The story of PWP starts many years ago with Burt Horn, the father of Allan Horn, founder and CEO of Precision Wallcovering & Painting.
In 1959 Burt Horn became a representative for National Paint Company selling paint and brushes to local stores around the Southern California area. This went well for many years, and then in 1966 Burt got an opportunity to open a paint store of his own with partners Jackie and Carroll Smith, of Carroll’s Paint (which is still open in Westminster). These new stores were called Sun Paint. Sun Paint sold high-end paint at multiple locations in Orange County. In the mid 1970s Burt became president of the Paint & Wallpaper Association of Southern California.
In 1975 Burt sold his Sun Paint share to his partners and decided to move onto another growing market. As wallcovering became more popular during the 70s, the opportunity arose for Burt to open the first brick-and-mortar wallcovering store with stocked wallcovering. This became known as Wallpaper Warehouse in Orange. This is what brought his son, Allan Horn, into the wallcovering business.
Allan began working at the store during summers off from school. He quickly gained knowledge and began to understand the ins and outs of the wallcovering industry. In 1977 he started working under Bob Serrano and Rick Amburgey in the Newport Beach/Costa Mesa Area hanging wallcovering. This is where he learned and refined his skills. During this time, countless new styles and textures were developed which Allan learned to install and he became a master hanger.
In 1979 Allan decided to go on his own and started Precision Wallcovering. He began to install wallpaper at friends’ houses, and as the word spread he gained more customers. Allan needed help, so he hired a couple of friends who still work with us to this day. Allan worked his way through college in Colorado while hanging wallcovering as a side job.
In 1995 Allan got his C-33 license, started a paint division, and incorporated the business. This allowed Allan to move into the commercial market as the wallcovering industry shifted away from floral designs and grasscloth. In 2011 he decided to get his General Contractors license in order to handle projects from start to finish.
In 2014 Allan’s son, Chad Horn, came on board after graduating from business school. The summers he spent removing wallcovering and prepping for paint gave Chad the knowledge be a field manager, and move up to general manager in 2018.
We now have two full-time paint estimators, a wallcovering estimator/coordinator, and an office administrator. This allows us to provide the best service in the industry while continuing the high-quality work that brought us here in the first place.
As we approach our 40th year in business we would like to thank all past and future clients, and we look forward to many more years to come.