We’re all spending more time at home or at the cottage these days, and that’s made us all a lot more aware of the spaces that need a facelift.
One of the easiest ways to have a powerful impact on your cottage or home is to give it a fresh coat of paint. It doesn’t matter how tired the interior or exterior of your home or cottage looks, a change in colour not only brightens up your space but it may also lift your mood. And many of us could use a little of that right now, couldn’t we?
When it comes to choosing colours, the experts note that interior colour trends have not been shifting dramatically in recent years. “With interiors, people are doing a lot of white, and a lot of people are painting out their pine to modernize it,” says Darryl Karpel, Managing Director for WOW 1 DAY PAINTING.
“Whether it’s pine ceilings or pine cabinetry, they’re whiting it out to give it a fresher look. In terms of colours on walls and trim it’s very light, neutral colors.”
Darryl and his team are happy to consult on colour selection, as well as offer advice on the best paint options to protect your space as well as enhancing its appearance.
If it’s the exterior of your home or cottage that you’re looking to transform, there has been a shift in palette. “People are getting away from the reds, greens and browns of the past and into more navy-blue, charcoal grey, or white. Trim is often black or white, depending on the colour of the siding.”
Exteriors are a special concern, as paint or stain not only brightens the appearance but also helps protect the wood. “You want to make sure, from a maintenance perspective, you’re protecting the wood from absorbing water and rotting,” Darryl says. “You should be thinking about safeguarding the longevity of the wood. From our knowledgeable product perspective, we make recommendations on what the best product is to use based on the individual circumstance.”
Stress-free painting
Many cottagers are using their properties much more frequently these days, so the last thing they want is an extended disruption and added stress. WOW 1 DAY PAINTING prides themselves on taking the disruption and stress right out of the equation.
“We send in a large crew of supervised, well-trained painters to minimize the disruption that painting often causes,” Darryl says.
If the scope of the work you need goes outside of the one-day offer, Darryl will schedule staff accordingly. “We’ll never sacrifice quality for speed, so depending on the size of the project or the prep work required, some of our projects may take a couple of days.” But, he adds, “We’re finishing projects in a much shorter timeline than most other companies.”
Excellent customer service is also a key component for reducing homeowner stress. “We show up when we say we’re going to show up – obviously weather dependent when we’re painting outdoors – and we start and finish on time.”
Darryl’s painters will further reduce any potential hassle by moving all the heavy items and furniture. “We typically ask for smaller, more fragile items to be moved out of the way, but we will help with the bigger stuff—it’s a full-service offering.”
Understanding Muskoka
Also helpful in getting a job done right are the experience and training of the employees dispatched to your house. “All of our painters have Working at Heights training and they know how to navigate the more challenging terrains and access points of the Muskoka area,” Darryl says.
His fully insured painters also have aerial boom lift training, which helps when ladders are not the safest or best choice for a given location. “We always aim to give them the right tools for the job.”
COVID-19 brings a special set of concerns and Darryl’s crew aims to align with customer courtesy and safety regulations to protect both customers and employees. “The crew are wearing masks, especially if it’s the interior. Our crews are scheduled in cohorts, so different crews stick together. As well, we’ve started to offer some virtual estimates through photos and videos and FaceTime or Zoom walkthroughs.”
The entire process has been simplified to make it easier for customers, from booking through to completion. “Customers can go online or give us a call to book an estimate appointment. From there our salesperson will contact them to verify the scope of work and discuss whether it should be an onsite or virtual estimate. We’ll then discuss colours, present you with a fixed-price quote and work out scheduling.”
There is a short season for exterior work, so Darryl suggests booking now to make sure they can accommodate your paint job in the 2021 summer season. “Our schedule fills up quickly and we have no choice but to align our work with the weather.”
TEXT KARI KLASSEN | PHOTOS ANDREW FEARMAN
