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UP AGAINST THE WALL

About us

OWNER OPERATED.

Business highlights

41 years of experience

Services we offer

INTERIOR PAINTING, WALLPAPER REMOVAL., WALLPAPERING

Reviews
5.042 Reviews
Number of StarsImage of DistributionNumber of Ratings
5
100%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%
Showing 1-25 of 42 reviews
Christine S.
Mar 2016
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,000
Karen came over and looked at the space to give us a quote. She helped us pick out a color and gave us a date she would be back to paint. She arrived on time and completed the job in 2 days (actually more like a day and a half!) She applied 2 coats of pain, caulked around the entire area she painted, cleaned up and the place looks FABULOUS!!!!
I have already recommended her to a neighbor and would recommend her to anyone looking for a paint job. Highly highly recommended.

Regina B.
Mar 2016
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$900
Karen did a fantastic job!   She was very professional. In our first meeting she shared ideas for paint colors, provided feedback on the pain areas and was very thoughtful in her responses.  On the two paint days, she was prompt and did exactly what she said she would do. She even discovered an issue I have with my vent.  Her product is excellent.  The walls are well covered and there were no paint splatter issues.  She cleaned up and even vacuumed the area behind my furniture when she moved it!  I highly recommend her services!

Amy B.
Feb 2016
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$3,000
Karen was fabulous from beginning to end!! She helped us pick out colors and was highly meticulous and efficient! I am not easy to please and I found her work superb. Her personality and dedication are unparalleled. I can't recommend her enough! You won't regret it and you get what you pay for. She was also awesome about being timely and making deadlines.

Janet S.
Nov 2015
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$4,500
From the initial estimate meeting to the final touch up Karen was awesome. She was able to match our wall color and the trim color perfectly. She was always professional, pleasant, and detailed. Any questions that we had she was there to answer. She was also, obviously very knowledgable about her craft and gave us excellent suggestions and advice. In addition, she is very talented at what she does and, we cannot say enough how beautiful she made our addition look. Karen stayed within her original estimate and completed the job on time. We made a great decision hiring her and, will definitely be using her again.

Gerald H.
Sep 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$985
Does a fantastic job and has done a lot me. She has done a great job for us painting and dry wall work.

Mara D.
Jun 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$800

What stood out is their professionalism, details, a lot of importance on the details up front with you, this is what I can and can't do, this is going to cost you more if you want that, so you need up front which you're agreeing to.


Rich M.
Apr 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$3,400

If you're reading this, you most likely haven't made up your mind about who you want to hire to paint your home. Chances are you just moved into a new place, or you're considering a new look. For us, either fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you view it, we've lived in three different homes over the past 5 years - all in the central Ohio area. We hired Karen to paint the interiors of every single one of them. Our suggestion to you is simple… hire her. You just moved, you're probably exhausted and working a full time job, and believe me when I tell you, based on watching her paint three homes, you won't be able to paint like Karen. So, take a deep breath, relax, and call her. She is the most talented, professional, trustworthy, hard working, fair to a fault, person we have ever had the pleasure to hire to work in our home.

If you're anything like us, you do your research before you buy anything, compare and contrast pros and cons, read every review, check with BBB, and then waffle back and forth awhile on just about every major decision in your life. That is true for us in just about every area of our lives, EXCEPT for Karen being the one who paints in our homes. Yeah, she's that good.

Karen patiently sat with us and helped pick colors that made sense for every room. She doesn't hold back - she'll tell you what she thinks and will most likely point out things you never considered. What's amazing, is that for just about every color we were considering, she has painted so many homes that she was able to tell us how well the paints look in different lighting and settings. She cared so much about the choices, it was almost as if it were for her home. As for her actual work, her skills are exceptional. I've watched her paint before, so I know she actually does it, but as for when I'm not there, I'm not sure. I'm convinced she sprouts angel wings and flies around the room with magic pixie dust or something, because her work is so complete, so detail conscious, and so beautiful, there has to be something else going on. She would tell you it's her experience, but I'm still suspicious…

We are NOT the kind of people who permit contractors to come into our home and work unsupervised. Our home contains way too many sensitive documents and valuables for us to take that kind of risk. Karen is the only exception to that rule for us. We give her a key, head off to work, not worry about our home all day, and look forward to coming home each day to see our beautiful home come together. This is not an exaggeration. She has demonstrated, three times now, that she is worthy of that trust.

Karen can spackle and sand holes I couldn't imagine trying to fix. She moves furniture with her special sliding tools that won’t damage your carpet or other flooring. She painted our great room this past week which is over 15' high, and in the process, wielded ladders throughout our home without scratching or damaging a thing. You know the ladders I'm talking about, the kind that require two people to manage? She handles those ladders all by herself with the grace of an Olympic athlete. Again, not an exaggeration. And as for missing spots? Forget about it. Karen is a perfectionist. I know she wants to do a good job to please us, but having seen her work three times now, it's more than that. She wants to do a good job because she takes pride in her work. She wants it to look good for her as well. As for price, we feel as though she is very fair. This small example might drive home this point... in our contract, she agreed to paint our guest powder room a deep red. To make sure the color showed the way we wanted, she wrote up the contract with a coat of primer priced into the quote for that room. When we came home after work one day, she informed us that she tested the paint, and it turns out she didn't need to prime it. So, she took $50 off our bill. There was no way we would have known if she had primed it or not, yet here she is lowering our bill. How many contractors would do that? That's just plain honest and fair. She's handled similar situations the same way in the past with us, so we trust her with regard to price.

