In 40 seconds
Painting and decorating in the UK is usually priced on a day rate of roughly £200–£420 a day, or per room. Repainting a typical room often costs around £300–£600, painting a house exterior typically runs £2,000–£5,000+, and wallpapering a room is commonly £400–£700 for labour with paper on top. The honest answer is always a range, because it depends on room size, surface condition, how much preparation is needed, the paint you choose and where you live — London and the South East sit at the higher end. Get the scope written down so you can compare quotes like for like.
A lot of decorating prices online come from firms quoting for the work, so the headline numbers can be optimistic and the prep glossed over. The pages below give honest, sourced cost ranges for painting a room, a house exterior and wallpapering, and explain what decorators charge per day — before you take a single quote.