Blog

May, 2020

Everyone had to make certain adjustments over the past two months in order to follow the recommended safety practices. Our business is no exception. In a world of virtual meetings, we are doing virtual estimates.

Being trapped at home looking at their surroundings may have inspired some people to want to do some painting. As much as we like meeting our customers in person and getting to know them a bit, we must get used to a world where we do more things from a distance. In the past a customer might send us a picture or two to give us an idea of a project’s scope, but we would always follow up with a visit in-person to get into the details.

Now we must rely more on pictures, and with everyone getting used to video calls and conferencing with solutions like Skype, FaceTime and Zoom, we can also use these tools to “visit” customers and learn their priorities. While we may not be video experts yet, the solutions are there for us to use. We have used video before, but not for a live conversation where both sides can ask and answer questions. This may in fact be a better way of understanding the details of a project.

Taking advantage of the latest technology can offer some great benefits, but there is usually a learning period. Like everyone else, we are doing our best. Please have patience as we continue to adapt. Hopefully we will be meeting in-person again soon.

Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend.

---

Working Outside
With beautiful weather we get many anxious customers asking when their projects will begin. If you are one of these people, you are not alone. We understand your eagerness, and appreciate your patience. At this time, mid-May, we just started our exterior working season. Here are a few points that will hopefully answer many of your frequently asked questions.

• Several projects were delayed by weather related issues last year, and those are first on our schedule. We can’t get to all the projects at once, but we have multiple teams working at all times.
• Many of our employees have families with children who are not in school or day-care right now due to the quarantine. They need to take turns staying home some days each week. This means we are not at full strength at any given time, and projects take longer because of that.
• We have hired several new employees recently, and while they are new, we expect them to be up to speed quickly and helping us complete all our projects.
• There will still be days when we cannot work outside due to the weather. We expect this, but it is frustrating for us and our customers.

April, 2020

These are difficult times for everyone. None of us have experienced anything like this, so we take it day by day and adapt to the frequent changes. We are all doing our best to ensure the safety of everyone around us.

For our company it is not what you would call “business as usual”, but we are still working. We continue our focus on interior projects that fall into one or both of two groups:

• second homes, which are usually occupied seasonally and are currently vacant
• complete renovations, also where no one is currently living.

Under current conditions we are working in small teams, as individuals or sometimes not at all to try to keep employees and customers as safe as possible. If someone develops as much as a sniffle, they are sent home for at least a week until we can be sure they are not contagious. The same is true if their spouse or one of their children is sick in any way. This means that we never have all our employees working at the same time, and this of course slows our progress.

To make up for these circumstances we are actively hiring. We just added two new employees who will be starting in the next two weeks, and will continue hiring as we find the right people.

We expect to begin outside work as we move into next month. We also expect projects will inevitably be delayed for the same reasons as previously stated. Nobody can predict how long our current situation will continue, .

Other challenges include:

• There are certain products that we are not getting or that we are getting on a limited basis. (For example, certain cleaning solutions that we use to clean our projects before painting). I think we can all relate to that as we’ve all heard of and possibly experienced some shortages.
• We always hope for great painting weather, but rarely get it. So, just like any other year, we can never count on the weather to cooperate.

Thank you to all our customers, partners and employees.

March 15, 2020

Just reaching out this weekend to let you know that, while adhering to certain common-sense practices, and taking necessary precautions, Prana Painting is planning on operating this upcoming week. However, things seem to change quickly, and we will make necessary changes to our plans as the situation evolves. We take this seriously and encourage all to follow local and national guidelines of limiting points of contact and avoiding crowds.

Fortunately, we have a pretty insulated group and we also have several projects that allow us to work in empty houses. We will adjust our schedules accordingly and focus on those projects where we will have very limited outside contact. Of course, if we are working on your house or business and you would prefer us to reschedule, please contact us right away.

We also ask any employee that feels that they, or someone in their household, may have had any possible contact with the virus to please do the right thing and stay home. More generally, if you are feeling sick in any way, we also strongly encourage you to stay home.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

February, 2020

Pinterest can be a great place for getting ideas about a variety of subjects, including home decorating and remodeling. Using Pinterest, you may enter search words or terms to find photos of rooms or furniture items, for example, and possibly links to further details.

