A fresh coat of paint is a great way to improve a home’s value and help liven up the living space. But how much does interior house painting cost? Find out in this guide from Same Day Pros.
How Much Does Interior House Painting Cost?
Interior painting is a tricky service to calculate the cost of because it varies by the company as well as location. Though many homes will be able to balance out the cost with discounts of painting multiple rooms, as the base rate one room includes all the set up that would be required for the rest of the house. (1)
Still, there are ways you can roughly estimate your cost to paint the inside of your home without breaking the bank.
You will probably get a better rate for interior painting if you have more than one room painted. Sending out a crew for one room isn’t cost-effective, so you may be shelling out more money for a small job.
– Forbes
The average interior house painting cost in the United Sates ranges from $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot. This means each wall will need to be calculated, but interior painting companies often have the ability to estimate the cost by using the average wall space based on the square-footage of your entire home, especially if you are having multiple rooms painted at once.
Paint Costs by Housing Type
Depending on the housing type, it’s likely that interior painting companies will have a different base rate as they are catering their services to different clientele, and the equipment and workload is different for each type of space. For example, the average condo is smaller than a single-family home, but an apartment might be even smaller than that.
Furthermore, homeowners are more likely to be looking for a deal, while a landlord or leasing company will be looking for someone who can get the job done nicely and cleanly under a certain budget, with more rooms on average to paint than the homeowner. These are all considerations that an interior painting company must consider when pricing their work for different clientele.
Apartment Painting
Painting apartments provides a lot of revenue for interior painting companies, as landlords typically request a fresh coat of paint between tenants. This makes the space look fresh and welcoming to new potential tenants who might be viewing the space, and multiple apartments might be painted at once to take advantage of the painter’s availability. Interior painting companies might offer a package deal with discounted rates to landlords who are looking to have multiple apartments painted within the same building or neighborhood.
Condominium Painting
Condominium painting work may also be offered in a package deal if the leasing office is looking to have multiple condominiums painted at once. This fresh coat of paint may be between tenants or could be a part of the maintenance agreement with buyers.
Because condominiums are typically smaller than the average single-family home, but larger than the average one-bedroom apartment, they are given a good medium-range paint and multi-unit painting is encouraged. This includes painting for bathroom, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and hallways as required by the floorplan of each condominium.
Painting Common Areas
Common areas in workplaces, leasing offices, or community housing areas isn’t as common of a job for interior painters as the other two options might be, but it is one of the primary ways they make their money.
These common areas are typically large and see a significant amount of daily traffic, as well as potential exposure to cooking smoke or humidity from sinks or dishwashers requires a higher quality paint than average.
Cost to Paint By Room
Most often, it is more expensive to paint a single room on a per-room price than it is to paint multiple rooms. This is because the painting company must drive to the jobsite, set up their equipment, and work on the room. If they can work for longer in a single space, they are more profitable than working on a place that requires just a single room painted.
The actual room size will vary away from the average depending on the type of home and the full square footage and layout of the space, however, the list below details the average interior house painting cost by room type.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically medium-sized rooms that see minimal activity, because they are used primarily for sleeping or getting ready for work or school in the morning. Because of the low level of activity compared to the living room, bathroom, or kitchen, these rooms might not need as high-quality of a paint, but there is a lot more wall space per square foot that the painters must cover.
Including baseboard, trim, and ceiling, re-painting a bedroom can cost anywhere from $400 to $1,000. This includes paint that is moderately resistant to scuffing from furniture, but if there is a higher level of activity or if there are pets in the home, the paint quality will need to be able to accommodate the additional traffic.
Living Room
The living room sees the most activity in the average home, with pets, children, or friends adding more usage to the area than just the homeowner. Because of the high activity level, living rooms are the most likely rooms to see discoloration or peeling over time, necessitating a repaint.
These are also the most common rooms to repaint as a way of refreshing the style in the home during renovations. Painting is the least expensive way to make a living room come alive again, especially after tastes change or the space is re-decorated. These rooms cost anywhere from $800 and $1,800 to repaint depending on the square footage of the wall space.
Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the rooms that you will spend the most time in as a family, making it one of the most important places to get a fresh coat of paint applied to. The kitchen walls see a range of elements that break down the paint faster, from steam to cooking oils and smoke.
Furthermore, a lot of kitchens are designed with natural light in mind, which means UV rays play an additional factor in discoloring the walls over time. Before any other room in the house save the living room, the kitchen is the most likely to need a repaint first.
Kitchens, depending on the wall space available, can cost anywhere from $500 to $1,500 to paint, including the space above the cabinets and trim. This is because the paint quality will need to be durable enough to withstand these elements. Even if it is the same color and brand as the rest of the home, it may be a higher quality paint from that line.
Bathroom
The bathroom is one of the trickiest places in the home to paint, especially when it comes to interior painting. Not only are there a lot of appliances to paint around, such as the toilet and bathtub and any tile, but these rooms see a lot of humidity on a regular basis. Even if you take a shower twice a week, that humidity can take a toll on the paint.
The type of paint used in the bathroom might differ from the type of paint used elsewhere, even if it is the same color. Depending on the available wall space, bathrooms can cost anywhere from $50 to $500 to paint including wall prep, baseboards, and trim.
Dining Room
The dining room is a relatively straightforward painting project. Often, there are two or three walls to paint, one or more of which might include a window that is taped off to prevent paint from accidentally transferring to the panes.
On average, depending on the number of walls and ceiling height, a single dining room in the average residential home will cost anywhere from $350 to $1,000. The higher end of the range includes ceilings, baseboards, trim, and sufficient wall prep to ensure that the paint lasts as long as possible.
Commercial dining rooms tend to be much larger, and will range even higher depending on the square footage of the wall space.
