By Emily Rivers
Last updated 3rd May 2023

Painting and decorating is a common task for many homeowners. Simply adding a lick of paint is one of the quickest and easiest ways to give your home a freshen up. 

Of course, painting and decorating actually covers a wide range of different tasks, from preparing walls by sanding, filling holes and cracks and removing wallpaper, hanging wallpaper, painting walls and all sorts of other finishing tasks like painting doors, coving and skirting boards.

All of this means it’s difficult to put a real price on how much it costs to get a house fully painted and decorated. Plus, the price of painting and decorating will of course vary enormously based on how large the house is, the level of finish you require, and exactly how much work needs to be done.

So, in this article, we’re going to cover how much painting and decorating a house could cost. We’ll also cover some of the factors that go into this price, as realistically you’ll need to do some of your own research and thinking to come up with a rough price for your own painting and decorating project.

How much does it cost to decorate a house?

The big question, then, is how much you’re likely to pay to get your house painted and decorated. Our table to the right shows our guide price for how much painting and decorating could cost in different areas across the country, accounting for local variations in labour and materials. This price is based on painting a 3-bedroom home, with some preparation work done by the homeowner. As an average, expect it to cost around £2200.

The price will vary depending on the size of your home, with a large 5-bedroom house costing around £4000-£5000, while you could decorate a smaller 1 or 2-bedroom flat for around £1500-£2000.

Size of property to be painted

Average cost

1-to-2-bedroom flat

£1500-£2000

3-bedroom house

£1900-£2500

4-bedroom house

£3000-£3700

5-bedroom house

£4000-£5000

Cost to decorate a house

What is the average day rate for a decorator?

The average day rate for a decorator is between £200-£400. This varies depending on where you live – if you live in a major city or the south east, expect to pay more than those living in other parts of the UK.

How much does a painter charge per room?

Obviously, how much a painter charges per room will depend on its size. But you could pay as little as £250 for one room, or as much as £1000 for a large room.

What factors affect the cost of decorating a house?

Of course, there are more factors that affect the cost of your painting and decorating job than simply the number of rooms in your home. Here are some of the factors that will likely affect your final quote.

Stripping and hanging wallpaper

Hanging wallpaper is generally a more expensive job than simply painting walls, due to the extra effort required. Similarly, if you’ve already got wallpaper on the walls in your home that you need removed, this will add to the overall cost as removing wallpaper can be a time-consuming job, even for professionals.

Type of rooms

One thing that you might not consider when it comes to the price of getting your home painted and decorated is the type of the rooms that you’re decorating. Simple, square rooms like bedrooms and living rooms are easier to paint, while bigger rooms with angled ceilings and lots of nooks and crannies, like halls, stairs and landing will all add to the cost. Consider things like whether your decorator will need to paint behind radiators and whether they need to be removed from the walls. That’s why it’s generally cheaper to get a 2 bedroom flat decorated than a 2 bedroom house, as the extra time it takes to sort out all the fiddly bits can really add up. 

Quality of materials used

The quality of the materials you specify will also affect how much it costs to get your house decorated. Of course, high quality paint or wallpaper will add to the overall cost, while you could save yourself money by asking for cheaper brands of paint to be used.

Brands like Dulux, Leyland and Armstead manufacture good quality paint and it doesn’t have to cost the earth – a matt emulsion will usually cost between £2-£8 per litre. Premium brands like Farrow & Ball or Lick cost more – expect to spend between £14-£25 per litre. Professional painters and decorators will be able to recommend the right materials to best suit the needs of your home.

Condition of the walls

Another big factor in the price of painting and decorating is the condition of the walls in your property. If there are lots of holes that need filling, or the walls are in such bad condition that a plasterer’s services are required, this can add a sizeable chunk to the cost of your painting and decorating project.

Presence of furniture

While painters and decorators will provide dust sheets to ensure your furniture and carpets are protected while they’re working, if the house is empty, it’s much easier and quicker for them to work. You’ll generally find it’s cheaper to get work done if you’ve not moved all of your belongings and furniture into the property yet.

Size of the rooms

One of the biggest factors in how much it costs to decorate your home is of course, the size of the rooms. The bigger the room, the more expensive it is to decorate. Some painters and decorators may even price per metre squared rather than per room or per day, so if you really want to be confident in your quote, it’s worth taking the time to measure the size of the rooms in your home.

Any extra work

Of course, painting and decorating isn’t just painting the walls. Think about any extra work you might want doing, for example changing or painting light switches, painting coving, skirting boards or doors, or any kind of tiling, feature walls or feature wallpaper. All of this will add a bit extra to the price of your painting and decorating project.

Is it cheaper to get an entire house decorated at once?

