“They sent three data sheets the day before I signed, and Joy answered every question I had about drying times. The nursery was painted in two days and aired for a third before we went in.”
Brynn L.Homeowner, Old North End
Interior painting · Burlington, Vermont
Plan the smell before the paint arrives
Open Window Painting is a crew of seven that paints Burlington homes for people who notice odor: allergy households, new parents, anyone sleeping in the room that night. You get each product's data sheet before we order, and an airing plan in writing before we start.
Zeynep Dogan and Andreas BoykoOwner and lead painter
The airing plan
A bedroom, with the plan pinned to it
Every room gets the same lines on paper before we open a can. This is a bedroom, because it is the room people ask about most.
- 1
The window
Windows are opened on painting days and a fan is set in one to push air out. In the cold months we plan shorter painting days and a longer airing, and write that down.
- 2
The bed
Bedding comes off and the bed is wrapped in plastic or moved out. We give you the product's drying time and our airing plan; where you sleep that night is your decision.
- 3
The closet
Closets with clothes in them are emptied or sealed with plastic, so nothing you wear sits in the room while it is painted.
- 4
The plants
Plants and anything porous leave the room before day one. We carry them out and bring them back when you say the room is ready.
Before the first coat
The data sheet plan, in four steps
The same four steps on every job, whether it is one bedroom or a whole house.
Step 1: At the visit
You tell us who in the house is sensitive to smell and which rooms people sleep in. We note both on the estimate.
Step 2: Before we order
You get the product data sheet for every product on the estimate, to read at your own pace or show your doctor. Change a product, and you get the new sheet.
Step 3: On painting days
One room at a time, with windows and a fan set as the plan says. We tell you each morning which rooms are being painted.
Step 4: The airing
Each room is aired for the time we wrote down, then we walk it with you. You say when it is ready, not us.
What we paint
Rooms first, then the outside
Four kinds of work, each with its own page and its own plan.
Bedrooms and nurseries
Rooms people sleep in get a longer airing plan and a say in when they are ready.
Bedrooms and nurseriesExteriors
Clapboard, shingle and trim, on the dry days between late spring and early fall.
Exterior paintingHomes built before 1978
Written work practices for the older paint in the houses Burlington is full of.
Older homes
Who paints
A crew of seven, led by Zeynep Dogan
Zeynep Dogan started Open Window Painting after a house-painting job left her own kitchen smelling for days, and she wanted a firm that wrote the plan down first.
Zeynep estimates every job herself. Andreas Boyko leads the painting crew, Joy Donaldson sends the data sheets and keeps the schedule, and four more painters work in pairs. Ask for any of us by name.
Finished rooms
Soft color, plenty of light
Light, plants and pale color, the way we like to leave a room.
Sample photos.
From Burlington homes
What the people who live there say
“I asked them to leave the smell question to me, and they did: the plan said when each room would be ready, and I picked the night. Nothing was moved twice.”
Konstantin B.Homeowner, Hill Section
“Our 1920s staircase had four coats of old paint. They explained the pre-1978 rules at the visit, sealed the hall in plastic and left the floors cleaner than they found them.”
Venus S.Homeowner, South End
Sample reviews.
Where we paint
Burlington, and the towns up and down the lake
Chittenden County and the lake islands to the north, and the valley towns toward Middlebury. If your town is not listed, send the address and we will say.
Burlington
- Old North End
- South End
- New North End
- Hill Section
Franklin County
- Georgia
- St. Albans
Grand Isle County
- Alburgh
- Grand Isle
- North Hero
Lamoille County
- Cambridge
- Johnson
- Stowe
Washington County
- Moretown
Addison County
- Lincoln
- Middlebury
- New Haven
- Starksboro
We don't take work in New York State, or north of St. Albans and Alburgh.
Questions
Before you call
Do you use low-odor paint?
We use premium paint and name the product on your estimate. The maker's product data sheet says what is in it, including the VOC content the maker states and the drying and recoat times, and we send the sheet for every product before we order. If someone in your home is sensitive to smell, tell us at the visit and we choose from products you can read about, not from the front of a can. Every paint has some odor, so we plan the airing instead of promising a room with none.
My house was built before 1978. What changes?
Federal rules apply to paid work that disturbs paint in homes and child-occupied buildings built before 1978: the firm has to be certified by the EPA under its Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, and a certified renovator has to lead the job. Paint in a house of that age is treated as lead paint unless a test says otherwise. The work area is sealed with plastic, paint is wet-scraped or vacuumed rather than dry-sanded, and the floors are cleaned and checked before the room is handed back. Our firm number is listed under Credentials.
Can we sleep in the room that night?
That is your decision, and the plan is there to help you make it. We give you the product's drying times and our airing plan for the room. Many households choose another room for the first night, especially with babies, asthma or allergies. We can't give medical advice; if you are unsure, ask your doctor.
How long does a bedroom take?
A single room usually takes two to three days on site, plus the airing days the plan sets. We give a range, not a promised date, because drying depends on the product and the weather.
Do you paint in winter?
Interiors, yes. The data sheet gives the lowest temperature each product can be applied at, and we keep the rooms heated to it. With the windows shut, we plan shorter painting days and a longer airing with fans.
Request an estimate
Tell us about the rooms
Which rooms, who sleeps in them, and whether anyone in the house is sensitive to smell. Zeynep replies in office hours to set a visit.