Vinny Ciambriello has been an Apartment Therapy go-to painter on small jobs for a number of years. A musician by night, he paints by day and does a great job with clean walls. Exacting about the finish, Vinnie works alone, so he is a good choice for painting one to three rooms of a smaller apartment. This is how he puts it:
I'm a demon for precise completion. Details become ingrained in my head so that by the time I leave, not one of them has been overlooked.
Problems? If your walls need a lot of repair work with plaster, Vinny is not your man, he does do some, but a straight ahead paint job is right up his alley. Available for estimates, Vinny can often give you a price over the phone.
(ReEdited from 2005-09-15 - MGR)

Comments (13)
Thanks for this recommendation! I am going to need someone to paint over the high Tequila Lime green ceiling in my apartment when I move out. I painted it when I moved in, first time doing a ceiling for me, and I swear I will NEVER paint a high ceiling again. (And yes, I have just been waiting for the October "color" contest.)
Vinny did a beautiful job painting our Manhattan apartment this past fall (2005). Meticulous work, very reasonable fee, and very good about working within our timeframe. Absolutely no complaints!
Vinny did a thorough and meticulous job on my 3 room apt.. I especially appreciated that he took no shortcuts- priming the entire apartment, full double coats everywhere, and attention to all the trim and moldings. Vinny is true old-world craftsman- (the 'old world' being Howard Beach, Queens)..
June 2006
Vinny did a great job on our two bedroom floor-through.
His rate is reasonable (in fact, I think he under-pays himself). He came in on short notice when our previous painter fell through, and we had a tight window to complete the job before our move-in date. It was all sheet-rock, plaster, and unfinished wood for frames and doors. We needed ceiling, walls, molding, caulking, the works- primed and painted. He pulled in another painter to help him and even worked the weekend to make our move in date. All that, and he didn't cut corners. A perfectionist who takes pride in his work.
Thank you, A.T., for referring him.
Vinny did a great job - he painted two bedrooms for me and it was done in two days, including priming and trim. I highly recommend him.
Just doing a spot of ego-searching. You share the Ciambriello surname. Any ideas as to where in Italy it comes from? Mail me.
Vinnie just finished painting our very challenging and furniture filled 1 bedroom apartment last week. He did an AMAZING job with the apartment - way beyond what we would have had with our original painters. Excellent work and dedication. Would absolutely hire him again, and highly recommend. Thanks again Vinnie!
It's so much better when you have one or two people do a remodeling or paint job vs. a team of different people. I don't live in NYC, but I just had a similar wonderful experience of remodeling my bedroom by one person who took days to carefully prepare the walls by carefully patching any imperfections and smoothing the surfaces before painting. I wanted mold trim added, so he had a partner help him and that was it. They were both perfectionists and did an outstanding job. It was a little more expensive, but in the long run, you get what you pay for. When I first moved into my home, I wanted my downstairs area painted and trimmed. I went with the least expensive remodelers and different people did certain jobs under one contractor. The job was done fast (they had another job pending and fit me in at the last minute) and it shows. After the recent remodel of my bedroom, I now see the difference of quality and shoddy work. One person has full control and pride of their work and usually does the job correctly.
I'd like to call this guy for a rate quote, but don't see any contact information. Anyone have it?
Susan, Vinny's number is: 718-638-1083
Vinny just painted my new apartment in Cobble Hill and did a magnificent job. Not only is he very skilled but has great feedback on color choices. I would use him again in a heartbeat.
Vinny did a terrific job painting my Manhattan apartment this spring (2010). His fee was reasonable, he went out of his way to work within my tight timeframe, worked around all my belongings--and me!--in a small space ad the apartment looks great.
Vinny did an excellent job painting 2 apartments for me last month. Based on the feedback on this site, I hired him to paint the walls (light green/blue) on my large 1 bedroom apartment with 10 foot ceilings. He gave me a very reasonable estimate over e-mail, and then offered to visit the apt to firm up the number. The estimate did not change at all from the initial price, and he did an excellent job in about a day and a half, working by himself. Based on this superb work we asked him to paint the walls back to white on our previous apartment, which he also did quickly and immaculately and at a reasonable price.
Vinny was extremely professional - the three times that we arranged to meet, he showed up exactly on time and ready to go (very important when you are taking time off work in the middle of the day!). I wholeheartedly recommend him.