Pinterest analytics can be used to gather information and point out future trends. I’ve noticed many home design articles mentioning Pinterest when referencing what is currently popular. In this way the use of social media apps and other websites enable almost immediate insight into what other people are doing or considering.

Most recently, in articles I’ve read about home trends for 2020, many refer to the increase in searches related to certain items, and some of them are very specific. For instance, I noticed a 751% increase in searches for “at home coffee stations”. Also, on Pinterest, searches for “Spanish Style Bathrooms” are up 300%. Therefore, one can conclude that those are popular trends.

Because other people are searching for it doesn’t always mean that it’s something that is right for you. And I’m not recommending Pinterest as a replacement for an expert. An interior design professional can ask questions and get to know you more personally. Then, they can guide you in a direction that is specific for you, and probably offer some thoughts that you have not considered. There are many local designers who can help you with redecorating or remodeling, including choosing paint colors. Have fun exploring ideas on Pinterest or other sites, but remember that if necessary, a second (professional) opinion is easy to find.

Contact Us For More Information

January, 2020.

While our ski team meets only one night per week, our teams of painters are busy every day working on projects in New Hampshire and Vermont. We recently provided all painting services for the newly renovated post office in Rutland, Vermont. This included the eagle and other graphics for U.S. Postal Service branding.

https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/rutland-post-office-to-move-next-week

We also continue working on many other residential and commercial projects. This sometimes includes accent walls and highly customized finishing touches, like stenciling. Our work is diverse in regard to the types of projects and widespread throughout the region. If you have any questions about your future  projects and what kind of help we can provide, please ask.

December, 2019
Pantone Color of the Year 2020.

The Pantone Color Institute just announced their color of the year for 2020. They have chosen Classic Blue. If you close your eyes and think about it the name Classic Blue probably sparks your imagination. Blue is simple. It’s primary, unlike some of those crazy names for colors that you can’t quite picture. Continue reading for some thoughts from Pantone regarding what it means to them.

“A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity. Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of the thought-provoking PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.

Imprinted in our psyches as a restful color, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue re-centers our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience.”

In choosing a Color of the Year, Pantone influences designs for many popular home decorating products, like paint and furniture.

As always, give us a call if you’d like to discuss using this color, or any other color, in your home. If you are not quite sure what you’d like to do, we can introduce you to a professional interior designer who can help you with color consultations and other design ideas.

Schedule An Estimate

October, 2019

Pictures can often say more than words, so I try to take them when I can. As I usually do at certain times throughout the year, I have added a few images here that show a variety of projects from the past several months. Considering the outdoor, Summer/Fall theme I have included only exterior pictures in this collection.

There are many more in our photo gallery

September, 2019

I talked last month about finally getting some nice weather, which gives us hope that we can get many of our exterior projects completed before winter. However, it’s never too early to consider the interior season. We work on interior projects year-round (I think I say it every year), but during the winter months we are inside exclusively.

Beneficial to everyone, the scheduling for interior work can be much more precise, because we are not reliant on the weather. We are happy to work with you to make it most convenient. Perhaps you’d like us to do the work while you are away on vacation? Or maybe you have a second home that is not used as much in the winter, and you’d like to do some interior painting before next spring? These are situations that we encounter frequently.

We are being contacted regularly for estimates, so don’t wait. Get in touch soon.

https://pranapainting.com/contact-us

August, 2019.

We finally got some nice weather, and while working outside may not be everybody’s idea of fun, it does make us happy. The good weather has enabled us to complete some projects that were delayed and get moving on to some other projects that were delayed. The point is, everything outside was delayed for a while, going back as far as last fall, possibly further.

We still have a lot of work to do, but if you have been waiting patiently for us to get to you and your home or business, thank you. We appreciate it, and we continue to move forward with our teams working several jobs at a time. We hope for and expect several more months of comfortable and productive working conditions. We’ll see you soon.

Here are a few pictures of some recent, exterior work.