There is nothing that says new like a fresh paint job in a bedroom. But when it comes to doing it yourself or hiring someone else, the debate becomes a close call. The price is usually the deciding factor so how much does it cost to paint a bedroom yourself? And why stop at painting a bedroom. We can look into the kitchen, living room, the bathroom, front door and frankly the entire house. Remember a fresh coat of paint is an easy way to update and freshen up your space.
Let’s go over the difference between doing it yourself or hiring out.
How Much Does it Cost to Paint a Bedroom Yourself?
If you want to know the costs to paint a bedroom yourself then we need to take a look at the average cost. When you do the work yourself you need to be responsible for everything including the paint and tools. However, it’s your time that costs you and can also be a saving factor. Of course, if you are a terrible painter it may be worth it to hire a professional painter in the first place.
Actual Expenses to Paint a Bedroom Yourself
Hiring professional painters is not cheap which is why many think it’s a great idea to just grab a bucket of Sherwin Williams and take on the project themselves. If you are dealing with a relatively simple project you just need a bucket of paint, rollers, frog tape, and maybe some drop cloths to lay around. Ultimately, this will all charge you on average between $100 and $300.
Time is the other cost so if you are eating into your salary that’s a factor too. Most bedroom paint jobs however can be done over a day or two on the weekend.
Using Professionals
Next, let’s talk about what it costs to pay someone to do the job because this is actually the most common route. This is because many families don’t want to go through the trouble of doing the job themselves. It’s time which is money. Generally speaking, an average American homeowner can plan to spend roughly $1800 on just one interior room. Interior painting prices can change dramatically up and down depending on the size of the interior walls and whether they have high ceilings or not.
DIY Pros
- Save thousands of dollars in total overall expenses by hiring it out
- Can do it in chunks and relatively speaking at your own pace
DIY Cons
- Will need to understand basic painting needs. This includes things like surface area, how much paint you need, etc.
- Is a time-consuming repetitive job that can come out poor if not done correctly. Ultimately this can charge you more in the long run.
Factors that Change the Cost to Paint a Bedroom Yourself
There is no fixed rate when it comes to painting a bedroom. This is because nearly all the information is variable. The fixed rates are the materials per square foot and additional fees for different areas of work. Let’s discuss.
Professional Labor Fee
The average price for a professional labor is around $4 per square foot. This includes your labor per hour. It may not sound like a lot but the average bedroom is estimated to be around 200 square feet. On the low end of things at $3 per square foot that is $600. If we move that up to $6 per square foot then it quickly adds up coming in around $1200 for the interior bedroom walls. When comparing it to the cost to paint a bedroom yourself it can be a great deal if it comes out on the lower end.
Tools and Supplies
Tools and supplies are often not provided by the painter you are working with. For more complicated jobs there is going to be a lot more prep work and tools that are involved. For anything that needs to be sanded or filled in, this is additional prep work that you will pay for. Prep is expensive and may be why you care about the price to paint a bedroom yourself.
Cost Of Paint
If you are working with Latex Paint (type of paint) then you can expect it to pay anywhere between $15 and $50 per gallon. Typically speaking two gallons of paint is enough to fully paint a room including the base and the final coats of paint. However, $30 to $100 is the price for just the paint itself. You also may need a primer if you are working on turning a dark room into a light room. Some paints say they have primers in them but they aren’t as good. So you could be spending $200 at the end of it. Also remember, using high-quality paint really does matter which they are typically more expensive than a regular paints.
Rollers and Paint Brushes
Likely a painter will have their own so you may not need to consider this as an expense. If you are going to do it on your own then you will need to go ahead and buy a roller and paintbrush. Paint rollers are usually around $25 for a good quality choice. You want something that can help you reach harder areas like the tops of walls.
You will also need to pay for a wall paint brush that can get to those areas that a roller can’t. They normally sell for between $10 and $20 at hardware stores or home improvement stores like Lowe’s and the Home Depot.
You will also need something called frog tape. This helps keep your paint off the ceilings and the ceiling paint off the walls. Frog tape is relatively cheap and lies between $7 and $20. So most of your common tools will cost $42 and $60. However, you may need more than one roller or brush.
Ceilings, Baseboards, and Woodwork (Crown Molding)
Do not forget that ceilings, baseboards, and other areas of woodwork always cost more. The reason being is that it’s a handpainted job that requires more attention to detail and time. Typically, these are different colors then the rest of the walls. They are commonly white and neutral.
Consider this a new paint expense. Ceilings typically will be an additional $1 to $2 more per square foot or could be more depending how high your ceiling height is. This means no matter what room they are in, usually, they price between $150 and $300 to do. Keep in mind if you are asking a professional painting contractor, they usually have a $250 and $500 minimum. Most people forget to ask about this when wondering about the expenses to paint a bedroom?
