How to Price Interior Painting and Decorating: Rooms, Preparation and Labour Rates

Quick Answer: A full UK 3-bed house interior repaint in 2026 costs £3,500–£5,500 for a 2-coat emulsion + woodwork specification, with per-room rates running £280–£480 for a small bedroom, £380–£650 for a medium bedroom, £550–£950 for a large bedroom or lounge, £550–£900 for a kitchen with units to mask, £450–£750 for a bathroom around fittings, and £680–£1,200 for hall-stairs-landing. A skilled decorator's day rate is £200–£320 plus a labourer at £140–£200, working to BS 6150:2019. Mist coating is mandatory on new plaster, and full programme for a 3-bed is 4–8 working days.

Summary

Interior painting and decorating is the most under-quoted trade in the UK. The reason: clients see the finished surface, not the preparation. A bedroom with crisp paint lines and even sheen has 70% of the labour invested before the first finish coat goes on — sanding, filling, undercoating, masking. A quote that prices only the visible coats (2 × emulsion at 8 m²/litre = £45 of materials per room) bears no relation to a complete decorating job costing £380. The labour-to-materials ratio for a typical interior repaint is 8:1 — for every £1 of paint, £8 of labour.

Per-room pricing is the standard UK approach. Lump-sum "whole house" quotes encourage shortcut behaviour at the first awkward room (skip filling, skip undercoat); per-room quotes force discipline. A clean quote shows each room as a line item with a clearly stated specification: number of coats, woodwork treatment, ceiling treatment, repairs included, repairs excluded.

The single most common quote dispute is about wall preparation. "Sand, fill and prepare" means different things to different decorators — to one, that's two hours; to another, twelve. Where walls are pre-painted but in good condition (one previous owner, recent decoration, no nail holes or filler patches) prep is light. Where walls have been lived in for 20 years (filler from picture hooks, plaster patches, ghost-marks where furniture sat, candle marks), prep is heavy. The honest quote either includes a contingency (1–3 hours per room above standard) or itemises and unit-rates significant prep separately.

Key Facts

Quick Reference Table

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Room type 2-coat walls + ceiling Walls + ceiling + woodwork Walls + ceiling + woodwork + radiators
Small bedroom (8–12 m²) £180–£320 £280–£480 £320–£550
Medium bedroom (12–16 m²) £250–£420 £380–£650 £420–£720
Large bedroom (16–24 m²) £350–£580 £550–£950 £620–£1,050
Lounge / family room (20–28 m²) £400–£680 £620–£1,050 £700–£1,150
Kitchen (units to mask) £350–£550 £550–£900 £620–£1,000
Bathroom (around fittings) £280–£480 £450–£750 £500–£820
Cloakroom WC £120–£200 £180–£320 £200–£360
Ground floor hall £180–£320 £280–£480 £320–£550
Stairs and landing £350–£550 £550–£820 £620–£900
Whole 3-bed semi £2,200–£3,500 £3,500–£5,500 £3,800–£6,200
Whole 4-bed detached £3,200–£5,200 £5,000–£8,500 £5,500–£9,500
Wallpaper accent wall (one wall) £180–£320 n/a n/a
Lining paper (full room before painting) £180–£320 n/a n/a

Detailed Guidance

Specification: What "Decorate the Bedroom" Means

The biggest source of price variation is specification ambiguity. A bedroom can be quoted at £280 or £650 for legitimate work — both are honest if the spec is different.

Basic spec (£280 bedroom) — 2 coats emulsion to walls and ceiling; woodwork left as-is; no filling beyond minor pencil-mark touch-up; no radiator removal.

Standard spec (£420 bedroom) — 2 coats emulsion walls and ceiling, sand and fill nail holes, undercoat woodwork (skirting, architrave, door frame), 2 coats satinwood or eggshell to woodwork, radiator removed and walls painted behind (radiator re-fitted — but plumbing extras if leak found), light socket plates removed and re-fitted.

Premium spec (£650 bedroom) — Standard spec plus full sand of woodwork to bare wood, knot block, primer, undercoat, 2 coats finish, mask trim line, vacuum and dust between coats, low-VOC paint, tape removal at finish-coat-wet stage, hand-cut all edges (no roller line), dust sheet entire room, snag-list with photos.

The clean quote states which spec it covers. The pre-launch question to the homeowner: "Do you want this spec, this spec, or this spec, with prices £X / £Y / £Z?"

Per-Room Pricing in Detail

The labour driver per room is wall surface area + ceiling + cuts + woodwork. A simple 12 m² bedroom (single bed scale) has approximately:

A skilled decorator working alone covers 25–40 m² of finished walls and ceilings per day plus woodwork. A small bedroom is 1–1.5 days; a large lounge is 2.5–3 days.

For pricing a bathroom:

For pricing a kitchen:

For pricing hall, stairs and landing (HSL):

Wall Preparation: The Honest Line Item

The standard prep included in a quote covers:

Where walls require additional work, this is itemised:

A 3-bed house with average wear: prep is 1.5–2 days additional labour above standard. At £200/day that's £300–£400 of prep on top of finish-coat work — and the difference between a quote that wins on price and one that delivers quality.

