This is the only place I'll buy paint and related supplies. They carry Big Stretch caulk, Lexel clear adhesive, Restor-It epoxy filler and more kinds of bulk pack sandpaper and drywall mud than you could ever want to shake a stick at. Home Depot cannot touch their inventory. I've never had a problem getting a question answered by any member of the staff, but if you go in there expecting people who are mixing paint for busy professionals to drop everything and play pro-bono interior designer for you, I can see how you might be a little disappointed. Maybe there's a paint store in Noe Valley for that? read more

I am not a painter. I'm a regular person who needed to match some colors and buy some paint for my contractors. The people at Creative Paint were so incredibly helpful. They offered me all sorts of solutions for matching and even sent me home with a full set of color swatches on loan. Not to mention, parking is easy (there's parking behind this section of Geary) and the store is really clean and easy to shop. read more

I went to Creative Paints after reading the reviews here on Yelp. I needed supplies and instructions for how to repaint my garage door. The gentleman who helped me explained the process step-by-step and went over all the different options when I asked about specific supplies. I appreciated his expertise, helpfulness, and his low-key approach; I felt like he wanted to help me with my project, not just sell me something. Based on my experience, I highly recommend this store, especially if you're a newbie painter like me. Update: I went back to look at paint colors for my bedroom and ended up getting an expert color consultation and mini lesson on color theory from Wayman. Thank goodness! Otherwise, I might have chosen some inappropriate, ugly hue that would have driven me crazy. read more

This staff is top notch. I have a been a customer for over 40 years going back to Wyman and Norman on Polk St. Micheal has done a good job of growing the business and giving quality service and friendly staff. Eye matches are excellent and they carry everything a pro needs to do the job right. read more

This review is for Lynne Whiteside, the Color Consultant who works at this store. She is truly amazing! I briefly described the kind of color I was looking for and the type of environment the home was in, and she handed me one swatch and said "this is your color". We bought a sample and took it home. It was ridiculously perfect! This is after we had tried over five samples in this color range, but had not found one we liked. She just knows what you want more than you know what you want! Go see her! Highly recommended. read more

Very responsive, and friendly. Also, they provide paint recycling support. A great neighborhood service provider.

This place is stellar in customer service. Once again Liam assisted me and located what I needed and provided it in less than 15 min.

This place is a neighborhood treasure. The staff is informative eager to help and advise -- plus they know their stuff . They have never let me down. Go their now and buy some paint or hardware or something, you won't be let down. read more

Stopped by to recycle unused/leftover paint. One of the workers was nice & explained that if you have an empty paint can, you just remove the top & place in your recycling bin. Friendly service & great info! Thanks! read more

Their color consultant, Lynne Whiteside, is a treasure! I just brought a warm grey cabinet door to her and asked her to find the closest Benjamin Moore color. She located it in less time than five minutes. It would have taken my many hours and possibly have cost my sanity. Thank you, Lynne!!! read more

I have to back up the other reviews here. Creative Paints is a great paint store. They don't just sell you paint - they work with you to help you understand how to tackle your project and make sure you have what you need to pull it off. I'll be back. read more

Love this place! They've helped me with so many home projects over the years. Always helpful with advice on technique, tools and materials. Some of the guys in the store have a really good eye for decorating colors too! (I've taken to showing them my swatch choices and trusting their judgment on final decisions). They've indulged far more than my fair share of ignorant questions, very graciously, too. In most other hardware stores, I feel like I get a bit of a snarky attitude when I don't know the proper terms for tools and such. Not this place! They're always wonderful. :) read more

After being a customer here for many years I will never go back. The color consultant is a nightmare!!! On my 4th time buying samples this weekend I asked to see a particular white. The consultant said it was weird that I was the asking for it because 4 or 5 people had asked for it and it was a terrible color. I asked to see another white which she said was awful. Trying to avoid PTSD from asking her about another bad color choice, I began to select sample chips from other whites. She then came over and screamed at me that I couldn't just take samples of whites because they are her most popular color. I had a box of already purchased paint in my hand so it was obvious i had already purchased something. I'll go to Fredericksen's from now on. It's a little further but worth the time to avoid her. read more

These guys really know their paint! Although their custom colors are non-refundable, they offered to salvage my can of paint I bought (since I wasn't happy with the color) instead of charging me for a new one. I appreciated them looking out for me like that and saving me the $50. Service is friendly and attentive too. read more

Ken was really helpful and awesome! He helped us pick the right paint, primer, and the necessary tools we needed to paint our apartment.

