Last year Ken and his assistant Juan did an excellent job restaining my arbor. This year I had him paint my cedar siding house in the same color previiously applied. -They first thoroughly power washed the siding and somehow avoided spreading the old paint particles on the landscaping. -They spent a great deal of time prepping and somehow found and repaired additional dry rot my general contractor and I had missed. -They then completey masked all windowa, door knbs etc. -Ken had done precise color matching of the old siding and trim paint which they then applied. -He also applied a different color metal paint to the gate and exterior lamp. The result was absolutely fantastic with everything cleaned up and nothing damaged, including shrubbery close to the house. Lastly, Ken's price was well below any other bid I received which I expect is largely becasue he is a 2-man operation without the overhead of the other contractors. Ken doesn't have a web site or fancy bochures. He and Juan are just higkly skilled painters who are focused on the best quality and who take great pride in their work. They are the best!! read more

Ken and his team are top-notch. This is the 8th or 9th house painting contractor I have hired in my life, and none compare to what Ken and his crew do. First, he responded immediately, came to my daughter's home, and provided an estimate on the spot. He listened to our requests, and also provided recommendations from his many years in the business - which were spot on. The workmanship was excellent, and the customer service was outstanding. I am a very discerning customer (ie, picky a**hole), yet highly recommend Ken White Painting for quality and service at a very fair price. I'm telling you, look no further. Hire him! read more

Great painter who goes the extra mile! Very responsive with a great attitude. I would recommend Ken. read more

Ken White and his team just finished painting the complete interior of our 3500 sq ft house. The walls in the house were in pretty bad shape, needing significant repairs, patching and re-texturing before actually painting the interior of the house. Ken found many additional problems that I didn't know about, but he pointed them out to me and took care of all of them (with no up-charges). In addition, I changed my mind several times on paint color, and Ken was happy to re-paint them. If that weren't enough, I wasn't able to find a standard color that we liked for our "great room" (kitchen and living room combined), so Ken offered to personally mix colors real-time until we found one that was perfect! Needless to say, as a customer, I was a handful (ask my wife). But Ken just wanted to make us ecstatic about their work. And he did. He was unflappable and completely focused on making me and my wife proud of our "new house" (what it felt like when he was done). Ken worked with two of his employees on this job - Danny and Jason - both super quality-focused, conscientious and customer-focused. Well trained by Ken, of course (I could tell he's a great teacher). Needless to say, my wife and I wholeheartedly recommend Ken and his team for indoor and outdoor painting! They significantly upgraded the perceived value of our house! NOTE: I tried to attach two pictures of the great room, during and after the painting job Ken did, but I had to add to the overall picture section. Check out the picture with the large kitchen and picture of a beautifully painted fireplace - changing it from a very old-fashion "dirty red-brick color" to off white, that makes are artwork really pop! read more

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Ken White is hands down my #1 choice for any paint job. He is punctual, professional, and personable. He sees the job all the way through and ensures it's done right. Pricing is fair and transparent. Anyone on his team are held to the same high-quality standards. They all speak English and speak it well, making communication much easier when on the spot changes must be made. With decades of experience under his belt, Ken is one of the best painters you can get. read more

Note: although Ken himself lives in Napa, he regularly paints structures all over the Bay Area - Oakland, Moraga, Berkeley, San Francisco, you name it. He's just an all-around good guy in the first place, and a fantastic painter to boot. I bought a thrasher rancher (hereby known as "The Thrancher") which needed every single surface to be completely cleaned and painted after 45 years of use - including the kitchen cabinets, which Ken recommended we lacquer. The prep for this project was a lot, lot, lot more labor intensive than I'd feared it might be. Complicating matters, we were on an insane 5-week project deadline. Ken not only managed to clean and paint practically every surface in the house, but also had to re-lacquer our cabinets when we decided against the color we'd chosen (note to anyone reading this: blue is a terrible color for kitchen cabinetry, even if you saw it in a design magazine and it looked good in that one photo shoot). He helped us choose a better color, which is one of the things he does well: color selection. If he tells you a color won't look good, you'd be wise to trust him. If he tells you that your kitchen will look good purple, trust him. (Yes, it sounds crazy. But it looks great!) He has been a painter since he was a teenager (30+ years), and has done really high-end commercial projects (Oxbow market in Napa, Cesar restaurant in Oakland, SFO, L.A. City Hall), but is now doing his own home projects for astonishingly reasonable prices. Our elderly neighbor had been taken for a ride on a bid from an unscrupulous painting contractor, and fortunately Ken was able to step in and tell her what actually needed to be done and for how much. He ended up painting her house as well (not to mention helping her out with some overgrown weeds and such - LOL). He has friends in the trades who can show up and help with various other things you're doing (in our case, some wiring issues), which is nice because you know you're not getting taken advantage of. He's very sensitive about people being taken advantage of by tradespeople and will go out of his way to make sure that folks are honest with you. He's also a perfectionist and, as such, won't be satisfied unless the job is perfect. You're not going to catch him skimping on prep or leaving room for touch-up. So: shockingly reasonable prices. Fantastic service. A true artisan. Honest and reliable. He'll drive wherever you live. Hire him. And then tell a friend, because they'll thank you. read more

