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Painters in Kitsilano, Vancouver
Kitsilano has some of the oldest wood houses in Vancouver, and many of them carry more trim than wall. Our crew works from a shop on Sophia Street in Sunset, and we have painted Vancouver for over 25 years. We take on Kits houses, strata suites and storefronts, and we quote a Craftsman from the trim up. Phone (604) 374-0000 for a free estimate.
Google rating 5.0
Painting Vancouver 25+ years
Free estimates
Houses, strata suites and storefronts
House Painters in Kitsilano: Where the Craftsman Blocks Run From Macdonald to Stephens
The City of Vancouver says Kitsilano's Craftsman houses went up during the 1910 to 1912 boom. It describes them by their decorative brackets, exposed rafter ends, mock trusses in the gable ends and low-pitched gable roofs, finished in a mix of materials and textures. The City puts the main concentration in the blocks bounded by Macdonald, Stephens, 5th and 6th Avenues, and it points to a nearly intact row of California Bungalows on the south side of 5th Avenue between Bayswater and Balaclava.
Quote a Kits Craftsman from the trim up. Brackets, rafter ends and gable trusses take more hours than the wall surfaces, and a price built on square footage misses that. Our house painters count the trim detail first and the wall area second.
Kitsilano was not fully built south to 16th Avenue until the late 1940s. The City notes that many of the old estates and single-family houses above the beach were turned into rooming houses during World War II and stayed that way into the 1960s. A house with that history has been patched, converted and repainted more than once, so we look under the paint before we promise a finish.
The streetcar made much of this happen fast. A British Columbia Electric Railway line ran along 4th Avenue to Alma from 1909, and the blocks north of 4th between Blenheim and Alma were fully built as a residential neighbourhood within about a year, according to published local history. Houses built in one rush tend to need the same repairs at about the same time, so a neighbour's peeling trim is a fair warning for your own.
What Painting in Kitsilano Deals With: Old Trim, Converted Houses and Apartment Blocks
The City describes three kinds of property in Kitsilano. There are duplex and conversion areas where residents are restoring character homes, apartment areas where most of the original houses were replaced by apartment buildings, and two busy retail strips on West 4th Avenue and West Broadway.
Each one needs its own plan. A character house needs repair work before paint. A strata building needs the council's rules on approvals, elevator bookings and quiet hours before anyone opens a can. A storefront needs a schedule built around opening hours. We ask which one you have before we talk price.
The Broadway Subway is changing the south edge of the neighbourhood. Arbutus Station sits at the northeast corner of Broadway and Arbutus Street, next to the Arbutus Greenway. The project's September 21, 2026 release says the station is scheduled to open in fall 2027 and that Broadway is expected to reopen fully to vehicles in January 2027. If your building is near that corner, tell us what access looks like on your block.
Interior and Exterior Painting in Kitsilano: Scrape Back to Sound Paint, Then Rebuild
On a 1910s exterior the order of work is wash, scrape back to sound paint, repair rot, prime bare wood, then paint. Our exterior painting for Kitsilano's Craftsman houses follows that order, and we do not skip a step to hit a date. Paint the outside in dry weather.
Rooms get repaired, primed and painted, walls and ceilings through to trim and doors, with floors and furniture covered before we start. Our interior painting for Kitsilano houses and strata suites suits the wet months, since the exterior needs a dry spell.
Residential and Commercial Painting: Houses, Strata Suites and the West 4th and West Broadway Strips
The City lists a Kitsilano 4th Avenue Business Improvement Association and a West Broadway Business Improvement Association among the groups it supports, one for each retail strip. Shops, restaurants and offices on those blocks repaint around their opening hours. At 6th Avenue and Arbutus Street, the City names the tiny Arbutus Grocery, built in 1907 with a boomtown facade and a corner entry, as one of the finest old grocery stores in Vancouver. A building from 1907 has had every chance to collect layers of paint, so we scrape storefront trim back to sound paint the same way we do on houses.
We paint storefronts in sections and plan the work back from the day you reopen. Our commercial painting for West 4th and West Broadway shops starts with a conversation about your busiest hours. Our commercial painters confirm access and parking with the building manager before the first day.
In the apartment areas, our residential painters handle strata suites one unit at a time. A good painting company asks for the council's rules before booking a date, and we do.
Lead in the Paint on Kitsilano's 1910 to 1912 Craftsman Trim
According to Health Canada, a house built before 1960 probably has lead-based paint, and exterior paint from 1960 to 1990 may have it too. The Craftsman blocks near Macdonald and Stephens date from 1910 to 1912, far inside that window.
Sanding or scraping lead paint creates toxic dust, and intact paint is sometimes safer left alone. Ask any painter, us included, whether they test before they sand, and get the answer in the estimate before work starts.
The Painting Services We Offer in Kitsilano
These are the services that fit Kitsilano's houses, suites and storefronts.
Exterior painting
Wash, scrape, repair rot, prime and paint siding, trim and fascia. See exterior painting in Kitsilano.
Interior painting
Walls, ceilings, trim and doors, with floors and furniture protected. See interior painting in Kitsilano.