Lastly, this review wouldn't be complete without a personal note. Karen is just a kind, warm, decent person, with a good sense of humor. Don't get me wrong, she won't stand around talking or wasting time. She's all about the work. But even talking with her as we come and go, we get the impression she's the kind of person we would want to have as a friend. After having her in our homes over the years, we have come to consider her as one.

So, needless to say, if you're still reading, you realize we think the world of Karen. We've been in your position before, trying to find a reputable, trustworthy, talented painter, and the best suggestion we can give you is to stop looking and call Karen. There is absolutely no one else we would call for painting in our home ever again.



DAVID K.
Apr 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
unknown

Helen. L.
Mar 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$375
Karen was in and out before I knew it. Excellent day companion, very personable.

Dixie M.
Mar 2014
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$750
She's very punctual. She's very kind. She's very good with my kids. She's been great; I've used them several times. She calls you ahead of time, very personable, she's very good with ideas but she's not that pushy; she lets' you do anything without kind of forcing with what she thinks looks good but she's good in helping with ideas. She cleans up when the work was done and she works fast.

Melody B.
May 2013
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
unknown

Michelle B.
Dec 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,200
unknown

C M.
Aug 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,000
This was our second time using Karen to paint our home. We posted another and quot;Aand quot; review a couple years ago, but just had to return to repost another stellar report. It's hard to find the words to express just how much we love Karen. A couple years ago she helped us with color selection and painted our home just prior to our putting it on the market - it sold ion 3 days! Now that we've landed in a new home, we had her come out to work her magic again. In all honesty, we fully planned on taking our time and painting our home ourselves this time. You know... you fool yourself into thinking you can save a few bucks, and if you take your time, perhaps maybe paint as well as a professional. However, our schedules went crazy, and panic started to set in, as we kept staring at our ugly gray walls every evening. We finally picked up the phone and said, and quot;Karen, help!and quot; She was at our doorstep within a few days ready to help us. She walked us through our new home room by room and helped us pick colors that would brighten them up and and quot;bring back the joyand quot;. We're not sure how she managed to get started so quickly, as she is always in demand, but she must have recognized how desperate we were to be rid of our hideous gray walls. We're Angies List die hards; we don't contract with anyone without checking here first. We're assuming you're reading this right now because you are just trying to find someone to paint your home who: 1.) Won't get paint on your carpet or hardwood or make a mess, 2.) Won't break or steal anything in the home, 3.) Will show up on time, every time, 4.) Will get the job done quickly, yet 100% thoroughly, 5.) Will not stop until it meets your high standards, and 6.) Does all this at a fair price. If you are saying yes to these expectations, call Karen and quit worrying. Do not kid yourself, like we did, into thinking that given enough time, you might be able to paint as well as a professional. Painting is an art. Karen is literally an artist. If you've watched her paint around a wood fireplace mantel, free hand with a brush, without any blue tape up, you'd know what we mean. The paint magically goes right up to where she wants to put it, without touching the mantel - like she commanded it exactly where to go. It's amazing! Are you a and quot;detail oriented personand quot;. We thought we were too. That is, until we got to looking around one of the rooms she had just finished... For some reason or another, we got to looking at the outlet covers. All of the screws in the outlet covers had the little flat head screw facing up and down! What?!?!? I called her on this, and asked her and quot;Why? She said, and quot;Doesn't it look better that way?and quot; We said, and quot;Yes.and quot; She said, and quot;We'll you've answered your own questionand quot;. We hope that gives you some idea of the level of perfectionism Karen maintains for herself.
We simply fell in love with Karen and her work. Having used her for two major projects, we can attest she's is the best we've ever met. She is a kind, fair, trustworthy, hard working, perfectionist who has earned the right to be called our and quot;Painter for Lifeand quot;.

Patrick B.
Jul 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$350
This is the second job Karen has done for us. It was a little more complicated because it involved two different colors. She was really helpful in choosing and totally willing to make multiple trips to compare colors against fabric samples. The room looks fantastic, and she really is probably the easiest person to work with I have ever dealt with since buying my first home a few years ago.

Patrick B.
Jul 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$375
Karen was great to work with. She came by and helped with picking out colors in advance--she has a great eye but isn't pushy: you do the picking and she gives as much advice as you seem to need. She did a very thorough clean-up afterwards. She has been really flexible and patient with helping deal with delays in getting samples to match for the second room we need done. I can't recommend her highly enough!

SHEILA O.
Jul 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,600
This is the 2nd time we've used Karen and she does wonderful work. She arrives on time, is meticulous in her work, and when she finishes up each day you would never know a painting project was in the works. We really enjoy working with her. She has my highest recommendation.

