The next time you see a wall that appears to be covered in linen, a countertop the exact color of Italian marble or a fixture with a bronzelike glint, touch it. It might not be the surface you expect — especially if Kim McMillan has been there. As the owner of Elegant Design in Fort Worth, Texas, McMillan specializes in creating decorative finishes for high-end homes. She has covered columns in a 25,000-square-foot home in Fort Worth; aged stucco throughout a villa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; and stenciled a leopard-print pattern on the walls of a Burleson, Texas, bathroom.

Elegant Design is actually McMillan’s second career. Before moving to Fort Worth from Wichita in 2005, she had spent years in residential and commercial construction. She had always enjoyed working with faux finishes on job sites, so she decided to take some classes and see whether she had an aptitude for the work. It quickly became apparent that she did. She assumed that her company would be a part-time hobby, but it soon turned into a full-time adventure.

“I say adventure not venture because it’s truly been an adventure — I’ve had the chance to meet fabulous people and work with them to enhance their homes,” she says. “You get to know these people, they treat you like family, and you become friends. I have developed relationships that are priceless.”

When McMillan signs onto a project, she always meets with the client, whether that’s a homeowner, builder, decorator or all three, to develop the right look and color palette. In her Fort Worth studio, she keeps stacks of wooden inspiration boards to illustrate the possibilities. Then she factors in considerations like the type and amount of light and the angles in the room. From there, she works with a team of artisans to apply the finish to the architectural feature, fixture or room.

Metallic plaster is her most popular decorative finish, she says. “It can be used in so many different ways, on the walls, on ceilings and on countertops.”

The metallic plasters also look stunning when applied to ceilings decorated with a type of stencil called a Modello.

“People are really paying attention to ceilings and bringing them into the design of the room,” she says. The most difficult finish to work with is lime plaster, she says, because it requires burnishing or polishing.

McMillan claims not to have a favorite finish. “Finishes are different every time, even if it’s the same finish we do over and over, because of the feel of the room, the scope of the project and the decor,” she says.

What never changes, however, is how much McMillan enjoys what she does. “I love the before and after part of what I do, the transformation,” she says. “I have the best job in the whole world.”