In general, it’s cheaper to get multiple rooms, or your whole house, painted and decorated at the same time. This is because the professional painters and decorators will be able to manage their time more efficiently, for example by painting one room while the other is drying. 

So, you may actually be able to save money by getting your whole house painted and decorated in one go, rather than getting individual rooms done. 

Can I paint and decorate my home myself?

Of course, painting and decorating is a project that you can tackle yourself, and many people do. However, there are two things to bear in mind if you’re considering doing a DIY painting and decorating project.

  1. The amount of effort involved. You might think that it’s something you’ve got time to do, but the amount of time and effort it takes to paint and decorate a house can quickly get out of hand. Plus, if you take time off work to decorate, the cost of your annual leave might not be far behind the costs of hiring a decorator to do it for you.
  2. The level of finish. If you want beautifully smooth edges and perfect paint application, we’d recommend getting a professional painter and decorator in. 

Estimates for common painter & decorator jobs;

Rates for other trades

Painting and decorating a house cost in the UK
Painting and decorating a house cost in the UK (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKPainting and decorating a house cost
Painting and decorating a house near London£2,690
Painting and decorating a house near Birmingham£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Leeds£2,300
Painting and decorating a house near Glasgow£2,370
Painting and decorating a house near Sheffield£2,260
Painting and decorating a house near Bradford£2,290
Painting and decorating a house near Liverpool£2,240
Painting and decorating a house near Edinburgh£2,530
Painting and decorating a house near Manchester£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Bristol£2,480
Painting and decorating a house near Kirklees£2,300
Painting and decorating a house near Fife£2,520
Painting and decorating a house near Wirral£2,230
Painting and decorating a house near North Lanarkshire£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Wakefield£2,290
Painting and decorating a house near Cardiff£2,420
Painting and decorating a house near Dudley£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Wigan£2,260
Painting and decorating a house near East Riding£2,610
Painting and decorating a house near South Lanarkshire£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Coventry£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Belfast£2,110
Painting and decorating a house near Leicester£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near Sunderland£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near Sandwell£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Doncaster£2,270
Painting and decorating a house near Stockport£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Sefton£2,220
Painting and decorating a house near Nottingham£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Newcastle Upon Tyne£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Kingston-upon-Hull£2,560
Painting and decorating a house near Bolton£2,300
Painting and decorating a house near Walsall£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Plymouth£2,470
Painting and decorating a house near Rotherham£2,270
Painting and decorating a house near Stoke-on-Trent£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Wolverhampton£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£2,390
Painting and decorating a house near South Gloucestershire£2,480
Painting and decorating a house near Derby£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near Swansea£2,260
Painting and decorating a house near Salford£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near Barnsley£2,270
Painting and decorating a house near Tameside£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Oldham£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near Trafford£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near Aberdeen£2,570
Painting and decorating a house near Southampton£2,450
Painting and decorating a house near Highland£2,390
Painting and decorating a house near Rochdale£2,310
Painting and decorating a house near Solihull£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Gateshead£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Milton Keynes£2,730
Painting and decorating a house near North Tyneside£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Calderdale£2,280
Painting and decorating a house near Northampton£2,700
Painting and decorating a house near Portsmouth£2,410
Painting and decorating a house near Warrington£2,310
Painting and decorating a house near North Somerset£2,480
Painting and decorating a house near Bury£2,310
Painting and decorating a house near Luton£2,670
Painting and decorating a house near St Helens£2,250
Painting and decorating a house near Stockton-on-Tees£2,370
Painting and decorating a house near Renfrewshire£2,410
Painting and decorating a house near York£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near Thamesdown£2,430
Painting and decorating a house near Southend-on-Sea£2,480
Painting and decorating a house near New Forest£2,410
Painting and decorating a house near Caerphilly£2,420
Painting and decorating a house near Carmarthenshire£2,110
Painting and decorating a house near Bath£2,480
Painting and decorating a house near Wycombe£2,750
Painting and decorating a house near Basildon£2,560
Painting and decorating a house near Bournemouth£2,390
Painting and decorating a house near Peterborough£2,850
Painting and decorating a house near North East Lincolnshire£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near Chelmsford£2,500
Painting and decorating a house near Brighton£2,560
Painting and decorating a house near South Tyneside£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Charnwood£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Aylesbury Vale£2,720
Painting and decorating a house near Colchester£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Knowsley£2,240
Painting and decorating a house near North Lincolnshire£2,470
Painting and decorating a house near Huntingdonshire£2,820