Mara D.
May 2012
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$635
On the scheduled day of our estimate, Karen arrived promptly, dressed business casual and professional. She has a very warm personality and was receptive to listening to our descriptions of what we were trying to accomplish. She was respectful of our opinions and carefully guided us in making our choices. She left us with a written estimate and a clear understanding of her services. She was aware that we were getting other estimates and we were not pressured in any way to make a decision.

Services began promptly on the date promised. She meticulously prepped, covering all furniture and any other exposed surfaces. She worked very quickly and completed the job in the projected time frame. She is a very conscientious worker and went above and beyond our expectations. She was able to work around our schedules and accommodate our household full of young children while she worked!

When the painting was completed, she removed all painting equipment, cleaned and vacuumed the area, and also moved all furniture back in place. We are very pleased and have already gotten an estimate on additional painting in the near future.

Hannah E.
Sep 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$875

When she came to view the rooms and give me an estimate, Karen carefully considered how she would conduct the job, breaking it into steps so that we could still sleep in one of the rooms during the project. She moved furniture around every day, very carefully, without scratching up our hardwood floors. She covered everything with drop-cloths.The estimate we had agreed on assumed that it would take two days to complete the job, but our old paint colors required more coats for proper coverage than we had expected, so the job took three days. When this became obvious, Karen immediately, and without discussion, explained that she would stick to the original estimate.

All in all, the experience was great, and we are planning to hire her again.

SHEILA O.
Sep 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$3,000
You don't have a category for A+ but if you did Karen would definitely get that rating for a spectacular job. Her attention to detail was wonderful, and when she finished a room you would have never known she'd been there. She puts everything back in order, including vaccuuming the area to make sure that when you see the finished product it shines. We couldn't have been happier with her services and would ask for her help again in a heartbeat.

Beth P.
Apr 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$650
Karen called the night before to confirm the time, and to provide an update on the days she worked - which I really appreciated. She showed up when she said she would and did everything we agreed on - and more. She is extremely hard working, a perfectionist, and a total pleasure to work with. I will definitely ask Karen do more work for me in the future.

Trish I.
Mar 2011
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$375
Karen is a wonderful professional and keeps a solid eye to detail. She's great with colors and doesn't get critical of personal taste (in this case, the house's previous owners). She did a great job with my tiny bathroom which I know was not easy to do because of the space constraints. I am so happy to have found her here! However, keep one thing in mind: PLAN AHEAD! She's busy because she is good. I gave her a solid three to four weeks lead time and she was able to accommodate me.

C M.
Jun 2010
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$2,500
Without a doubt, the BEST experience we've ever had with a contractor. Karen was always on time, always working hard, and exhibited a kindness and concern for detail beyond our wildest expectations. She helped us pick a colors and types of paint - which all worked PERFECT. Once she was at our home, we kept finding more things for her to paint. She wasn't supposed to paint our basement, but she did such a good job upstairs, we just had to have her downstairs. She wasn't supposed to paint our door, but we just had to get her to do it. The ony reason we wouldn't recommend her here is because we want her to be available next time WE need her! Ha! Every room she painted turned out better than we thought possible. Would you believe I locked my keys in my car one day during the painting? What did she do? She volunteered to take me to my wife and work to pick up the second set of keys! As for her painting? She did things with a paintbrush, I didn't know could be done! She simply did NOT miss spots, spill paint, or fail to make things look brand new. In addition, we are the type of people who simply don't trust others in our home without being there ourselves. After a day, when we saw her working on spots to a level of perfection way beyond our expectations, we knew we could trust her. She's too busy being a perfectionist to think about stealing your stuff. Yeah, she's that trustworthy. We can't believe we waited so long to paint. So, if her estimate is within your means, STOP looking for another painter right now! When the job was done, we were so happy we paid her MORE than her bill. Did she ask for more? No. Why did we pay more? Because she earned every penny, and exceeded what we thought possible. It woudn't be fair to not pay more. Hire her and end up thrilled you did. Best experience EVER - start to finish.

LAURA W.
May 2010
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,500
Karen is wonderful! She has a fantastic eye for color, and she is great about listening to what you want and then making sure you get it. She works quickly, but everything is extremely well done. I especially love the way she fills in cracks and smooths over problem surfaces so that the room looks better in every way when she's done. This was our second time working with Karen, and we will definitely call her again when we're ready for more painting!

BRIDGET O.
Dec 2009
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$1,000
Everything went well. Karen arrived on time and cleaned up daily. It looks great.

JACK H.
Apr 2009
5.0
Yes, I recommend this pro
$600
They did a fine job. They were quick and responsive. They were fair priced. I would use them again.
Showing 1-25 of 42

Licensing

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FAQ

UP AGAINST THE WALL is currently rated 5.0 overall out of 5.

No, UP AGAINST THE WALL does not offer free project estimates.

No, UP AGAINST THE WALL does not offer eco-friendly accreditations.

No, UP AGAINST THE WALL does not offer a senior discount.

No, UP AGAINST THE WALL does not offer emergency services.

No, UP AGAINST THE WALL does not offer warranties.