Ken and his team did an outstanding job painting the interior of my home. They took a funky, dingy, and ugly interior and transformed it into something bright, fresh, and polished. Ken made good suggestions, prevented me from making bad decisions, and remained flexible throughout the process. It is clear that Ken is genuinely service-minded; he wants to make his clients happy, even if it means repainting the two largest homes in the house just when it seems like the job is done (ahem). The icing on the cake? His prices are the best in town. Thank you, Ken, for making me love my home. read more

I contacted four painters to give bids on a small job at my house. Ken responded right away, came to my house, and gave me a bid on the spot. He was able to start the job right away and did an amazing job. He went the extra mile and fixed a door that was broken at no charge. Without a doubt he will be the painter I call whenever I have projects in the future. read more

I highly recommend Ken White. Ken painted the exterior of my one-story ranch house in Walnut Creek. He has a great attitude and made the entire process pleasant and easy. He is an experienced painter and was super helpful with color selection and where the colors should go. He was kind enough to repaint a couple areas when I changed my mind about the color. He said his goal was to make sure I was happy and he absolutely succeeded. We love the new look of our house and have received many compliments from neighbors. read more

Ken is the best. He and his team recently repainted the entire interior of my new home, and took care of significant dry rot and trim issues on the exterior. He is honest, punctual, highly skilled, fun to work with, and stands behind his work. Prices are fair as well. This job included what turned out to be some very complicated paint work on my kitchen cabinets, and Ken made it right at no additional charge. He is also very knowledgeable of the full workings of a home, and was able to provide expert advice and a few spot repairs that would have cost me much more to handle independently. He also saved what could have been a total disaster when a new washing machine was installed incorrectly by another vendor. Highly recommended! read more

Ken is a master and experienced painter who, as it turns out, can do just about any kind of home renovation with exceptional skill and speed. We originally used Ken and his colleague to paint the exterior of our house, which they did beautifully, quickly and at the best price we could hope to find. Soon after, we mentioned that our fence needed to be rebuilt, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye they had it done -- an elegant solid wood fence with trellis on the top -- along with rebuilding some outside storage units. Then came extensive interior projects: the installation of new kitchen cabinets (completed in one week), and renovations of three separate bathrooms in a multi-unit building (completed in just over two weeks). We can't imagine finding a more helpful, efficient and reasonable contractor. By the way, Ken is always on time and answers texts quickly. read more

Ken's work is great and he's very professional. I recommend him without hesitation. He's flexible and can do many related tasks including repairs, gutters, power washing, etc. Plus, he's a nice guy! read more

Ken did a great job on painting the exterior of our home. His crew was professional and cleaned up after themselves. He is also pleasant and easy to work with. They have a system in place, and worked efficiently for 4 days. The last day was touch ups and clean ups. He and the crew were here on time every day at 8am. read more

Ken is great. We bought a home and wanted to have it painted before we moved in. Luckily we had a vacation planned for just after closing and before our move so we got a couple of quotes. Ken was markedly cheaper than another top yelp rated company but it was his attitude and point of view when he came to give us the quote that sold us. He made a couple if suggestions about trim color choices and said it in such an authoritative way that my normally very high maintenance wife took him at his word. And now as we got back from the vacation we see that not only was Ken a great choice as he did a fabulous job but also his suggestions were spot on. Need some painting done? Call Ken. read more

Ken is my absolute 'go-to' painter. As a Realtor I've used many painters over the last 30+ years. Ken and his team impress. They painted the complete interior of the home including ceilings and doors. They did a fabulous job! Fair pricing; dependable; trust worthy and clean! read more

I called Ken because of his excellent Yelp review and found him to be everything the review said. My newly leased office was a horrible dark space, with a bilious green color on the walls and ceiling. Ken and helper did a fantastic job on it in a timely manner and for a fair price. It's light, serene and what I had envisioned when I rented it. Ken made that happen. He even said if anything needed touching up down the road to just give him a call and he'd make time to stop by and handle it. Based on my experience with him I'm sure he meant it. I've dealt with many painters over the years, some bad, some good. Ken is at the top of list for me, the complete package. You won't find a better painter or a nicer person in the North Bay area. He gets an A plus from me. read more

Ken and his team just finished painting the exterior of my wood-sided home in Richmond. We used 4 colors and I love the result. Ken was flexible and enthusiastic in helping me design a rather unorthodox approach to painting my modern profile house. He and his team were puctual, neat, and responsive. They did good prep work and applied as many coats as it took to get the look we wanted. I agree that making his clients happy is a major motivation for Ken and his team. They volunteered to repaint a door when I hated the color I had chosen. They also oiled my hardwood deck and did a very nice job on that. I'm actually sorry they won't be around working anymore! I found Ken through recommendations on Berkeley Parents Network and here on Yelp. I'm glad I did! read more

Ken and his helper painted my master bedroom and bath last month. He was very professional, punctual, returned phone calls promptly, kept a clean worksite and is a true craftsman. My bedroom/bath looks beautiful and his price was more than fair. I highly recommend Ken to anyone who wants an excellent paint job done by someone who is very easy to work with and takes pride in his work!! Crystal L. read more

