First, I will point out the positives in working with James. He and his workers did fairly good quality work on our ceiling insulation. More importantly, it seems to achieve the objective which was to reduce the indoor temperature during hot balmy 100+ degree days here in the San Fernando Valley. From what we can tell, he does not cut corners. He is a pleasant person with an easy-going personality. However, there were issues of unreliability and professionalism in dealing with James that we experienced. When we had met with him to discuss and go over the contract terms of the project and our expectations, we had two questions for him: 1) did you have other competing jobs at the time? and his answer was no "we are next in line" and 2) what if you cannot meet our timeline? because we wanted to minimize the inconvenience to our tenants as much as possible since they would not have access to their living room for the duration of the project. His answer was there is no guarantee on how long the project would actually take and that it would just be an estimate of 5-6 days. Being reasonable people, we did not have an issue with that but at no point in our conversation and thereafter, did he ever mention that there would be a possibility that he would take on another/other competing project(s) at the same time as ours which would then make ours not his top priority. In fact, when he was making the mental calculation in his mind of how much time he estimated it would take for our project, we were very certain that the assumption was that there would be no other competing projects. However, as it turned out, that was not the case. My wife, Diana C, who has given her review, gave explicit details of our experiences and issues and so, I will cover our issues in more general terms. In addition to his unreliability in not repeatedly showing up on time as promised, he could have demonstrated more professionalism and could have taken a better tone with us, especially under the circumstances. When we continued to question why he was not there as promised which meant that our project would be delayed for another day, he would give his answers in a defensive, inappropriate, and condescending tone such as, if you get "flowers, chocolate just saying" or "I could do it like how I did Reagan's house". At the time, we were all upset with his unreliability. In fact, he would even tell us that he had been working 12-20 hour days and of course, he had only spent a small fraction of that time on our project. So needless to say, it was difficult to offer someone any goodwill under those circumstances when he continued to not make good on his promises. On the first day, that Diana C referenced, he would take a defensive position after his workers told her that he was at Home Depot but later the truth revealed that he was not just at Home Depot for 6 hours but rather also supervising at another project which is when we first found out that he took on another project. This was not divulged to us until he was questioned. Further into the project, we did not appreciate his condescending tone in explaining to us that "construction projects are difficult to predict and unforeseen things is life...issues with his truck transmission". This was his attempt to explain the delays. It really felt like we were being dragged through a saga for what we considered to be not a very complex project which involved foil placement, ceiling insulation, foam board, and drywall. Yes, granted that this is a new area that James did not have any prior experience or expertise in, he certainly did his research beforehand which we appreciated. However, logic would then dictate that for any endeavor of this nature, you would certainly not take on another project so that you can focus on it until completion. He was certainly confident when we asked him if this were a job he can do. While it is true that James does not cut corners as claimed, that would imply a certain dedication to a project until completion and it would be difficult if not impossible to accomplish that if you are trying to be at multiple projects at the same time. As far as we know, James does not have a business partner or a project manager and so, he is the only one to give guidance and direction to his workers on a project. Lastly, James conveyed to us that he does not leave projects uncompleted or in limbo with his clients (again another reason why we chose him) but truth to be told, we experienced nothing but that very issue with him repeatedly. So in summary, if my wife had not pressured him repeatedly, our project may still be unfinished while our tenants remain in limbo. It was only the result of that pressure, he rushed to complete the project after delaying it. In fact, on the last day, I had to supervise him to make sure that he would complete the last details of the job which was to put up a small moulding piece and to remove debris from the backyard. read more

James' customer service is exceptional. He provided Faux finish services, which I know can very tricky to get a exact match but James is the man, he did it! These area just a few out of roughly 30 areas that James was able to match. read more

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We recently hired James at a 'Touch of Imagination ' to help us update the inside of our house. When I called him over for an estimate, he came that very day to meet with us. We hired him to paint our dining room walls, hallway walls and living room. Of course, the ceilings too! I wanted an accent colored wall in both my living room and dining room. James was very helpful in providing swatches and ideas for the walls. He was aslo helpful in recommending paint finshes and what works best. I love what we picked and the finished areas looks great. Everything looked great, so after he finished with the walls, we, of course, wanted the stairway railing and inside front door done. I have to say that James was very careful and thorough in matching the finish that we had. He also did a special dappling effect on the wrought iron railing. It turned out just the way we wanted! Just this last week, he came by to change out my ugly laundry room fixture. I remembered he said he can do odd jobs too. When I contacted him, he was happy to do it. James is a trustworthy guy who gets the work done! read more

