Painting and decorating in London costs £350–£700 to repaint a typical room in 2026, or you can hire a decorator at a day rate of £150–£250. Repainting a whole one-bedroom flat runs £1,500–£3,000; a three-bedroom house £3,500–£7,000. Plastering or skimming tired walls before painting adds cost, as does premium paint such as Farrow & Ball. This guide prices decorating by room and scope so you, or your landlord budget, can plan accurately.
How much does painting and decorating cost in London in 2026?
Decorating is priced two ways in London, and knowing which you are being quoted prevents confusion. A day rate covers the decorator's labour only; a per-room or per-project price covers the whole job including materials.
A London decorator's day rate is £150–£250, with the best and most experienced at the top of that range. A painter and decorator covers roughly one to two rooms a day for straightforward repainting, more for a simple ceiling-and-walls refresh, less where there is filling, sanding, woodwork and cutting-in to do. Per-room repainting, walls, ceiling and woodwork prepared and painted, typically costs £350–£700 depending on the room's size and condition.
The table shows typical per-room costs. The biggest variable is preparation: a sound, previously well-painted room is quick, while a room needing filling, sanding, woodwork stripping or wallpaper removal takes far longer. Always clarify whether a quote includes preparation and how many coats, and remember VAT applies to most work.
| Room | Typical repaint cost (London, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Small bedroom / box room | £350 – £500 |
| Double bedroom | £400 – £650 |
| Living room | £500 – £800 |
| Kitchen / bathroom | £350 – £600 |
| Hall, stairs and landing | £600 – £1,200 |
Decorator day rate vs per-room pricing
Both pricing models are common and legitimate; the right one depends on the job, and a good decorator will suggest which suits yours.
A day rate of £150–£250 suits hard-to-quantify work: a room needing extensive filling and repair, woodwork that may need stripping, or a job where you are not sure of the scope until preparation begins. You carry the risk on time, but you avoid paying a margin on uncertainty, and you can see exactly what you are getting per day.
A per-room or whole-project price suits well-defined work, repainting a flat throughout, decorating a specific list of rooms, where the scope is clear. It gives you a single predictable figure and puts the time risk on the decorator. Most whole-property and end-of-tenancy jobs are priced this way.
Whichever model, clarify what is included: how many coats (two is standard over a similar colour; three or a primer coat over a bold colour or fresh plaster), whether woodwork and ceilings are included, and whether preparation, filling, sanding and caulking, is in the price. The cheapest day rate is not cheap if it buys one thin coat over unprepared walls, and on London's older, often-papered walls, preparation is usually the real work.
Plastering and skimming before painting
Sometimes a wall is too far gone to paint, and trying to paint over it wastes both the paint and the labour. This is where plastering comes in before any decorating.
Walls that are cracked, patched, previously papered and damaged, or simply uneven after decades, benefit from a skim coat: a thin layer of finish plaster over the existing surface to create a flat, sound base. Skimming a room costs £400–£900 depending on size and the state underneath, and it transforms the finished result, paint on fresh plaster looks immeasurably better than paint over filler and old paper.
Fresh plaster needs care, though, and this affects the programme. New plaster must dry fully (typically one to two weeks, longer in winter) before painting, and the first coat is a thinned "mist coat" that the new plaster absorbs, followed by full coats. Painting fresh plaster too soon, or skipping the mist coat, leaves paint that peels, so the sequence matters.
For a tired London property, budgeting for skimming the worst walls before decorating is often the difference between a refresh that looks new and one that merely looks repainted. We assess at survey which walls genuinely need plastering and which only need filling, because skimming every wall is rarely necessary and filling a sound wall is false economy.
Whole-property decorating costs in London
Per-room figures are useful, but most decorating jobs cover a whole flat or house, and pricing the whole property gives a clearer budget.
Repainting a whole one-bedroom flat, all rooms, ceilings, walls and woodwork prepared and painted, typically costs £1,500–£3,000 in London. A two-bedroom flat or small house runs £2,500–£5,000, and a three-bedroom house £3,500–£7,000. These figures assume sound walls needing normal preparation; add skimming, wallpaper removal or extensive woodwork and the figure rises.
The hall, stairs and landing deserve special mention because they cost more than people expect, often as much as a couple of rooms combined. The height of a stairwell needs special access (a stair ladder or scaffold tower), the cutting-in is fiddly, and there is usually a lot of woodwork: spindles, handrails, skirtings and doors. Budget £600–£1,200 for a typical hall, stairs and landing alone.