Mist Coat on New Plaster

Mist coating new plaster is mandatory. It cannot be skipped or substituted by a thinned commercial paint.

The recipe — 1 part standard contract emulsion (matt white) to 4 parts water. Sometimes 1:5 for very absorbent surfaces. Using vinyl matt emulsion is incorrect — vinyl seals before bonding fully.

Drying time before mist coat — 7 days minimum after re-skim, 21–28 days after full re-plaster (see the plaster drying time rules).

Mist coat dries quickly — 2 hours typical between mist and first finish coat. But moisture in walls continues to escape — premature finish coats over too-wet plaster will lift in patches.

For pricing — mist coating is included in the wall painting line for new plaster jobs. A 3-bed semi mist coat: 1 day's labour, £15–£30 of materials. Where the decorator follows a plasterer the timing must be coordinated.

Woodwork Preparation and Painting

Woodwork is the part most often shortcut. Proper specification:

For a standard 3-bed semi, woodwork = 16–22 doors + frames + skirting throughout. Day-rate equivalent: 2–3 days of woodwork-only labour, £400–£900 of decorator time, plus £80–£180 of materials.

Wallpaper Hanging

Wallpaper is priced per roll plus a labour rate per roll:

For a feature wall in a typical bedroom, expect 3–5 rolls. Total cost £180–£350 (paper) + £75–£225 (labour).

For a full room wallpapered (bedroom 12–16 m²), expect 8–10 rolls and £400–£900 total fitted.

Lining paper is a different specification:

Lining paper before painting adds £180–£320 per room but produces a markedly better finish on poor walls.

Low-VOC and Premium Paint Specification

Modern UK paint regulation (the Volatile Organic Compounds in Paints, Varnishes and Vehicle Refinishing Products Regulations 2012) caps VOC content. Modern emulsion is typically <30 g/L VOC, eggshell <130 g/L, oil-based gloss <300 g/L.

For pricing low-VOC specification:

Premium designer paints (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Paint & Paper Library) cost £45–£75 per 2.5 L versus £25–£45 for trade emulsion. Where the homeowner specifies Farrow & Ball, expect to add £200–£500 per house in materials over standard trade emulsion.

Programme: A Typical 3-Bed Semi Repaint

Day 1: Set up, sheet floors, mask, prep first room (small bedroom) Day 2: First room finish coats; prep second bedroom Day 3: Second bedroom finish coats; prep third bedroom Day 4: Third bedroom; bathroom prep Day 5: Bathroom; kitchen prep Day 6: Kitchen; lounge prep Day 7: Lounge finish; HSL prep Day 8: HSL finish; snag and clean

Total 6–8 days for a single decorator working alone. Two-decorator team: 4–5 days.

Cost to Paint a House — Consumer Quick View

For a homeowner asking "how much does it cost to paint the inside of my house in 2026":

Add 15–25% for premium paint (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene). Add 10–20% if walls need significant repair. Subtract 20–30% if doing one room at a time over months — but mobilisation cost on visits adds back some of the saving.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a 3-bed house painting job take?

A solo decorator on a standard specification: 6–8 working days. A two-person team (decorator + labourer): 4–5 days. The variable is preparation — heavy prep (poor walls, wallpaper to strip, woodwork to bare-back) can add 2–4 days. Drying time between coats also matters: emulsion needs 2–4 hours between coats, oil-based gloss 12–16 hours.

Can I just paint over wallpaper?

Sometimes — if wallpaper is well-adhered (no edges lifting), in good condition, and not heavily textured. Apply Zinsser Gardz or oil-based primer first to seal it, then standard finish coats. But: water-based emulsion on wallpaper softens the adhesive and can cause bubbling. Honest decorators advise stripping wallpaper rather than painting over — adds £45–£80 per room but gives a result that lasts.

What's the difference between trade emulsion and retail emulsion?

Trade emulsion (Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt, Crown Trade Vinyl Matt, Leyland Trade) is available from decorator merchants in 5 L containers, typically £25–£45 per 5 L. Retail emulsion in 5 L is £35–£60 typically. The trade product has better coverage per litre, better opacity (often single-coat capable on like-for-like colour change), and more consistent batch-to-batch colour. For full-house jobs always trade-grade.

How long after painting can I move furniture back?

Emulsion is touch-dry in 1–2 hours and recoatable in 4 hours. Leave 24 hours before placing furniture against walls; 7 days before hanging heavy items or reattaching corner furniture (full cure). Oil-based gloss on woodwork: 24 hours before light handling, 7 days before heavy use. Water-based satinwood: 24–48 hours before normal use.

Do I need to be out of the house during decorating?

No — most decorators work room-by-room with the house occupied. Sheet up finished rooms, work through one at a time. The kitchen and bathroom are occasionally unusable for 1–2 days. The whole-house repaint with the family in residence is the standard UK working pattern. For low-VOC specification (paint smell sensitive), the disruption is minimal.

Regulations & Standards