Called James to get a quote for wainescoating in a bedroom. He arrived on time, courteous and his estimate price was very good. It took him about one week and it looks great. He's very meticulous and asks your opinion. I'm very happy and will use James again. I'll attach some picks of the job so you can see his work. read more

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James is THE KING OF NICE! I had been planning on painting my son's room for over 6 months. We figured that the best time to do it was when he was away for a few days at sleep away camp. We booked a painter that was referred by a friend, and my son completely packed up and moved out of his room. Yesterday morning the painter was supposed to start. I waited and waited and waited. He never showed. I started making some calls and was fortunate to come across James / A Touch of Imagination on Yelp. I explained the situation to James, and within a few hours he came over and gave me an excellent estimate. He told me what brand paint he recommended and even gave me his account number to get a discount. As if this wasn't enough, he spent a bit of time getting to know the household pets. A big plus in our eyes, as we are big time animal lovers, with rabbits and a hamster, all rescued from the animal shelter. Anyway, today James showed up as promised, and completed the work. The walls needed repair and had some gooey staining on them from putty. They now look absolutely brand new. We're having him back to fix a couple of other odds and ends in a couple of days, and will definitely use him again when the need arises. James is honest, reliable, and a self-starter who really knows his business. Look no further. Hire this guy and you won't be sorry! read more

We had James paint my daughter's room. He helped us decided what type of paint to use. We decided on a light grey that turned out beautiful! James did a great job!!! He was very friendly and helpful. We trusted James in our house alone and that was no problem. James' prices are very competitive. We plan to have James paint the entire house someday soon! Thanks James!!! read more

Why are there only five stars available on here? Jim not only does the job as promised, he remembers the art of cleaning up (hence six stars). It shouldn't be too much to ask for, but most people are clueless. Jim Kidd at a touch of imagination shows how to do it right from start to finish! He should school others in the business in the art of being a contractor! Plaster and paint done right! read more

James is a wonderful painter and faux paint artist! He did my bathroom in a Tuscan/Old European faux texture and paint with blue sky and white clouds on the ceiling and he also put a lattice crown moulding on the ceiling. All in all it was just the most amazing job. His attention to detail was excellent and his price for the whole job was so good, I doubt there is anyone out there that can compete! 5 Stars all the way!!!! read more

