As the “walls” in one of the most highly trafficked rooms in a house, kitchen cabinets set a critical tone. That’s why H.J. Holtz & Son was called in to help prepare a residence included on the 2024 Garden Club of Virginia Historic Garden Week tour.
The Windsor Farms residence had been renovated in 2019 by Bauhan Custom Builders. At that time, ceiling and floor levels were realigned, creating a more open and welcoming first-floor living space. The kitchen, which originally had an eight-foot-high ceiling, was enlarged and given an eleven-foot ceiling.
“It felt like you had to duck your head when you went into the kitchen originally,” says John Bauhan, who oversaw the 2019 renovation. “The house isn’t that old – it was built in the 1970s – and that’s just the way they did it then.”
Five years after that large project – and anticipating Garden Week – the owners wanted a smaller refresh. As they prepared the home for public tours, they realized they wanted a new color for the kitchen cabinets. The timeline was tight, so Bauhan reached out to H.J. Holtz & Son.
“I knew they would do a very good job in a timely fashion,” Bauhan says.
For this project, as with most kitchen cabinet painting jobs, the Holtz team removed the cabinet doors so they could be sprayed at the company’s in-house spray booth. The boxes remained in the kitchen and were painted in place. The cabinets were fully reassembled by the tour date in late April. “There were no surprises, and the client was very happy,” Bauhan says.
Bauhan notes that among local painters, H.J. Holtz & Son stands out as a larger company with a high degree of professionalism. “I like that you get a project manager to go with your job,” he notes. “That person isn’t doing the work, but is someone who keeps all aspects of the job together and is someone to call [if an issue arises].”
While Bauhan doesn’t work with H.J. Holtz & Son exclusively, he has worked with the company previously and collaborated on another project with the firm after this job. “They’re obviously a well-known painting company in town and up and down the coast,” Bauhan says. “They spend a lot of prep time [before painting], and they put out a very high-end level of finish.”
