Painting a room professionally typically costs around £300 for walls with two coats of emulsion and about £400 if old wallpaper needs stripping first, according to MyJobQuote. Painters charge £150 to £350 a day. Prep, wall condition, ceiling height and doors or skirting drive the price more than the paint.
Painting a single room professionally typically costs around £300 for walls with two coats of emulsion, rising to about £400 if old wallpaper needs stripping first, according to MyJobQuote’s room painting cost guide. Day rates for painters and decorators generally run £150 to £350, so the total for any job comes down to how many days it genuinely takes, not just the size of the room on paper.
What a typical room costs
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Walls only, two coats, no prep needed | Around £300 |
| Walls plus ceiling, medium room | £250 to £400 labour |
| Walls only, with old wallpaper stripped first | Around £400 |
| Skirting boards | Around £200 |
| Staircase (professionally painted and primed) | £350 to £450 |
What actually drives the price up
- Wallpaper removal. Stripping old paper, especially if there are multiple layers or it has been painted over previously, is one of the biggest single add-ons to a straightforward paint job.
- Wall condition. Cracks, holes, or uneven plaster need filling and sanding before a single coat goes on, and skipping this step is exactly how a finished paint job ends up looking worse than expected.
- Ceiling height and room size. A room with high ceilings or an awkward stairwell needs more time, and sometimes specialist access equipment, pushing the day rate up.
- Number of coats and colour change. Going from a dark colour to a light one, or vice versa, often needs an extra coat or a dedicated undercoat to get proper, even coverage.
- Doors, windows and trim. Painting these as well as the walls adds time, and gloss or satin finishes on woodwork generally take longer to apply neatly than emulsion on a flat wall.
Whole house vs room by room
Painting a whole house in one continuous block is usually more cost-effective per room than doing it piecemeal over several separate bookings, since a decorator avoids repeatedly setting up and packing down dust sheets and equipment, and can often quote a better overall day rate for a bigger, guaranteed run of work. That said, spreading the cost over a few rooms at a time, as budget allows, is a completely reasonable approach if a whole-house job is not affordable in one go.
Getting quotes that actually compare
A written quote from a painter and decorator should specify: how many coats are included, whether prep work (filling, sanding, stripping old paper) is included or charged separately, whether the price covers paint and materials or just labour, and roughly how many days the job will take. Two quotes for “painting a bedroom” can vary significantly once you actually compare what is included rather than just the headline number.
Look for membership of the Painting & Decorating Association as a general quality signal. We check this, along with independent reviews and genuine local trading history, when we research our shortlists, so a page for somewhere like Abingdon or Weston-super-Mare is a quick way to find a decorator who already meets that bar.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to paint a room?
According to MyJobQuote, painting a room with two coats of emulsion, walls only, typically costs around £300, rising to roughly £400 if old wallpaper needs stripping first. A medium sized room including the ceiling generally falls in the £250 to £400 labour range, on top of materials.
What's the day rate for a painter and decorator?
Painters and decorators in the UK typically charge £150 to £350 a day, according to MyJobQuote, with the exact rate depending on region and experience. A small room (walls only) usually takes around a day, while a medium room including the ceiling can take 1 to 2 days.
Does removing wallpaper add much to the cost?
Yes, noticeably. Stripping old wallpaper before painting typically adds around £100 to a standard room job, more if there are multiple layers or it is stuck particularly firmly, since this is a genuinely time-consuming step that has to be done properly to leave a smooth surface underneath.
Is it cheaper to paint a whole house at once rather than room by room?
Usually yes, per room, since a decorator working through a whole house in one block avoids repeated set-up and pack-down time, and can often offer a better overall day rate for a bigger, continuous job. If budget only allows for one or two rooms at a time, that is still a perfectly reasonable way to spread the cost.
Related guides
More cost guides guides · All painters & decorators guides
About the author
Stu Clark
Stu spent over 15 years in the trades, working as a plumber before running his own plumbing and bathroom renovation company with a team of eight. He founded Top5Trades to give homeowners the kind of shortlist and straight advice you would get from someone who has actually done the work. More about us →