Elevator Cabs At Phipps Plaza

If you’ve ever walked into a luxury retail property and thought everything just looks right, there’s a good chance someone is quietly keeping it that way. Elevator cabs are one of those details. Guests and shoppers step in and out dozens of times a day without thinking about it — until the finish starts to show its wear. Then it’s the only thing they notice.

That was the situation at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. The wood-paneled elevator cab interiors — a mix of veneer panels and solid wood trim — had accumulated the kind of damage that comes with constant, heavy foot traffic at a premier shopping destination. Corner gouges, dents along the base molding, scratches on the back panels. None of it catastrophic on its own, but together it added up to an interior that no longer matched the luxury experience Phipps Plaza is known for.

What We Were Working With

The cab interiors featured veneer wall panels paired with solid wood trim elements — base molding, corner pieces, and reveal trim. Both materials had taken a beating. The corners were the worst. Luggage carts, delivery equipment, and everyday traffic had left visible gouges and chipping where the panels meet. The base molding showed heavy scuffing and impact damage along the bottom edges, and the back panels had accumulated scratches and finish wear from years of use.

The challenge with mixed-material elevator interiors is that veneer and solid wood respond differently to damage — and they require different restoration approaches. You can’t treat them the same way and expect a seamless result.

How We Approached the Restoration

We completed this project on-site at Phipps Plaza, working within the property’s operating schedule. No cab removal, no extended downtime. Our team assessed each damaged area, then used Mohawk color-match products to rebuild and blend the damaged sections back to their original appearance.

For the corner damage, we filled and rebuilt the gouged areas, then carefully color-matched and refinished to blend with the surrounding panels. The base molding required a combination of fill work for the deeper impacts and finish touch-up for the surface-level scuffing. On the back panels, we addressed the accumulated scratches and restored the protective finish layer.

The key with elevator cab work is precision. You’re restoring a relatively small, enclosed space where every surface is at arm’s length. There’s nowhere to hide imperfect color matching or sloppy finish work — it all has to be seamless.

The Results

The before-and-after difference speaks for itself. The restored corners are clean and smooth, with color and finish that match the original panels. The base molding looks solid again. The overall impression when you step into the cab is exactly what it should be at a property like Phipps Plaza — polished, maintained, and consistent with the brand.

You can see the full transformation in our project gallery.

The Takeaway for Property Managers

Elevator cabs are high-traffic, high-visibility surfaces that take a disproportionate amount of abuse relative to their size. A full cab refinishing project — or worse, a full panel replacement — is expensive and disruptive. On-site touch-up and restoration can bring those interiors back to like-new condition at a fraction of the cost, typically saving around 60% compared to a full refinish.

The smarter move is catching this kind of wear before it compounds. A scheduled maintenance plan means we’re inspecting and touching up surfaces like elevator cab interiors on a regular basis, so the damage never reaches the point where a major restoration is needed.

Let’s Talk About Your Property

If your elevator cabs — or any high-traffic surfaces — are starting to show their age, we’d like to take a look. We serve properties across the Southeast from our Atlanta and South Miami offices, and we’re available nationwide for larger projects.

TouchUp Maestros Atlanta: 404-237-6000 | Miami: 305-814-8405 sales@TouchUpMaestros.com Get a Quote →