Buffalo Paint and Wallpaper Raises the Bar for Quality on Bailey Avenue

Spend just a few minutes in Buffalo Paint and Wallpaper and you know you’ve stumbled upon something special on Bailey Avenue. Located at 2917 Bailey Avenue and formerly Schnitter’s Paint, the company was purchased by Dominic and Laura Fulciniti ten years ago, but only recently had the name changed. Once they had purchased the company, it was important to remain on Bailey Avenue as Dominic got his start at the company over 26 years ago and has been there ever since. With a dedication to staying, Laura was determined to make it the best space along the prominent commercial strip and that’s exactly what she’s done.

Previously the showroom was pretty basic with paint buckets piled about forming rows, but with Laura’s touch the space has been transformed. Their products are not only organized better, but Laura has a created a lounge area to meet with clients and go over their specific needs. Complete with hounds tooth couches, chandelier, and a working fireplace, the lounge is just the place for long-time and new clients alike to feel comfortable and plan improvements for their home.

The lounge also showcases their high-end paint line, Farrow & Ball, which they started carrying this year. “It comes from England and is made the old fashioned way,” explained Laura, “Farrow & Ball has less water, higher quality resign and more natural pigments for a richer finished and almost no VOCs.”

Laura has had several professional painters return with glowing reviews. The high-end line has made its way into several mansions on Nottingham Terrace, Lebrun Road, and outside Buffalo. Laura’s design has been all over Buffalo even in places you may not expect. She worked closely with the owner of Mobile Soles, Melissa Fayson on the design for her company truck.

People are coming from all over the region just for the Farrow & Ball paint, but often return for the high level of personal interaction Laura gives each client. Laura will spend as much time as she needs for a client to feel satisfied about their choices for their project. “I treat them like I would want to be treated,” she said, “If it was my home I would want someone there for me so I would have the best finished room possible, I like to put myself in their shoes to offer them a great experience.”

Buffalo Paint and Wallpaper are also one of the last in stock wallpaper carriers, which is also a huge draw. It’s not all about high-end and expensive though, they cater to budget minded clients as well with their own line of paint. They also offer high-end fabric and furniture at close out prices for every budget.

The changes at the store have been well received by neighbors who are astounded by the improvements in the showroom and often use the store as an example of what they want Bailey Avenue to strive for as it continues to improve.

Next time you’re planning a painting or remodeling project for your home, be sure to skip Home Depot or Lowe’s and head straight to Bailey Avenue. Laura will be there with her glowing smile and offers a personal touch than the boring big box stores can’t come close to replicating. In my opinion, Laura is like the Prish of Bailey Avenue, but with paint instead of coffee. She has a wonderful vision for Bailey Avenue and is inspiriing others to invest and elevate the standards along the street.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Views of Buffalo Ipernity      -     fixBuffalo     -     The Atlantic Cities     -     The Urbanophile

NTHP Blog     -     Congress for New Urbanism     -     Buffalo Historic Districts

University Heights Tool Library Returns for Round Two at the Uptown Theater

A second clean up has been scheduled at the Uptown Theater (3163 Bailey Avenue) by the University Heights Tool Library for this upcoming Saturday, October 19th from 10am to 2pm.

Sprucing up the marquee at the previous clean up. Image courtesy of University Heights Tool Library

The first clean up was a great success in August, drawing kids from the neighborhood and others from all over the region. Tools and supplies will be provided, just bring yourself and a willingness to work. The clean up is being co-sponsered by the Bailey Avenue Association as efforts continue along the commercial corridor to improve and build on their existing assets.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Views of Buffalo Ipernity      -     fixBuffalo     -     The Atlantic Cities     -     The Urbanophile

NTHP Blog     -     Congress for New Urbanism     -     Buffalo Historic Districts

Huge Strides Made in Taming Wildroot Over the Weekend

Over the weekend about a dozen people did some serious work at the Wildroot building as part of a BYP clean up event. Leading the charge to secure the building before winter and for future development, Mark Paradowski assigned tasks to the volunteers around the 100,000 square foot complex.  Although the event was only slated for four hours, most people stayed over six hours for additional work. You can check out before and after photos on the Wildroot Buffalo Facebook page here.

The overgrown and wild courtyard was tamed as plants and debris were uprooted and await removal from the site in the near future. The majority of the first floor windows on the north side of the building that had been left open have now been completely sealed to keep out vandals and the elements. Several window openings were boarded and although not all of them were addressed, there will be additional work before the snow flies to get them sealed up.

Due to the success of the fundraiser and donations that continued after the clean up, Mark has extended the online campaign in order to purchase additional materials for the winterization project, which you can see here. The new project goal is $1000 and Mark is already three quarters of the way there after $250 was added to the campaign, post clean up.

“Since we continued to get funding beyond our initial goal, we’ve decided to extend the campaign so we can get additional work done which will go a long way in securing the building for future development,” says Paradowski. “I’m very thankful for the people that came out to help on Saturday and those that made donations, big and small. They truly made a positive impact for the future of this east side landmark. A special thanks goes to Chris Ziolkowski of Zee’s Property Services. Chris works professionally in construction and has been present on many BYP clean ups and not only donates his skills, but often kicks in additional funds for more supplies or food for the volunteers.”

The majority of Wildroot is the former factory building to the rear, which makes up 80,000 of the 100,000 square feet. Similar to many rehabilitated reinforced concrete factory buildings, the open floor plates and high ceilings lends itself to almost any new use. Wildroot has the potential to be an incredible catalyst for this part of the east side. It could be a business incubator, brewery, or could replicate the model at the Foundry, but include space for the artists to live all in the same place. It could even be all three of those things. The possibilities for Wildroot are endless and these clean up efforts are first steps for a great future.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Views of Buffalo Ipernity      -     fixBuffalo     -     The Atlantic Cities     -     The Urbanophile

NTHP Blog     -     Congress for New Urbanism     -     Buffalo Historic Districts