First, I will point out the positives in working with James. He and his workers did fairly good quality work on our ceiling insulation. More importantly, it seems to achieve the objective which was to reduce the indoor temperature during hot balmy 100+ degree days here in the San Fernando Valley. From what we can tell, he does not cut corners. He is a pleasant person with an easy-going personality. However, there were issues of unreliability and professionalism in dealing with James that we experienced. When we had met with him to discuss and go over the contract terms of the project and our expectations, we had two questions for him: 1) did you have other competing jobs at the time? and his answer was no "we are next in line" and 2) what if you cannot meet our timeline? because we wanted to minimize the inconvenience to our tenants as much as possible since they would not have access to their living room for the duration of the project. His answer was there is no guarantee on how long the project would actually take and that it would just be an estimate of 5-6 days. Being reasonable people, we did not have an issue with that but at no point in our conversation and thereafter, did he ever mention that there would be a possibility that he would take on another/other competing project(s) at the same time as ours which would then make ours not his top priority. In fact, when he was making the mental calculation in his mind of how much time he estimated it would take for our project, we were very certain that the assumption was that there would be no other competing projects. However, as it turned out, that was not the case. My wife, Diana C, who has given her review, gave explicit details of our experiences and issues and so, I will cover our issues in more general terms. In addition to his unreliability in not repeatedly showing up on time as promised, he could have demonstrated more professionalism and could have taken a better tone with us, especially under the circumstances. When we continued to question why he was not there as promised which meant that our project would be delayed for another day, he would give his answers in a defensive, inappropriate, and condescending tone such as, if you get "flowers, chocolate just saying" or "I could do it like how I did Reagan's house". At the time, we were all upset with his unreliability. In fact, he would even tell us that he had been working 12-20 hour days and of course, he had only spent a small fraction of that time on our project. So needless to say, it was difficult to offer someone any goodwill under those circumstances when he continued to not make good on his promises. On the first day, that Diana C referenced, he would take a defensive position after his workers told her that he was at Home Depot but later the truth revealed that he was not just at Home Depot for 6 hours but rather also supervising at another project which is when we first found out that he took on another project. This was not divulged to us until he was questioned. Further into the project, we did not appreciate his condescending tone in explaining to us that "construction projects are difficult to predict and unforeseen things is life...issues with his truck transmission". This was his attempt to explain the delays. It really felt like we were being dragged through a saga for what we considered to be not a very complex project which involved foil placement, ceiling insulation, foam board, and drywall. Yes, granted that this is a new area that James did not have any prior experience or expertise in, he certainly did his research beforehand which we appreciated. However, logic would then dictate that for any endeavor of this nature, you would certainly not take on another project so that you can focus on it until completion. He was certainly confident when we asked him if this were a job he can do. While it is true that James does not cut corners as claimed, that would imply a certain dedication to a project until completion and it would be difficult if not impossible to accomplish that if you are trying to be at multiple projects at the same time. As far as we know, James does not have a business partner or a project manager and so, he is the only one to give guidance and direction to his workers on a project. Lastly, James conveyed to us that he does not leave projects uncompleted or in limbo with his clients (again another reason why we chose him) but truth to be told, we experienced nothing but that very issue with him repeatedly. So in summary, if my wife had not pressured him repeatedly, our project may still be unfinished while our tenants remain in limbo. It was only the result of that pressure, he rushed to complete the project after delaying it. In fact, on the last day, I had to supervise him to make sure that he would complete the last details of the job which was to put up a small moulding piece and to remove debris from the backyard. read more

Great expertise with reliable and professional service. James took great care in protecting my antique furniture, kept everything really clean (which I really appreciated). He did a fantastic job and my home looks new again. read more

Please read before you consider hiring James Kidd, the owner of A Touch of Imagination. We just fired James after 29 days on the job which was supposed to last 9-11 days (he also told us a day before that he got fired by another client, twice on the same week...he actually let us listen to the message left by that client...most likely for the same reasons). We hired James to paint our condo-two bedrooms, living room, two bathrooms, small hallways and staircase. He said, when asked, that he does one project at the time. He also said that he works 12 hours each day and can work Sundays as well. Since we did not live in the unit, we had to make special trips and agreed to open the door for him each morning when he was ready and lock the door when he was done at the end of the day. Everything he said he was going to do turned out to be opposite. As soon as we agreed on the terms and signed the contract, he informed us that he has a small job in the area, which was going to take him just 2 hours each morning for 4 days, and that on those 4 days he was going to come to our project at 11am and after that he would show up at 8am. James never came at 11am during those 4 days or any day after that...we would text him and look for him constantly. We would come at 11am, as previously agreed, wait in the car outside in the heat for him for hours. He would text us back that he was coming in 2 hours, than that he's on his way only to show up 4 hours later. After 5 days of doing the other project in the morning we asked if he was done - he said that it will take him another week. It took us days to realize that as soon as we would open the door for him and leave, he would leave as well only to show up after 5-6pm and work for just a few hours each day. One week he did not show up for four days (we had to "chase"/texting him, constantly looking for him). He would text back each time with a different story/excuse - that he was coming, on his way, keeping us on standby and never show up. We also sent him many messages, too many to count. James turned out to be a pathological liar, manipulator and always full of excuses. He caused us a tremendous stress and anxiety, tens of hours of our time being wasted and almost 3 weeks in delaying our project which he never finished. The incomplete paint job that he did was poorly done with many missed spots and unfinished areas. The same day we fired him, we've met with another painter referred by a friend. After our walk-through to see what still needed to be done to finish the project, he stated/pointed out to us that the walls were painted uneven with many missed spots and that he will need to put at least another coat of paint (James told us that he did a primer coat and an additional 2 coats of paint). It turned out to be not true. We purchased and paid for all paint and there was no paint left (we suspect that we had purchased more paint that needed)...we paid him and he just took advantage of us. I am not sure how he got 10 5-stars reviews...he had mentioned to us earlier that "you can pay $100 to someone to write a 5-star review"...that explains. read more