Two thumbs up for Creative Paint! Very helpful, and quick too! And they've got the sample jars of Benjamin Moore. Ya.

I decided to paint my one-bedroom apartment myself rather than dropping a few thousand bucks on professionals. My previous painting experience: a wall in my kitchen. I made several trips to this store, and on every occasion the guys were extremely helpful with everything from color advice to telling me what supplies I needed (and didn't need). One even steered me away from a more expensive paint for the ceiling, since he said it wasn't necessary. To me, THAT is the mark of good service: actually helping the customer rather than trying to squeeze all the money possible out of him/her. Because of those things, I kept coming back, and will certainly patronize them if I need paint in the future. Thanks, Creative Paint! read more

I asked our contractor to recommend a good paint store whose employees would be helpful in exterior paint selection. I never expected to meet Lynne Whiteside, their color consultant, who is available Thursday - Sunday at the Geary store, from 11 am to 3 pm. Take a picture of your home or the rooms you want painted. I was looking for the sash, trim and stucco colors for our home which is being redone. She was able to pinpoint precisely the colors that would look great together and why they looked good. She asked great questions to get me to think about what I wanted. Thank you, Lynne, and thank you to Creative Paint for having Lynne on site. read more

Very useful store with much more than paint, and great early-morning hours. I'll be back for sure.

Nice customer service. Nice fellow named Liam explained how to select and locate the paint chips you wanted, what's available (or in our case, not available) in the samples pots, and how you can work around this issue. There's only some 200-odd samples available when there's over 5000 colors in the Benjamin Moore line. We had bought from them before for our interior painting. Liked it enough to come back now that it's time to paint the exterior. read more

Small selection, but have most home things you might need. I even found a folding ladder here that I can't find at HOM Depot anymore. Service is really great too. read more

The staff gets 5 Stars, they are awesome. They give great advice b/c they really know their stuff & are very thorough. Thumbs up.

My experience at Creative Paint simply couldn't have gone better, and I'll definitely be coming back here for paint and supplies in the future. The salespeople were very helpful explaining all of our options regarding paint varieties and finishes and were very informative without being condescending. Once my girlfriend and I had picked out colors and finishes, the man who checked us out helped us figure out the right quantities as well as the proper supplies and technique. read more

I found Creative Paint to be very helpful, knowledgeable and very nice. They carry Benjamin Moore - including Benjamin Moore's EcoSpec and Aura paint line (low VOC - "volatile organic compound" paints which are a necessity if having your home painted while pregnant or with children) and will do special paint mixes. They are very knowledgable, helpful and kind. read more

I should not be commenting because I sell rags to paint stores, but these guys are pros. Very friendy and knowlegdable. I was a painting contractor in a past life and this is painter's paradice! Service and sincere smiles. read more

Lynne is amazing. She is patient, knowledgeable, and easy to talk to. After a few attempt to step into other paint stores in the city, I found I'm totally not happy with the service and paint they provided. I was embarrassed to explain that I needed paints for the dollhouse set for my group animation project after one sales lady stared at me as if I was an idiot. Lynne was different. She patiently asked my needs and suggested some beautiful colors which I didn't even think of. She knows color and light very well and has a great eye. As an artist, I thought I have an eye, but I was mind-blown how well she told the difference between two slightly different colors and chose colors that fit another. Her advices were all so useful. And I was amazed how kindly and enthusiastically she took her time even though she knew that this poor young artist would buy only a can or two of paint to paint a wall of tiny dollhouse. The selection here is small but every product they carry is well-selected and my experience here was just impressive. Of course the paints I got were high quality and perfectly matched to the color samples. When I have my own home to paint, I would definitely do a business here. read more

Creative Paint has recently changed hands, and it's even better than ever. While you may have to wait a while to get help, it's worth it, because they spend as much time with you as you need to answer your questions. As another poster said, the people are real pros who take pride in their work. Super knowledgeable and helpful. A neighborhood store that serves the City. read more

This has been my go to paint supply store for two years now. The knowledge and expertise each team member has is unparalleled. I want to especially recognize Tim Brown for his exceptional service. Keep up the good work everyone! read more

So incredibly rude. I was hung up on and ignored when I asked a simple question on the phone. Horrible customer service.