The condition of the property is the main variable. A recently decorated flat needing a freshen-up sits at the bottom of these ranges; a tired property needing filling, woodwork repair and skimming sits at the top. Getting a decorator to walk the property and price it room by room gives a far more reliable figure than a rate-per-room rule of thumb.
| Property | Typical full repaint (London, 2026) |
|---|---|
| One-bedroom flat | £1,500 – £3,000 |
| Two-bedroom flat / small house | £2,500 – £5,000 |
| Three-bedroom house | £3,500 – £7,000 |
| Four-bedroom+ house | £6,000 – £12,000+ |
Premium paint: how much does Farrow & Ball add?
Paint choice is one of the few decorating decisions that changes the material cost significantly, and premium ranges like Farrow & Ball are noticeably dearer than trade paint.
A standard trade emulsion costs roughly £30–£60 for a 5-litre tin, covering a couple of rooms. Premium brands such as Farrow & Ball cost £55–£80 for 2.5 litres, several times more per litre. Over a whole property, choosing a premium paint throughout can add £300–£1,000 to the material cost, depending on the property size and the number of colours.
The labour, however, is identical, the decorator prepares and paints the same way whatever the brand, so a premium paint adds to materials but not labour. What you get for the premium is depth of colour, a particular finish (Farrow & Ball's flat, chalky estate emulsion is distinctive) and a curated palette; whether that is worth it is a personal call.
One practical point: premium flat finishes are less wipeable and durable than trade matt or eggshell, so they suit low-traffic adult rooms better than hallways, children's rooms and kitchens. A common approach is premium paint in the rooms where the finish shows, and durable trade paint where walls take knocks. We are happy to work with whatever paint you specify and will advise where a finish may not wear well.
End-of-tenancy and landlord redecoration
For landlords, decorating is not about taste but about turnaround, getting a property re-let quickly and looking its best between tenants, and the priorities are different from an owner-occupier refresh.
A between-tenancies redecoration typically focuses on the walls and ceilings that show wear, scuffs, marks, the odd patched hole, and on a neutral, durable scheme that photographs well and appeals to the widest pool of tenants. Magnolia and soft greys remain popular for exactly this reason: they are neutral, easy to touch up and forgiving of future wear. A full flat redecoration between tenancies costs the same £1,500–£3,000 (one-bed) as any repaint, but landlords often opt for a partial refresh, just the worn rooms and the hall, to control cost on a quick turnaround.
Durable trade paint earns its place here. A washable matt or a hard-wearing finish in high-traffic areas means the next few tenancies can be touched up rather than fully repainted, which over several tenancies saves real money. Bold or premium finishes are usually a false economy in a rental, as they wear, mark and date faster than a robust neutral.
Timing matters for landlords too: a decorator can usually turn a one-bed flat around in two to four days, so booking the redecoration into the void period between tenancies avoids lost rent. We work to tight void-period deadlines for landlords precisely because every empty week costs rent, and a fast, durable redecoration is what gets a property back on the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to paint a room in London?
Repainting a typical room in London costs £350–£700 in 2026, walls, ceiling and woodwork prepared and painted, depending on size and condition. A small bedroom is £350–£500, a living room £500–£800, and a hall, stairs and landing £600–£1,200. The biggest variable is preparation, filling, sanding and woodwork.
What is a decorator's day rate in London?
A London painter and decorator charges £150–£250 a day for labour, with the most experienced at the top of that range. A decorator covers roughly one to two rooms a day for straightforward repainting, less where there is filling, woodwork or wallpaper removal involved. Materials are usually charged on top of a day rate.
How much does it cost to repaint a whole flat or house in London?
Repainting a whole one-bedroom flat in London costs £1,500–£3,000, a two-bed flat or small house £2,500–£5,000, and a three-bedroom house £3,500–£7,000. These assume sound walls needing normal preparation; skimming, wallpaper removal or extensive woodwork repair add to the figure.
How much does Farrow & Ball paint add to the cost?
Premium paints such as Farrow & Ball cost £55–£80 for 2.5 litres against £30–£60 for 5 litres of trade emulsion, several times more per litre. Across a whole property this can add £300–£1,000 to materials, though the labour is identical. Premium flat finishes are less durable, so they suit low-traffic rooms over hallways and kitchens.
How much should a landlord budget to redecorate between tenancies?
A full one-bedroom flat redecoration between tenancies costs £1,500–£3,000, though landlords often opt for a partial refresh of just the worn rooms and hallway to control cost. Durable trade paint in a neutral scheme lets future tenancies be touched up rather than fully repainted, and a one-bed can usually be turned around in two to four days.