How to Price a Painting & Decorating Job — Complete Guide

Pricing painting and decorating work accurately is one of the most important skills a decorator can develop. Price too low and you will work hard for little reward. Price too high and you will lose jobs to competitors. The challenge is that every job is different — room sizes, surface conditions, ceiling heights, and customer expectations all vary, making a one-size-fits-all approach impossible.

This guide covers how to price painting and decorating jobs using practical formulas that scale for any room size, how to handle preparation work, specialist finishes, and exterior work, and how to present your quotes in a way that wins work and protects your margins.

Per Room Pricing Guide

Pricing per room is the simplest approach and the one most customers expect. Here are typical prices for painting walls and ceiling (two coats of emulsion) plus gloss or satinwood to woodwork (skirting, door frames, and window frames) in 2026. These are labour-and-materials prices for rooms in reasonable condition with light preparation only.

Room Type	Price Range	Typical Days
Small single bedroom	£150 – £300	0.5 – 1
Double bedroom	£200 – £400	1 – 1.5
Large master bedroom	£300 – £500	1.5 – 2
Living room (standard)	£300 – £600	1.5 – 2.5
Large living / dining room	£450 – £800	2 – 3
Kitchen (walls and ceiling)	£200 – £400	1 – 1.5
Bathroom (walls and ceiling)	£150 – £300	0.5 – 1
Hallway, stairs & landing	£400 – £900	2 – 4

The hallway, stairs and landing is often the most time-consuming area because of the heights involved, the number of angles and corners, and the difficulty of accessing the stairwell. It is one of the most commonly underpriced jobs in decorating — make sure you account for the additional time and access equipment needed.

Per Square Metre Pricing

For a more accurate and scalable approach, price by the square metre. This works especially well for larger or unusually shaped rooms. Here are typical rates per square metre in 2026.

• Walls — emulsion, two coats: four to eight pounds per square metre (labour and materials)
• Ceilings — emulsion, two coats: five to nine pounds per square metre (higher because of overhead working)
• Woodwork — gloss/satinwood, two coats: three to six pounds per linear metre for skirting, five to eight pounds per door frame, twenty to forty pounds per internal door
• Wallpaper hanging: eight to fifteen pounds per square metre depending on the paper type (lining paper at the lower end, pattern-matched paper at the higher end)
• Feature wall — specialist paint or wallpaper: twelve to twenty-five pounds per square metre

How to Measure a Room

Accurate measurement is the foundation of accurate pricing. Here is the process.

1. Measure the perimeter of the room — the total length of all walls
2. Multiply the perimeter by the wall height to get the total wall area
3. Deduct the area of windows and doors (a standard window is approximately one point five square metres, a standard door is approximately one point eight square metres)
4. Measure the ceiling area (length multiplied by width)
5. Add walls and ceiling together for the total paintable area
6. Measure the total run of skirting board, number of door frames, and number of doors for woodwork pricing

Example: A room measuring four metres by three point five metres with a two point four metre ceiling height has a perimeter of fifteen metres. Wall area is thirty-six square metres minus approximately five square metres for a window and a door equals thirty-one square metres. Ceiling area is fourteen square metres. Total paintable area is forty-five square metres. At six pounds per square metre for emulsion, that is two hundred and seventy pounds for walls and ceiling, plus woodwork.

Pricing Preparation Work

Preparation is where most decorators either make or lose money. Customers often assume that painting a room means walking in with a roller and being done by lunchtime. The reality is that preparation — cleaning, filling, sanding, priming — often takes as long as the actual painting. Price it properly or you will subsidise it from your profit.

Light Preparation

Surfaces in generally good condition with minor imperfections. Includes sugar-soaping walls, filling hairline cracks, light sanding of woodwork, and masking where needed. Add ten to twenty per cent to your painting price. This is the baseline for most repaints in well-maintained properties.

Medium Preparation

Surfaces with moderate wear — flaking paint, larger cracks, uneven patches, or woodwork that needs more thorough sanding and priming. May include scraping loose paint, filling with flexible filler, spot-priming bare areas, and caulking gaps between woodwork and walls. Add twenty to forty per cent to your painting price.

Heavy Preparation

Surfaces in poor condition requiring significant work before painting can begin. Includes stripping wallpaper, removing textured coatings, making good damaged plaster, treating damp stains with stain block, or stripping and sanding woodwork back to bare timber. Heavy prep can double the cost of the painting itself. Always price this as a separate line item so the customer understands what they are paying for and why.

Specialist Finishes and Their Pricing

Specialist finishes command premium prices because they require additional skill, time, and often more expensive materials.

Farrow & Ball and premium paints. Customers choosing premium paints like Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, or Zoffany should expect to pay more — not just for the paint itself (which costs fifty to seventy pounds for two point five litres compared to twenty to thirty pounds for standard trade emulsion) but for the additional coats often needed. Farrow & Ball's modern emulsion typically requires a mist coat plus two full coats for even coverage, especially on darker colours. Charge a premium of twenty to thirty per cent over standard pricing.

Wallpaper hanging. Wallpapering takes longer than painting and requires a different skill set. Simple lining paper costs eight to twelve pounds per square metre. Standard pattern-matched wallpaper costs twelve to eighteen pounds per square metre. Premium or large-pattern papers that require careful matching cost fifteen to twenty-five pounds per square metre. Always account for wastage — ten to fifteen per cent for standard papers, up to twenty-five per cent for large repeat patterns.

