When it comes to career migration, Steven Sampson tossed conventional wisdom right out the window. “I’ve never been accused of being logical,” he says.
Under the California sky with ocean waves at his feet, Sampson grew up in Newport Beach, where his parents purchased beachfront property in the 1960s for a price that would make today’s buyers turn 50 shades of green with envy. Beginning in high school, Sampson spent six years working at a Newport Beach boatyard, painting and varnishing boats. He gleaned a wealth of knowledge about enamels, paints and varnishes, but more importantly, he learned to satisfy customers’ high expectations. “Boat owners are fussy,” Sampson says. “I learned a lot of skills that transferred.”
In the mid-1970s, the tide was rolling out on California’s economy and Sampson needed to find work, so in 1976, he accepted a construction apprenticeship from an uncle in the Twin Cities. As he tried his hand at various facets of the building trade, painting piqued his interest. A few years later, he opened Steven Sampson’s Painters and Decorators. One of his first jobs was the inaugural Twin Cities Buca di Beppo.
Interior work makes up approximately half of Sampson’s business, which includes painting and texturing walls and ceilings, plaster and sheetrock repair, wallpaper installation and removal, faux finishes, woodwork and trim staining, and fine enameling of woodwork. Exterior work (including almost every storefront in Excelsior) isn’t limited to painting, and Sampson’s does natural wood siding restoration and deck pressure washing, staining and restoration.
Evolving color and decorating trends keep the business fresh, and Sampson encourages clients to use 3 to 5 colors that work in harmony to define spaces, especially in open floor plans. “Don’t get colors that fight each other,” Sampson says. “You want a flow of color.”
Sampson recommends harmony paired with a punch for exterior projects. “I like to see at least two colors that work together,” he says. Use a third color to accent the home’s front door, shutters or window boxes, but don’t be shy. “If you’re going to commit to the accent color, don’t be afraid to take the plunge,” he says.
The latest popular kid at the color table is Benjamin Moore’s indoor/outdoor Guilford green. Sampson recommends pairing it with creamy or off-white paint, and, if using it for the exterior, Black Forest or Essex, both of which dive very, very deeply into the green pool.
Brad Etherington of Mound is one of Sampson’s repeat customers. Etherington had the date of his son’s 2010 high school graduation party looming, so he enlisted Sampson’s help. Etherington called him again in 2012 to paint the home’s interior and tend to its doors and wood trim. “There’s a color story that unfolded in the house,” Etherington says, adding that Sampson helps clients articulate what they want and translates that into a job well done. “This painting business isn’t about paint,” Etherington says. “It’s about people.”
Sampson agrees and credits the lake area with helping his business get off the ground. “This is a great place to raise a family, and it’s an area where you can be successful in a small business,” he says. “I like the general attitude of people here. They are a lot less pretentious, more real, genuine.”
Sampson’s wife, Barbara, is a co-owner and is also on hand to assist customers. “[We] have clients that we’ve worked for 20 years,” she says. “I really like the idea that we have clients that ask us back.”
Sampson also develops loyalty in his employees. Tom Hay began working on the crew in 2007. “I consider my coworkers like brothers,” he says. “We’re a pretty close-knit group.” At the head of the table is Sampson and his “very meticulous eye,” Hay says. “It will pass the homeowner’s inspection long before it will pass his.”