Ken White talks a big game but he's more talk than anything else. He will tell you big stories about multi-million dollar paint jobs that he's done in the past, but the reality is that he can barely paint a simple interior room. First he showed up 1 week late to paint several of our interior rooms. I made this appointment several months ahead of time anticipating that the holidays where around the scheduled time. He showed up late and was barely able to finish most of the job. He told me he would knock a hundred dollars of the price and come back later to finish the job. What could I do. It was the weekend before Christmas and he was supposed to have finished one week prior. I called him several times and he gave me the run around. Second problem with Ken is that he plaster repaired several of our walls. He guaranteed that the cracks wouldn't show. One week after the job, the cracks are coming back out. Again, gave me the run around and won't return my phone calls. He's not licensed or bonded. I would have rather paid more for a better job. read more

I had Ken and his team paint my office. They did an excellent job. They were timely and neat, making sure to clean up after themselves every time they left for the day. I was so happy with Ken and his crew that I hired them to complete a few more jobs after the initial one. I would highly recommend Ken White Painting! read more

Thank you Ken, for your thorough process - going over the paints, trying them out, and finally finding the perfect color! Thank you for your wonderful prep work. read more

If there were 6 stars available I would give Ken 6 stars. From our initial meeting through the final coat, he was upfront and honest about every step in the process. When doing any type of work the first thing I look for in hiring is the honesty of a company and Ken impressed me throughout the process. He surpassed my expectations on the painting of the exterior of my home. He included me throughout the process and the quality was outstanding. He kept putting my needs and my expectations at the forefront of the job. His customer service was outstanding. I knew that if I had any questions I could get a hold of him right away. He was dependable and his quality of work was outstanding! I went through multiple quotes from multiple companies and Ken surpassed them all. Look no further for a painter! Thank you Ken! read more

We have an older Oakland home, not in a high-rent neighborhood but one where there are many historic homes that too often fall into disrepair. Ours was in dire need of a paint job and a few other things. I contacted several painters and painting companies for bids, and when the painters or project managers came by to walk through the project with me, I made sure to point out the issues of concern with windows or woodwork, and I made clear that we didn't want to ignore those issues or paint over them. I said I was expecting to pay to have these things attended to, and if the painting company couldn't handle them I would appreciate some help or advice about whom to contact so they could be taken care of. In short, we didn't have a ton of money to spend but wanted to do the best we could to respect the architectural features and the value of the home. When I got the bids, the quoted amounts ranged from well over $20,000 to well under $10,000. Right off the bat, I excluded the ones that were well over $20,000, which tended to include items like "feather-sanding" divots or imperfections in wood that nobody would see or notice anyway. Of the remaining bids, one mentioned merely spot-prepping with primer and had other red flags that seemed to indicate inadequate attention to prep work, which is after all what should be the biggest part of the job. There was another I excluded because there seemed to be no willingness to work with me on the woodwork/window issues. The attitude seemed to be that for those things, as well as things like removing any security bars from the windows, I would just have to take care of everything separately before any painting could be started. That left Ken. When he came by for the preliminary walk-through, he was by far the most positive-minded of the bidders. Instead of looking at a piece of broken siding, broken window frame, or security bar, shaking his head, and going "I just don't know about that," he said "That's easy. We'll take care of it." Of course, that could have been just talk, right? But my main misgiving was that I thought his bid was TOO LOW, which gave me pause. I made it clear to him that I wanted everyone to be happy with the terms of the job, and I wanted him to be compensated adequately. His response was "I don't want to hurt you!" In any case, his can-do attitude won the day, and I hired him. He ended up doing a great job on the prep work and painting, and he and Imre, who worked with him, were impressively resourceful in dealing with every extra issue that arose, including: (1) removing all the security bars and the rear security door and having them sandblasted prior to re-installation and repainting, (2) removing two compromised windows and having them re-built by someone Ken knows up in Napa, (3) rebuilding the front steps, and (4) taking care of various missing bits of molding and wood siding. It seemed that whatever Ken didn't know how to do Imre did, or vice versa, or in any case one of them would figure it out. Ken did charge me extra for every extra thing, which was what I agreed to, but his hourly rate is very reasonable, and the entire job ended up costing less than all the other bidders quoted, INCLUDING all the extra stuff. The only quibble I have is that Ken and Imre do not seem to be "plant" people, so you will have to be sure that they protect the landscaping adequately. Just be sure to pay attention to it and tell them what to do. In short, Ken does great work for a great price. As far as I can tell, his business practices seem a little, well, idiosyncratic, and I reckon he could charge more and get away with it. But do not let his low bid - it will be low - put you off or worry you. Also, his resourcefulness and positive-mindedness are not just hot air. You will not be paying for an army of workers to come and swarm all over your house. In my case, it was just Ken and Imre. We have a big two-story house, and the house had issues. But Ken and Imre took care of everything, and they did a very good job, and they left me with money left over for other projects (earthquake retrofitting comes to mind). read more