Exterior painting. Exterior work involves additional costs — access equipment (scaffolding or tower), weather dependency, surface preparation (scraping, filling, priming), and typically more robust (and expensive) paint systems. A typical three-bedroom semi with painted render and wooden windows costs one thousand five hundred to three thousand five hundred pounds for a full repaint. Exterior masonry painting costs eight to fourteen pounds per square metre including preparation.

Feature walls and murals. Hand-painted feature walls, stencilling, and murals are highly specialist work that can command two hundred to one thousand pounds or more depending on complexity. Price these based on the time involved rather than a per square metre rate.

The Pricing Formula

Here is a practical formula for pricing any painting and decorating job.

1. Measure the total paintable area (walls, ceiling, woodwork) for each room
2. Apply your per square metre or per room rates based on the specification (emulsion, specialist paint, wallpaper)
3. Assess and price preparation work as a percentage uplift or separate line item
4. Add material costs — paint, filler, sandpaper, masking tape, dust sheets, and any specialist products. Most decorators include materials in their price with a markup of twenty to thirty per cent on trade cost.
5. Add any extras — moving furniture (one hundred to two hundred pounds for a full house), access equipment hire, skip hire for stripped wallpaper, or out-of-hours working
6. Add your margin — fifteen to twenty-five per cent on top of your labour and materials to cover profit and contingency

For a detailed walkthrough of labour cost calculation, see our guide on how to calculate labour costs.

Common Pricing Mistakes

These are the errors that cost decorators money most often.

Underpricing the hallway, stairs and landing. This is consistently the most underpriced area. The access is difficult, the walls are tall, there are many edges and corners, and moving the ladder or tower constantly adds time. A typical hallway, stairs and landing takes two to four days — not one day as many decorators optimistically estimate.

Not charging for preparation. If you quote two hundred pounds for a bedroom and then spend half the day filling cracks and sanding, your effective rate drops dramatically. Always assess the preparation needed during your survey and include it in your price — or better yet, show it as a separate line item.

Forgetting ceilings. Ceilings are slower to paint than walls because of the overhead working position and the need for access equipment. Many decorators include ceilings in their room price without properly accounting for the time. A ceiling typically adds thirty to forty per cent to the time compared to walls alone.

Absorbing the cost of expensive paint. If a customer specifies Farrow & Ball or another premium paint, make sure the additional material cost is reflected in your price. Premium paint can cost three times as much as standard trade emulsion and often requires additional coats.

Not quoting in writing. Verbal quotes lead to misunderstandings. The customer remembers a different number, assumes ceilings were included when they were not, or expects three coats when you quoted for two. Always put your quote in writing with a clear specification of exactly what is included. Our guide to writing professional building quotes covers this in detail.

How to Present Your Quote

The way you present your pricing can be the difference between winning and losing a job. Here are practical tips.

Break it down by room. Customers want to see what each room costs individually, not just a single total. This lets them prioritise, phase the work, or drop a room from the scope if their budget is tight. It also shows transparency and builds trust.

Specify exactly what is included. For each room, state the number of coats, the finish (matt, eggshell, satinwood), whether ceilings are included, what woodwork is included, and what preparation is assumed. The more specific you are, the fewer misunderstandings arise later.

Offer options. Give the customer two or three options at different price points — for example, a basic repaint, a repaint with premium paint, and a repaint with wallpaper feature walls. This anchors the mid-range option as the default and makes it easier for the customer to say yes.

Use a professional proposal. A painting quote presented as a well-formatted PDF with your business name, the customer's details, a clear room-by-room breakdown, and professional terms makes a far stronger impression than a text message or handwritten note. QuoteSmith generates these proposals automatically — input your pricing and get a branded PDF in minutes. Read more about why professional proposals win more work.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I charge to paint a room in 2026?

A standard double bedroom costs two hundred to four hundred pounds for walls and ceiling with two coats of emulsion plus woodwork. A small bedroom costs one hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds. A large living room costs three hundred to six hundred pounds. Hallway, stairs and landing costs four hundred to nine hundred pounds. These prices include labour and materials for rooms in reasonable condition.

How do you calculate painting cost per square metre?

Measure the total paintable area by multiplying wall perimeter by height, deducting windows and doors, and adding the ceiling area. Standard emulsion costs four to eight pounds per square metre for labour and materials (two coats). Woodwork is priced at three to six pounds per linear metre for skirting. Multiply total area by your rate to get the quote price.

How much does a painter and decorator charge per day?

A painter and decorator charges one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty pounds per day in 2026. London rates are two hundred to three hundred pounds per day. Most decorators prefer quoting fixed prices per room or per job rather than a day rate, as this rewards efficiency and gives customers cost certainty.

Should I price painting jobs per room or per square metre?

Both approaches work. Pricing per room is simpler for customers to understand. Pricing per square metre is more precise for unusual room sizes. The best approach is to calculate internally using per square metre rates and present the price to customers as a per room or total job figure.

How do I price preparation work for painting?

Light prep (filling hairline cracks, sugar soaping) adds ten to twenty per cent. Medium prep (scraping loose paint, larger fills, sanding woodwork) adds twenty to forty per cent. Heavy prep (stripping wallpaper, replastering, damp treatment) can double the cost. Always price prep separately so the customer understands the cost.

How much paint do I need per room?

A two point five litre tin of emulsion covers approximately thirty square metres. A typical double bedroom needs four to five litres for two coats. A large living room needs six to eight litres. Always account for surface condition — painting over dark colours or porous surfaces increases coverage. Budget an extra ten to fifteen per cent for wastage and touch-ups.