Painting and decorating a house near Macclesfield£2,390
Painting and decorating a house near Blackpool£2,200
Painting and decorating a house near West Lothian£2,450
Painting and decorating a house near South Somerset£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Dundee£2,510
Painting and decorating a house near Basingstoke & Deane£2,700
Painting and decorating a house near Harrogate£2,290
Painting and decorating a house near Dumfries & Galloway£2,530
Painting and decorating a house near Middlesbrough£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Flintshire£2,220
Painting and decorating a house near The Wrekin£2,310
Painting and decorating a house near Newbury£2,650
Painting and decorating a house near Falkirk£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Reading£2,710
Painting and decorating a house near Wokingham£2,720
Painting and decorating a house near Windsor & Maidenhead£2,710
Painting and decorating a house near Maidstone£2,500
Painting and decorating a house near Redcar & Cleveland£2,370
Painting and decorating a house near North Ayrshire£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near Blackburn£2,230
Painting and decorating a house near Neath Port Talbot£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near Poole£2,390
Painting and decorating a house near Wealden£2,560
Painting and decorating a house near Arun£2,510
Painting and decorating a house near Bedford£2,760
Painting and decorating a house near Oxford£2,760
Painting and decorating a house near Lancaster£2,250
Painting and decorating a house near Newport£2,420
Painting and decorating a house near Canterbury£2,280
Painting and decorating a house near Preston£2,200
Painting and decorating a house near Dacorum£2,690
Painting and decorating a house near Cherwell£2,750
Painting and decorating a house near Perth & Kinross£3,410
Painting and decorating a house near Thurrock£2,610
Painting and decorating a house near Tendring£2,280
Painting and decorating a house near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£2,560
Painting and decorating a house near St Albans£2,680
Painting and decorating a house near Bridgend£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near South Cambridgeshire£2,610
Painting and decorating a house near Braintree£2,470
Painting and decorating a house near Norwich£2,370
Painting and decorating a house near Thanet£2,240
Painting and decorating a house near Isle of Wight£2,410
Painting and decorating a house near Mid Sussex£2,560
Painting and decorating a house near South Oxfordshire£2,770
Painting and decorating a house near Guildford£2,700
Painting and decorating a house near Elmbridge£2,710
Painting and decorating a house near Stafford£2,390
Painting and decorating a house near East Hertfordshire£2,640
Painting and decorating a house near Torbay£2,400
Painting and decorating a house near Wrexham Maelor£2,230
Painting and decorating a house near East Devon£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near East Lindsey£2,180
Painting and decorating a house near Halton£2,250
Painting and decorating a house near Warwick£2,330
Painting and decorating a house near East Ayrshire£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Newcastle-under-Lyme£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near North Wiltshire£2,400
Painting and decorating a house near South Kesteven£2,480
Painting and decorating a house near Epping Forest£2,700
Painting and decorating a house near Vale of Glamorgan£2,430
Painting and decorating a house near Reigate & Banstead£2,670
Painting and decorating a house near Chester£2,230
Painting and decorating a house near Mid Bedfordshire£2,710
Painting and decorating a house near Suffolk Coastal£2,250
Painting and decorating a house near Horsham£2,560
Painting and decorating a house near Nuneaton & Bedworth£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Gwynedd£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Swale£2,450
Painting and decorating a house near Havant & Waterloo£2,410
Painting and decorating a house near Teignbridge£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Cambridge£2,620
Painting and decorating a house near Vale Royal£2,220
Painting and decorating a house near Amber Valley£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near North Hertfordshire£2,650
Painting and decorating a house near South Ayrshire£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near Waverley£2,690
Painting and decorating a house near Broadland£2,340
Painting and decorating a house near Crewe & Nantwich£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Breckland£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Ipswich£2,260
Painting and decorating a house near Vale of White Horse£2,610
Painting and decorating a house near Salisbury£2,480
Painting and decorating a house near Gedling£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Eastleigh£2,460
Painting and decorating a house near Broxtowe£2,370
Painting and decorating a house near Stratford-on-Avon£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near South Bedfordshire£2,760
Painting and decorating a house near Angus£2,580
Painting and decorating a house near East Hampshire£2,520
Painting and decorating a house near East Dunbartonshire£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Conway£2,140
Painting and decorating a house near Sevenoaks£2,620
Painting and decorating a house near Slough£2,700
Painting and decorating a house near Bracknell Forest£2,730
Painting and decorating a house near West Lancashire£2,240
Painting and decorating a house near West Wiltshire£2,400
Painting and decorating a house near Ashfield£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Lisburn£2,120
Painting and decorating a house near Scarborough£2,450
Painting and decorating a house near Stroud£2,500
Painting and decorating a house near Wychavon£2,350
Painting and decorating a house near Waveney£2,270
Painting and decorating a house near Exeter£2,380
Painting and decorating a house near Dover£2,270
Painting and decorating a house near Test Valley£2,500
Painting and decorating a house near Gloucester£2,490
Painting and decorating a house near Erewash£2,360
Painting and decorating a house near Cheltenham£2,500
Painting and decorating a house near Bassetlaw£2,290