Seventeen Decorative Restoration students from A-B Tech and their instructor, Derick Tickle, recently restored George Vanderbilt’s bedroom at Biltmore House, replacing the imitation gold leaf that had covered the walls since the 1980s with three-inch squares of the real thing, so delicate at .003 of an inch thick that the slightest breeze could crumple a sheet before it reached its destination. The four-week project required 700 books of gold leaf, each containing 25 leaves, at a cost of more than $17,000.

If you’d like to learn how to redecorate your own castle, you don’t have to look any further than our schedule of Winter Continuing Education classes. Whether it’s beginning interior decorating, landscaping, upholstery, slipcovers, or window treatments, we have talented instructors who can show you how to transform your home in only a matter of weeks and on a budget that doesn’t have to rival Biltmore’s.