In a community like Eden Prairie, where homes reflect both personal style and everyday life, even small updates can make a meaningful difference. For Sara and Kelly Morlock, owners of CertaPro Painters of Southwest Metro, that idea has guided their work from the very beginning.
For more than a decade, they’ve built their business around one simple focus – how a project feels from start to finish, not just how it looks when it’s done.
A New Chapter Close to Home
Longtime residents of Chanhassen, Sara and Kelly raised their two children in the same community they now serve. Before starting their business, both spent more than 25 years in corporate careers – Kelly in sales and marketing, and Sara in human resources.
As they approached an empty-nest stage of life, they began thinking about what might come next.
“We wanted something more personal,” Sara says. “Something where we could really see the impact of what we were doing.”
In 2012, they found that opportunity with CertaPro Painters. What stood out wasn’t just the work itself, but the chance to build something rooted in relationships – with both customers and the team they would grow locally.
Becoming a Trusted Name in the Community
Over time, their work has naturally grown through the community. In neighborhoods like Bearpath and across Eden Prairie, many of their projects come from repeat clients and referrals – something Sara and Kelly don’t take for granted. In fact, more than a third of their work comes from clients they’ve worked with before or who were referred by someone they trust.
They’ve also become a trusted resource for local Realtors, often helping prepare homes for market with thoughtful updates that make a meaningful difference without overcomplicating the process.
In addition to residential work, their team has partnered with local businesses over the years – quietly becoming a familiar name for those looking for a steady, reliable approach.
“There’s a lot of trust involved when someone invites you into their home,” Kelly says. “We never take that lightly.”
A Process Built Around the Experience
While the finished result matters, much of their focus is on everything that happens along the way.
“A painting project has a lot of moving parts,” Sara explains. “It’s not just the work – it’s the communication along the way.”
From the initial consultation through scheduling, preparation, painting, and final walkthrough, there are countless moments where things can either feel smooth – or become frustrating.
Sara and Kelly have built their process around managing those moments carefully. Clear expectations, consistent communication, and thoughtful follow-up are all part of how they operate.
It’s what they refer to as delivering an “Extraordinary Experience” – not as a tagline, but as a reflection of how they approach each step of the process.
That same mindset carries through to how they run the business.
They don’t ask for a deposit upfront – something that often surprises new clients. Instead, they complete the work first, then follow up to make sure everything feels right before closing out the project.
“It’s just how we believe it should be,” Kelly says.
Every Project Is a Little Different
No two homes – or homeowners – are exactly alike, and that’s something Sara and Kelly have come to appreciate over the years.
For some, it’s about maintaining and protecting the exterior of their home after years of wear. For others, it’s finally updating a kitchen, refreshing a main living space, or choosing colors they’ve been thinking about for a long time.
“A lot of times people know they want a change, they just don’t know where to start,” Sara says. “We enjoy helping them figure that out and making it feel simple.”
Built on Relationships
What’s grown over time is not just a business, but a network of relationships throughout the community.
Many of their projects today come from past clients or referrals – people who remember not just how their home turned out, but how the experience felt.
Their goal has stayed consistent from the beginning: to be the kind of company people feel comfortable calling again – and recommending without hesitation.
More Than Paint
After more than 14 years, what continues to motivate them is simple.
They enjoy the work. They value the relationships. And they take pride in being part of a community they’ve called home for decades.
Because in the end, it’s not really about paint.
It’s about walking into your home and feeling like it fits you – every single day.
CertaPro Painters - Southwest Metro
7220 Washington Avenue South
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
(952) 228-9909
SouthwestMetro.Certapro.com