Paint Living Room Costs

The biggest factor in determining the cost to paint a living room is the size of the space that needs to be painted. The average living room measures about 12’x15’, or 180 square feet. Some larger homes may have living rooms that measure up to 300 square feet or more, while smaller homes may have smaller rooms. You can calculate your project costs by looking at the unit cost of paint, labor, and other materials and multiplying that by the square footage of your space.

Living room painting: 180 sq.ft., including prep, cleanup, materials, and labor costs for professional painters.

Other considerations and costs

• If your walls need to be cleaned prior to painting, that will incur an additional charge. Usually, a primer will take care of any blemishes and ensure that the new paint adheres properly, but in cases of serious dirt buildup, cleaning may be required.
• Painting estimates generally include all of the prep work, priming and painting, and cleanup and disposal of materials. Make sure that you are not being charged separately for disposal, or that if you are, the cost is reasonable.
• Most painters will move small items, but you will need to move larger furniture for them. If you are unable to do the work or hire someone to do it, the painters may simply require an additional charge to do it for you.
• If you are painting trim along with the walls, this will add to the cost of the project. Trim work requires more detail and will incur an additional labor cost, as will high ceilings where walls are over eight feet high.
• If you paint more rooms at once, you can often get a discount on additional rooms. Ask your painters how their pricing and discounts work, and see what makes the most sense. It’s a good way to save money and still have the work professionally done.

DIY considerations

• If you decide to paint your own living room, make sure that you add in the cost of rollers, brushes, and other supplies. Typically, for a single room, you’ll spend less than $100 on all the supplies that you need.
• Choose higher-quality roller covers and brushes to get better results. They only cost a little more, but they create a much better look.
• Remember that if you do your own painting, you might miss out on a great warranty.

References

• Craftsman Estimator Costbook, complete series year 2019.
• Latest prices found on Home Depot and other vendor Web sites.
• Literature review of DIY Web sites.