The Short Answer
On our estimates, having a typical bedroom painted (walls, ceiling and woodwork) costs about £300 to £500 and takes a day. A small room such as a bathroom is £180 to £350, a large living room £500 to £1,000, and a hall, stairs and landing £880 to £1,750.
Decorators charge about £150 to £350 a day, more in London. The price moves with the room size, how much filling and preparation the walls need, and whether there's old wallpaper to strip first.
Decorating cost calculator
Walls, ceilings and woodwork painted, priced by the room.
Estimated total
£1,100 to £2,000
| Medium rooms (2) | £600 to £1,000 |
| Large rooms (1) | £500 to £1,000 |
Decorating prices
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Small room (box room, bathroom) | £180 to £350 |
| Medium room (a typical bedroom) | £300 to £500 |
| Large room (living room, open plan) | £500 to £1,000 |
| Hall, stairs and landing | £880 to £1,750 |
| Two-bed flat throughout | £1,500 to £2,500 |
| Painting per m² of wall | £10 to £20 |
| Wallpapering a room (labour) | £350 to £500 |
| Stripping old wallpaper, per room | £100 to £300 |
| Painting a door, both sides | £80 to £100 |
| Decorator, per day | £150 to £350 |
What's included
Labour, materials, preparation and clearing up are normally all included in a decorator's quote, but it's worth confirming. I'd ask which paint they're pricing (brand and finish), how many coats, and whether filling cracks and sanding woodwork is in. We estimate wall preparation (filling holes and cracks) at £50 to £100 extra where it's needed.
How long it takes
Our timings for a two-coat job:
- a box room or bathroom: 4 to 6 hours;
- a bedroom: a day;
- a large living room: 1.5 to 2 days;
- hall, stairs and landing: 1.5 to 2 days.
Add about a day to a room for stripping wallpaper first, and more again if furniture has to be moved out and back. Empty rooms are quicker and cheaper.
Painting new plaster
New plaster needs to dry before it's painted: Screwfix's guide says most plasterers allow 3 days to a week, and puts complete dryness at up to 4 weeks. The first coat is a mist coat, paint thinned with water, so the topcoats stick. If you're having a room plastered and decorated, book the decorator for after it's dried: see plastering costs.
Paint and DIY
We estimate trade paint at about £5 to £8 a litre for matt emulsion, £8 to £16 for satin and £12 to £25 for gloss, so most of a decorator's bill is time. I'd pay a decorator for the hall, stairs and landing, and DIY a bedroom if you're confident.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a painter and decorator charge per day?
About £150 to £350 on our estimates, with London at the top of the range.
How much does it cost to paint a room?
On our estimates, about £300 to £500 for a typical bedroom, £180 to £350 for a small room and £500 to £1,000 for a large living room.
How much would a painter charge to paint a 12x12 room?
A 12 by 12 foot room is about 13m² of floor, a typical bedroom: about £300 to £500 on our estimates, walls, ceiling and woodwork.
How much does a self-employed painter charge per hour?
About £20 to £40 an hour on our estimates, depending on experience, with London higher.
Is it worth getting a painter and decorator?
For the hall, stairs and landing, I'd say yes. A single bedroom is a reasonable DIY job if you're confident.
How we priced thisView sources (1)
Rules come from the legislation and official guidance, read at source. Prices are our estimates: we check them against trade price data, retailer shelf prices and specialists' price lists, then build them up from their parts so the totals add up. Below are the sources behind the page; the trade price guides we only compare against aren’t listed. Where sources disagreed, we've said so. More on our method.
- IndustryHow long after plastering can you paint?, Screwfix. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
