A professional decorator typically takes one to three days to decorate a room of average size, including preparation, two coats on the walls and ceiling, and the woodwork. Halls, stairs and landings take longest, usually around a week. The condition of the walls, the amount of woodwork and any wallpaper to strip make the biggest difference to the timescale.
How Long Does It Take to Decorate a Room?
For most rooms in reasonable condition, a professional decorator needs between one and three working days. That covers preparing the surfaces, two coats on the walls and ceiling, and painting the skirting boards, door, frame and window.
Very little of that time is spent rolling paint onto walls. Filling, sanding, masking and cutting in clean lines take far longer, and they're what separate a professional finish from a rushed one. Woodwork is slower still, because it needs careful brushwork and longer drying between coats.
The timings in this guide are typical for the trade and are in line with what professional decorators report. Every home is different, so your own timescale is confirmed when we've seen the room. Saving that time is also one reason many homeowners find professional decorating worth the investment.
Typical Decorating Timings Room by Room
These are rough guides for a professional decorator, assuming walls and woodwork in fair condition and no wallpaper to strip.
Bedrooms
A small or box bedroom usually takes one to two days. A medium or large bedroom with a full set of woodwork typically takes two to three days, and longer if there are fitted wardrobes to work around or a big colour change.
Living Rooms
Allow two to three days for an average living room, and up to four for a large room with a bay window, picture rails, a chimney breast or plenty of woodwork. Living rooms are also where furniture most often slows things down if it can't be moved out.
Kitchens and Bathrooms
These rooms are small but fiddly. Cutting in around units, tiles, worktops and sanitaryware takes time, so a kitchen usually takes two to three days and a bathroom one to two. Both need paint that copes with steam and humidity, and the room has to stay dry while it sets.
Halls, Stairs and Landings
The hall, stairs and landing is almost always the longest job in a house. A typical one takes around a week, and a large one with high walls, several doors and a spindled banister can take up to two weeks. Safe access equipment has to be set up over the stairwell, and there's usually more woodwork here than anywhere else in the home.
What Makes a Decorating Job Take Longer?
Preparation is the biggest variable in how long it takes to decorate a room. These are the things that most often add time:
Wallpaper removal: stripping old paper can add a day or more per room, and the walls then need to dry and be repaired before painting.
Plaster repairs: cracks, blown patches and damaged corners need filling and time to dry. Larger areas may need re-skimming, which our plastering team can take care of.
New plaster: fresh plaster has to dry out fully, then needs a thinned first coat, known as a mist coat, to seal it. Dulux, for example, advises sealing new or bare surfaces with a diluted first coat before the full coats go on.
Big colour changes: going from dark to light, or the other way round, often needs an extra coat.
Period woodwork: panelled doors, spindles, deep skirting boards and sash windows take much longer than modern flat woodwork.
Old paint in older homes: paint in older properties, particularly those built before the 1970s, may contain lead. British Coatings Federation guidance advises testing suspect paint and never dry sanding it, so it takes extra care and time.
A full room: furniture that stays in the room has to be moved and covered as the work progresses. An emptier room is always quicker.
How Long Does Paint Take to Dry Before You Can Use the Room?
Water-based wall paint is usually dry enough for a second coat within a few hours, but it takes weeks to harden fully. Trade emulsions such as Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt can be recoated after 2 to 4 hours, while solvent-based paints for woodwork normally need around 24 hours between coats.
Drying and curing aren't the same thing. According to B&Q's guide to paint drying times, emulsion takes two to four weeks to cure fully. For the first few weeks, avoid scrubbing the walls and take care when pushing furniture back against them.
Temperature matters too. Cold, damp rooms slow drying, and Dulux recommends not applying water-based paints below 8°C. In autumn and winter, keeping the heating on and the room ventilated helps the paint dry properly.
How Long Does It Take to Decorate a Whole House?
A three-bedroom semi decorated throughout is usually two to three weeks of work for one decorator, and less when a team shares the job. The total depends on the same factors as a single room: condition, woodwork, wallpaper and how much of the house needs doing.
Whole-house projects are normally planned room by room, so you're never without a usable living space. The hall, stairs and landing is often done last, once materials no longer need carrying through it.
When Should You Book to Be Finished Before Christmas?
If you want your decorating finished before Christmas, book a survey in October and aim for the work to be complete by mid-December. That leaves time for the paint to harden before decorations, extra furniture and guests arrive, and some margin if the preparation turns up more than expected.
A simple planning order:
Book a free on-site consultation and get a written quote.
Choose your colours and paint. Premium brands such as Farrow & Ball and Little Greene are quoted separately.
Agree a start date and the order the rooms will be done.
Clear small items, pictures and curtains from the first room.
Allow at least a week after the last coat before hanging heavy decorations or pictures.
What Happens at Your Free On-Site Consultation?
At a free on-site consultation, we look at the condition of each room, talk through colours and finishes, and explain what preparation the job needs. You then receive a detailed written quotation with no hidden charges, so you know what's included before any work starts.
We use paints from trusted brands, including Dulux, Crown, Johnstone's and Farrow & Ball. Dust extraction units are used during preparation, and your floors, surfaces and furniture are covered and protected throughout. You can see examples of finished rooms in our project gallery, and starting prices for individual rooms on our interior painting and decorating in Birmingham page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Stay at Home While a Room Is Being Decorated?
Yes, in most cases you can carry on living at home. Only the room being worked on is out of use, dust is kept down during preparation, and modern water-based paints have little odour. Keeping a window open while the paint dries helps.
Does Wallpaper Take Longer Than Painting?
Usually, yes. Walls need careful preparation before paper goes up, and patterned papers take longer to hang because each length has to be matched. If old wallpaper needs stripping first, allow extra time for that too.
Why Does Woodwork Take Longer Than Walls?
Woodwork needs sanding, filling, an undercoat and a top coat, all applied by brush with close attention to drips and edges. Solvent-based paints also take much longer to dry between coats than wall emulsion.
Do I Need to Empty the Room First?
Not completely. Removing ornaments, pictures, curtains and small furniture makes the job quicker. Larger pieces can usually be moved to the middle of the room and covered.
If you're planning to decorate a room, or several, before Christmas, the first step is a free on-site consultation. Call My Elegant Home on 0121 514 0762 or use our Quote Request Form, and we'll give you a written quote and a clear timescale for your home.
About the Author
James Brown
James Brown is the owner of My Elegant Home, a family-run painting and decorating company in Hall Green, Birmingham. With more than 10 years in the trade, he writes practical guides on decorating costs, paint choices and preparation, drawn from the interior, exterior, plastering and repointing work his team carries out across Birmingham and Solihull.
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