Went to this location twice this week and the service there is great! The employees are very helpful and both times I was there, a young man was making sure the store was clean and tidy. He was even cleaning outside of the store. I was very impressed with the service and I will definitely be going back if I need anything related to paint or hardware. read more

1 of 3 best paint stores in SF. Convenient for those living in the Richmond Avenues. Wayman and Norman (brothers) run the store with other family. Super chill, very knowledgable, good humored. They carry Ben-Moore, McClosky's (yummy textured base paint for faux), Modern Masters (to name one more of several faux brands), Schroeder (aka Fine Paints of Europe), Martha Stewart (why are they so $$$? cuz they use more than the normal 4 tints to achieve subtlety of color using Schroeder base. But if you don't mind being slightly off and for about $20 cheaper per gallon, the boys here will whip up a comparable version (4-tint) in a week using Ben-Moore base - slightly sooner if they have the formula worked up already from a past customer request). They also sell wallpaper (the run of the mill kind, don't come running expecting dwell decor), they make keys and even occasionally give you quarters for the meter. read more

Had lunch around the area and was surprised to see a Benjamin Moore paint store. As soon as I walked in, James greeted me and offered help. I was looking to paint my house but had no ideas what colors to choose (there is like a bazillion colors). To my luck, Lynn was there to give color consultation on Saturdays. She asked about lighting, flooring and things I never thought about before choosing a color palette for me to try at home. (Did you know northern exposure light has a blue tint which will affect how color turns out?) How amazing is that! Thanks a lot, guys, you really made my day! read more

This is the best place to get paint. I have gotten certain European Specialty colors in the past from them, made in the Netherlands, for myself and clients (I am an architect.) When I first moved out here, they had never heard of Benjamin Moore. I was the Senior Architect in Facilities at UCSF...and had been trained by the best (and large) firms in the Southeast out of Atlanta. So I was shocked. One guy there said, "Well this is coastal so their products don't work here." I said, "They are made in Jacksonville, Florida, do you know where that is?" Incredulous. So finally, Benjamin Moore started getting used out here....and I would go here to get some. Sadly, I live in an apartment that has not been painted in over 30 years, nor will they let me. It has that other Moore paint that goes wonky on you, because of the junk it has in it. Colors are not clear with them....but they are with Benjamin Moore! Love this place! read more

i've only been there once so far but i recently needed a color matched for a painting party over a weekend with 12 hrs before our painting friends were coming over. they checked their computer database, pulled up the formula for the restoration hardware color i was matching and - presto! - i had a gallon of perfectly matched benjamin moore "aura" paint in 20 minutes. and i'm a tough color critic! read more

unlike general hardware stores that carry paint, Creative Paint is set up for just mainly selling paint w/ tables to sit & lay out paint cards, etc by the window which made choosing paint colors much more pleasant & doable in add'n, james was super-knowledgeable & helpful & took the time to really explain everything. he also helped to keep the costs down as low as possible for what i needed, which i obviously appreciated given how everything was adding up! read more

Thanks for the reply by Michael at Creative Paint. I wish I could believe you all were willing to help fix your error, but in reality, that hasn't been the case. I spoke to the manager there and explained how I was oversold by $30. The manager agreed that I was given bad advice by his employee and that I should have been sold a gallon from the beginning to cover the square footage I gave to the employee, and he gave me a whopping $5 off my order rather than the $30 that would have been fair. So thanks, but no thanks. I've been there three times, twice to rectify the situation, and won't be back. One star for pinching pennies when you all knew you were in the wrong. read more

O'Kane General Contractors (650) 872-1911 of San Francisco / Peninsula has collaborated with Creative Paint on Geary St. for over 10 years. Quality products, perfect color match, friendly service. MO read more

Called and asked about getting 2 wallpaper samples. They said no problem would order. When I went to pick-up was told they were $3 each, plus $3 for shipping plus tax. It was not the amount, although the samples are quite small, but never being informed. When I complained was told there is always a charge. I am a designer in the city and will never deal with them again and ask my clients not to either, read more

Don't let the name of the place fool you. Not just paint but a full hardware store too. Very convientent just around the corner from me!

I was impressed with one of the people that helped me. Lynn was very knowledgeable about light and color. She pointed out a couple of factors I would have never thought of regarding color. I will definitely seek her help next time I paint. read more