Accent Walls
Image Source Pinterest: thistlewoodfarms.com
Accent walls are another common thing that we see in bedrooms, particularly master bedrooms. We also see them in living rooms. This is when one wall is a different color than the rest of the walls to make a standout piece or statement. These prices can really tack on when hiring a professional. For starters, just to paint a basic accent wall you are looking at $80 to $200 on average.
This can get a lot more expensive when you want to add design or texture painting. Designs such as murals can price at much as $25 to $150 per square foot. For perspective, if you are working with a 144 square foot wall, the minimum range for this would be $3,600. Higher-end costs are looking at $21,000 and up for a unique look.
What is Texture Painting?
Image Source Pinteret: astzyfartzycreations.com
Something new that is becoming more popular is something called texture painting. This can give walls a 3D look as they can be gritty or stand out. This requires a whole new set of tools and skill sets for professional painters. That’s why it also charges you more to have this type of work done. Luckily, it’s one of the cheaper prices being between $0.40 and $1 per square foot. Sometimes it can charge no more than $10 to $150 for one wall. For four walls this quickly adds up.
Painting a Bathroom
Breaking down the expenses of painting a bedroom isn’t the only thing that people care about once they are deep into the DIY route. Figuring out the best way to paint the bathroom usually comes next. The professional labor fee and the tools generally remain the same no matter what area of the house you are in. However, the expense difference between doing it yourself and being a professional for a bathroom is worth considering.
Hiring a professional ranges from $1 to $4 per square foot for bathrooms. Sometimes you may see something like $20 to $50 an hour. Average bathrooms usually price between $150 and $250 whereas master baths are like $200 to $450. This does not include the ceiling price.
When you are considering doing it yourself you really just need to consider a few factors. The hours it will take you to paint is 2-4 depending on how big the bathroom is. The paint however can add up quickly. You want to make sure that you get good quality paint that is water-resistant. Some of the best paints can run close to $100 per gallon. However, when you think about the price to paint a bedroom, this doesn’t look so bad.
Bathrooms Often Require the Most Prep Work
Bathrooms get beat up just like kitchens do. Prep work sometimes is the most expensive part of the job. Even if you don’t plan on doing the project alone, if you can prep your bathroom then you can save a lot of money on square footage or hourly expense. Sanding, filling in spots and holes, as well as applying primer coats are all part of the prep work that can tack on money. Getting this stage done can sometimes save you half of the bill. It’s a bonus regarding the expense to paint a bedroom yourself or any room for that matter.
Painting a Kitchen
Painting a kitchen is one of the more difficult rooms to paint yourself and one of the most hired-out jobs in terms of the industry. This is because you have to protect your cabinets and appliances as well as work in tight and awkward spaces. If you are ever going to see an hourly rate for painting this is where you would see it.
Kitchens can take the pros about 4 to 5 hours to complete. This number can easily add time when you are doing it yourself. It looks more like 6 to 7 hours to complete the job. The interesting thing is that if you are looking at doing just the interior walls then kitchens are too expensive. This is because most of their walls are blocked up by cabinets and utilities. You can expect to pay on average between $150 and $300 for a regular kitchen.
Painting an Entire House
Once you are committed to painting a single room it’s worth knowing what other interior paint jobs will charge you. Painting an entire house will depend largely on the size of your home which is why we see the gap in price to be so vast. Americans put aside budgets between $4000 and $15000 for entire paint jobs. You may be gawking at the total expenses but consider the fact that it includes all labor fee, prep work, and the paint supplies needed to do the job.
This can also be broken down a little differently into the square foot. If you want to look at the average price it ranges between $3 and $6 per square foot. The most common number we see is $4 per square foot. This also depends on factors like accent walls, ceiling heights, and more.
How to Find the Right Professional Painter
Painting is not cheap especially when you hire someone to do the home’s interior in its entirety. There are some tips and tricks to look out for when trying to find the right person. Here are the qualities.
- Good reputation – World of mouth is probably one of the easier ways to find a good painter. Reviews are also important to look at. If you work with someone on an hourly rate, you want them to be honest and not rob you of your money and time.
- Free estimates – A painter that is willing to give you free estimates by checking out the height of your walls and other important areas gives you an indication they have experience. You don’t want to be surprised by the total expenses so this is important to consider.
Enlist help for bigger projects that are more complicated. Smaller projects are a great place to start if you want to do it yourself. Otherwise, hire a painting company that can help you get the end result you want for an affordable price.
Coming Up with a Game Plan
The price to paint a bedroom yourself is certainly an appealing one. When we look at the money that professional painters make it can inspire us to not only want to paint our entire house without help but also go into business! Looking at the square footage the final price to paint a bedroom yourself is unimaginably way cheaper than going to hire a professional.
The setback is the price to paint a bedroom yourself is worth the potential bad job. If you are good at painting then the decision becomes a little easier, you can definitely handle an interior painting project. You only are responsible for the paint, tools, and time. Whereas working with a professional you may be looking at covering their labor expense and their tools.
The best approach is to take on things you have confidence about. By searching YouTube you can learn how to do basic projects. When things get a little more complicated you can hire the job out.