Trim and door painting
Window casings, door frames and doors: a sand, a patch, a prime, then the finish coats. See trim and door painting in Kitsilano homes.
Siding painting
Wood, vinyl and other siding washed, repaired, primed and painted. See siding painting in Kitsilano.
Wood painting and varnishing
Interior and exterior wood prepped and finished, including doors and trim.
Cabinet painting
Cabinets in kitchens and bathrooms get a full prep and prime before the finish coats.
Drywall repair
Holes, cracks and damage patched before painting. See drywall repair before painting in Kitsilano.
Ceiling painting
Ceilings in houses and condos, with stains and cracks repaired first. See ceiling painting in Kitsilano houses.
Condo painting
Single rooms to whole units, around your building's rules.
Wallpaper removal
Paper stripped, adhesive cleaned off and walls prepped for paint.
What Kits Homeowners Get When They Hire Celestial Painting
Google rating of 5.0
We reply to our Google reviews, and the rating comes from Vancouver customers.
A quarter century on Vancouver jobs
More than 25 years of Vancouver paint jobs, from Craftsman trim to strata suites.
A site visit before every quote
We look at the surfaces and quote a clear price before anything is booked.
Our shop is in the city
Our shop is on Sophia Street in Sunset, in the city we paint.
What an Estimate Covers for a Kits Craftsman, a Strata Suite or a West 4th Storefront
An estimate starts with the address and the year the building was built, if you know it. We visit, look at the trim, the siding, any rot and the age of the paint, and we quote a clear price before anything is booked. Photos of the worst trim and any bare wood help us plan the visit. Tell us if the house has been converted into suites, because tenants and shared entries change how we schedule.
For a Craftsman we count the brackets, rafter ends and trim runs. For a strata suite we collect the council's rules first. For a storefront we agree the sections and the reopening date. Any painting contractor who skips that last step is guessing at your schedule.
Kitsilano Painting Questions: Craftsman Trim, Lead, Heritage Houses and Broadway
Does a Kitsilano Craftsman cost more to paint?
The trim sets the price. The City describes brackets, exposed rafter ends and mock trusses on these houses, and each takes time to scrape, repair and paint. We count the trim detail at the visit and quote from it.
Which blocks of Kitsilano have the Craftsman houses?
The City puts the main concentration in the area bounded by Macdonald, Stephens, 5th and 6th Avenues. It also names a nearly intact row of California Bungalows on the south side of 5th Avenue between Bayswater and Balaclava.
Does my Kits house have lead paint?
A Kits Craftsman built between 1910 and 1912 predates the 1960 cutoff by decades. Health Canada expects lead in any pre-1960 home and says exterior paint from 1960 to 1990 may have it, so test before sanding anything.
Do I need permission to repaint a character house in Kitsilano?
The City's Kitsilano page describes zoning changes that help keep older character homes and sets no paint rules. A house on the Vancouver Heritage Register or in a designated area calls for a conversation with the City's heritage planners about exterior changes before the colour is chosen.
Can you paint a strata suite in Kitsilano's apartment areas?
Yes. Send us the council's rules on approvals, elevator bookings and quiet hours, and we plan the work around them, one unit at a time.
Can you repaint a shop on West 4th or West Broadway without closing it?
Yes. We work in sections and plan back from the day you reopen. Name the hours you cannot lose and we paint around them.
How does the Broadway Subway work affect a job near Arbutus Street?
Arbutus Station is at the northeast corner of Broadway and Arbutus Street. The project says Broadway is expected to reopen fully to vehicles in January 2027. We confirm access and parking before we set a start, so tell us what your block looks like now.
What should I ask before I hire a painter for a 1910s Kits house?
Ask whether they test for lead before sanding, how they price trim, and whether they scrape back to sound paint or paint over failing layers. A written answer to each is worth having.
Do you cover my street if I am searching for painters near me in Kitsilano?
Yes. We work from Sophia Street in Sunset and cover all of Kitsilano, including the blocks between Burrard and Alma and down to 16th Avenue. Give us your address and we confirm timing at the estimate.
How does an estimate work for a Kitsilano house?
Ring (604) 374-0000 or message us through the website. We come out, inspect the surfaces and give you a clear price before any work is booked. There is no charge for the estimate.
Where we work
Nearby Neighbourhoods We Serve Around Kitsilano
Kitsilano is one of the Vancouver neighbourhoods we paint in. Nearby areas include:
Arbutus Ridge
Dunbar-Southlands
Mount Pleasant
Shaughnessy
Kerrisdale
Every Vancouver neighbourhood we cover has its own page. Start from the full list of Vancouver neighbourhoods, or ring (604) 374-0000 if your area is not there yet.
Get Your Kitsilano Painting Quote
Give us the address and tell us what needs painting. Whether it is a Craftsman with failing trim, a strata suite or a storefront on West 4th, the next step is a site visit, then a clear price. Call (604) 374-0000 or use the website.
Related Pages for Your Kitsilano Project
Industrial painting
Steel, floors and coatings for facilities.
Book a Painter in Kitsilano
Find us at 6625 Sophia St, Vancouver, BC V5X 3N4. Free estimates.