Stairwells
Stairwells are tricky to paint because they require the painters to work on a ladder to reach tall wall space that is directly above a staircase. To make matters less convenient for the painters, these stairwells are often small in apartments and condos, with plenty of turns to navigate that might not be able to fit a full-size ladder.
Interior painters break out special equipment to figure out this puzzle on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes, it’s a different sized ladder, and other time it might be an extra-long handle attachment for their paint roller, allowing them to reach across a staircase and bridge the gap between painter and wall.
Commercial stairwells are more spacious, and require less maneuvering, but still require attention to detail to ensure that the painters don’t miss any part of the painted space. Because of the special attention stairwells take, they typically start from the $500 range with minimal prep.
How Much Should It Cost to Paint the Interior of a 2,000 square foot house?
Of course, repainting the interior of the house depends on a range of factors like the painting company’s base rate, the number of walls and half walls in the space, and how high the ceilings are. Each of these factors can add or subtract from the total cost.
Using the average 2,000-square foot home as an example, however, we can estimate that painting the interior will cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. The higher number is assuming that the ceilings are a little higher than average, but baseboards and trim are also painted, giving the home a complete makeover.
The lower end of that spectrum assumes average-height ceilings without the baseboards and trim painted.
In the realm of home investments, this is an inexpensive price to pay for a home that feels like brand new.
How to Save Money on Interior Painting
It can be tempting to go the DIY route to save money on interior painting, but it just adds a lot of stress, and you’ll spend more in the long run, fixing mistakes and purchasing painting equipment you aren’t likely to use again.
If you’re looking to paint the interior of your home on a budget, it is best to consult with your local painting company to see what kind of deals they might be able to provide, or if they can do the painting by-the-room over a longer period. These are common ways to save money up-front and dole it out over time instead.
Otherwise, you can also ask for a lower grade of paint, but lower-quality paints are less likely to last as long and won’t be able to withstand high-traffic areas, cooking smoke, and bathroom humidity as easily.
Buying the Right Paint for the Space
Color is a wonderful thing that you can apply to transform a space into boring and drab into fabulous. (2) It’s important to purchase the right paint for the space, however, as some paints won’t last as long as others in high traffic areas, or areas that see a lot of moisture or heat and smoke.
Paint can be the quickest and most cost-effective way to transform a room.
– HuffPost
While it might not seem like a lot of steam or condensation, these areas of the home do exist and can put a dent in the longevity of your paint job unless you choose the right paint. Cooking areas and bathrooms are the most susceptible to peeling paint or discoloring over time because of exposure to these elements.
By buying the right type of paint, you can minimize this damage and choose a more resistant brand with better technology. Professional painters can advise you on the right type of paint for your home during the initial walkthrough.
Is It Cheaper to Paint Yourself or Hire a Painter?
It might seem cheaper to take care of the painting on a DIY basis, but this doesn’t factor in a lot of the expertise, time, and additional prep and priming that goes into a professional interior painting job. These factors add up quickly in a DIY job and shouldn’t be ignored if you are considering the longevity of the paint.
In the end, it is cheaper in time, money, and stress top hire a professional painter, and the results often come out much better than they would with DIY work. It’s a good excuse to treat yourself to some professional work instead of getting your hands dirty, even if you’re renovating the home on a budget. Interior painting is one of the qualities that influence house sales and overall comfortability within the home, making it a living space you can be proud of.
Cost for a Professional to Paint It
The cost of a professional painter is more expensive up front than buying a gallon of paint at the hardware store, but the professional has a wide range of equipment to help them get the job done cleanly and quickly. Not to mention that they are also experienced in which type of paint is right for your walls, and what rooms might need additional attention based on their usage.
Depending on the region and the company, the professional painter might range in their costs. This isn’t a bad thing; it gives you an excuse to shop around and compare different quotes, policies, and companies. The painter you choose should be professional and reliable, but also fit within your budget without being the cheapest available to ensure that you’re getting good work done on the home, even if its just for a room or two.
Cost for You to Paint It
The cost for you to paint any room by yourself is going to exceed the cost of a professional, at least in the long run. It might seem cheaper to go the DIY route and paint the interior of your home, but it doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to.
When choosing to do it yourself, you might skip the wall prep, primer, or additional coats that a professional adds to the walls. This leaves you with a dimmer, less vibrant coat of paint that won’t last nearly as long. Before you know it, the paint will be chipping, or showing the underlayer, leaving you with an unprofessional appearance to the walls that doesn’t quite make the cut.
DIY paint jobs can lower the overall value of the home or require you to spend additional money on professional painting by buyer request once the home is on the market as well, an important thing to keep in mind if you’re considering selling within the next few years. All this, plus any additional coats or shortcuts that leave you cleaning up the mess afterwards all add to the initial cost which might seem lower at first glance.
Find the Perfect Interior House Painter Today
Whether you are looking for an interior house painter to design a new look for your home, or just need a fresh coat of paint over the old, it pays to go with a professional service. While the upfront cost may seem more expensive, the longevity of the color and clean, professional lines go a long way to improving the home’s value, saving you a lot of money in the long run.
When comparing DIY work with a professional’s, there’s no competition. Now that you’ve learned the basics of interior house painting cost, it’s time to hire your professional at a budget-friendly rate that you can afford.
At Same Day Pros, we can help with that. We provide a fast and up-to-date directory of professionals, helping you find the perfect interior painting company in no time. Simply select the service you are looking for and the local region, and you’ll be matched with top companies nearby.
References:
- Forbes, 6 Tips for Hiring a Painting Contractor, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/home-improvement/tips-hiring-painting-contractor/
- HuffPost, How to Choose the Paint Color You Really Want, https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/choosing-paint-colours_n_10461984
