels different once you are on a project.
The surface world is full of beautiful legends: master craftsmen, ancient materials, finishes rediscovered from history. ISF respects that craft, but exists for a different moment – for projects where drawings, risk, performance and maintenance matter as much as texture and colour. It grew from time spent on exhibition floors, in the London Studio and on live sites where walls had to answer difficult questions in public. Over time those lessons have been folded into a simple Framework for how surfaces are chosen, taught and installed.
For designers, that means a surface language that already understands light, children, moisture and cleaning. For installers, it means systems that arrive with clear expectations instead of vague photography. For clients, it means walking into homes, restaurants and hotels whose walls have already been tested somewhere else before they arrive in front of them.
Other companies can import similar chemistry or trade on a longer heritage. What is hard to copy is the joined-up fieldwork, Studio discipline and Installer Network that hold it together. Today that chemistry is centred on our collaboration with Valpaint, held inside one Framework. That is the quiet advantage behind every ISF project – Italian surfaces held in a UK way of working, designed as one system, built on links, not legends.