Real interior painting prices from projects Ellwanger Painting completes every season in Bellingham and Whatcom County. Below you'll find cost per paintable square foot, room-by-room ranges, cabinet painting prices, and the factors that move a project toward the high or low end of the range. Also see our exterior painting prices.
Pricing is based on paintable wall and ceiling surface area — not your home's floor square footage. Condition, prep level, and scope (walls only vs walls + ceilings + trim) move projects toward the higher or lower end of the range.
Applies to: bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, full-home repaints.Priced per cabinet door and drawer front. Includes removal, cleaning, deglossing, bonding primer, and 2–3 coats of durable enamel or lacquer — not wall paint.
Most kitchens fall in the $3,500–$8,000 range depending on door count and condition.Use these ranges as a starting point. Final pricing always depends on an onsite inspection, prep level, and the written scope of work in your estimate.
| Scope | Typical size | Typical range | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interior repaint Single bedroom |
~120–180 sq ft room | $600–$1,200 | Walls 2 coats + light repairs + priming + ceiling if same sheen and color. |
| Interior repaint Living room / family room |
~200–350 sq ft room | $800–$1,800 | Open floor plans, height, and repairs increase cost. |
| Interior repaint Bathroom |
Typical full or half bath | $400–$600 | Moisture-resistant paint, light repairs, caulking at trim, two coats on walls. |
| Interior per sq ft Whole-house repaint |
Priced by paintable sq ft | $4–$6 / paintable sq ft | Walls + ceilings + trim + heavy prep + cleaning. |
| Interior trim Baseboards, casing, doors |
Linear footage or per opening | $1–$5 / linear ft | $5 = restoring very old beat-up trim. $1 = 2 coats with a brush. Average door ~$200. |
| Cabinet painting Kitchen cabinets (doors & drawers) |
Priced per door/drawer front | $100–$250 / piece | Remove doors, clean/degrease, sand, fill, bonding primer, 2–3 coats enamel, reinstall. |
| New construction Interior — residential |
By plan / paintable sq ft | $2–$3 / paintable sq ft | One coat primer, two coats builder-grade paint. |
| Commercial repaint Offices, clinics, small retail |
By sq ft + conditions | $2–$4 / footprint sq ft | Usually includes dust containment and working after hours. |
Most national cost guides quote a broad range of $2–$6 per square foot for interior painting. What they rarely explain is what that number includes: are you paying for walls only, walls and ceilings, trim and doors, light touch-ups, or full repairs? On this page, "square foot" means paintable surface area (walls and ceilings), not the floor square footage from your real estate listing.
At around $2 per paintable square foot, you're usually talking about a walls-only repaint in a room that's already in good shape — a single-day scope: mask, small spackle repairs, sand, two coats, clean up.
A 10' × 12' bedroom with 8' ceilings has about 352 paintable sq ft:
At $2/sq ft that room totals $704. At my labor rate of $65/hour, a full day is about $520, leaving roughly $184 for materials — enough for two gallons of quality paint (~$75 each) plus tape, paper, and sundries. That's how the math works on a real job.
Scope and assumptions at $2/sq ft:
When we talk about $4–$6 per paintable sq ft for Bellingham interior repaints, that means more prep, more surfaces (walls + ceilings + some trim), and more durability than a bare-minimum $2/sq ft job.
Paint is a major factor in whether a project lands closer to $2, $4, or $6 per paintable square foot. Here's a good / better / best breakdown for typical interior wall paints.
| Tier | Typical Use | Typical Retail Price / Gallon* | Impact on Project Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good Standard professional |
Rental repaints, light-wear bedrooms, commercial jobs, new construction. | ≈ $30–$45 / gal Ultra Spec 500 by BM, Pro Mar by SW |
Simpler projects in the ~$2–$3 per paintable sq ft range when prep is light. |
| Better Premium |
Most occupied homes, living rooms, hallways, kids' rooms — better washability. | ≈ $50–$75 / gal SuperPaint by SW, Regal Select by BM |
Projects in the ~$3–$4.50 per paintable sq ft range. |
| Best Top-tier |
High-end homes, kitchens, baths, heavy-use trim — maximum durability. | ≈ $75–$98+ / gal Aura by BM, Emerald by SW |
Projects closer to ~$4.50–$6+ per paintable sq ft. |
*Approximate Bellingham retail ranges. Actual pricing varies by brand and current promotions.
These aren't national averages — they're real-world examples from homes we've painted in Bellingham. Use them as ballpark ranges, then request a walkthrough for an exact quote.
Walls and ceilings repainted in a living room, hallway, and one bedroom, including light drywall repairs, caulking gaps at trim, full scuff-sanding, and two coats of premium wall and ceiling paint. Projects like this typically fall in the $3,500–$5,500 range depending on repairs and the paint system selected.
Commercial interior repaint of offices, corridors, and a reception area, including dust control, patching wall damage, repainting doors and frames, and using low-odor coatings for occupied buildings. Typical range: $6,000–$12,000 depending on layout, access, and repairs required.
Interior painting in Bellingham typically costs $2–$6 per paintable square foot of wall and ceiling surface. A single bedroom runs $600–$1,200. A whole-house repaint with walls, ceilings, and trim typically falls in the $4–$6 per paintable sq ft range. Paintable sq ft is not the same as your home's floor area.
A typical single bedroom in Bellingham costs $600–$1,200 to repaint, depending on room size, condition, and whether ceilings and trim are included. A 10×12 bedroom with 8ft ceilings has about 352 paintable sq ft of wall surface.
Cabinet painting in Bellingham typically runs $100–$250 per door or drawer front, depending on condition and finish type. Most kitchens fall in the $3,500–$8,000 range. This includes removal, cleaning, deglossing, priming, and 2–3 coats of enamel.
Paintable square footage is the actual wall and ceiling surface to be painted — not your home's floor area. A 10×12 bedroom with 8ft ceilings has 352 sq ft of paintable wall surface but only 120 sq ft of floor area. Interior painting is priced by paintable sq ft, not floor sq ft.
Yes — most of our interior work happens in occupied homes. We move and cover furniture and floors, work room by room to minimize disruption, and use low-odor paints when that matters to you. We schedule around your household.
