£1,000–£1,500 to paint a medium lounge?! Is this normal?

Astonishing, we are moving and we have had quotes in the West Midlands area for 150ish a day, going with a friends family member and he said he can do the whole house is 7-10 days so it’ll be 1500 max. We will be supplying all the paint but it works out £25ph for 6hrs work,

I am not surprised but I agree it is excessive. Have a go yourself. If you have no experience, maybe do a smaller less important room first to get a bit of practice. I paid someone to do my hall stairs and landing about 6 years ago (it's ready again), and that was over a grand. I found a young female decorator who did my kitchen and she only charged about £350 but sadly she has stopped doing it. I am sure there will be other cheaper ones out there whose finish may not be as good as the first guy but is likely better than mine (which is fine with me), I just need to find one.

Well maybe you just need to accept that everyone is different. I have a demanding job and don't want to spend my weekends doing decorating or take time off work to do it. My time is valuable to me.

I had a quote to paint my office last year, 3x4m room. Room was newly built so bare plaster, every surface the same colour, I was supplying the paint. Quote was £800, so £1000 doesn’t seem far off - I’m in South Wales. I did it myself in the end

I really wish they wouldn’t do that. It’s a waste of everyone’s time. Just tell me no, you can’t do it or you’re too busy, anything really but let me move on to the next quote without being disingenuous.

We had a similar room done last year for £650 up north.

a DAY to cover the flooring and large furniture and prep?

What are they covering it with, individual cotton wool balls?
They'll have large decorating sheets, chuck them over furniture/floor, job done.

Report back in a years time.

Honestly OP do it yourself. After more than one very underwhelming paint job we now do our own and guess what? We do a better job. It is not difficult and KNOWING it will be a better result than the paid 'professionals' is simply marvellous!

You might change your mind in older age though when activities like this are likely to cause sore bits for weeks!

I covered flooring & removed furniture in a 4 x5m room in 1hr. These are not big jobs.

Recently paid around £1100 (ex vat) for bathroom wallpaper & small hallway - full prep including ceiling crack being sorted, walls lining paper, 2 coats of emulsion, all doors/facings painted and ceiling painted.

Your quote seems crazy if its only basic painting but presumably people are willing to pay that.

Yes I’m not surprised. It depends n many factors. Is there a lot of prep work? Hairline cracks, dents that need filling and sanding? Are the coving and baseboards being painted too? One person or two? If you’ve had a few quotes then that’s the going rate.

You can do it yourself for sure.

I have painted a 3 story house top to bottom. Never again. Bored me rigid. We've paid £2000 for hall stairs landing and lounge. Worth every penny.
Coming next Feb to do 3 beds and kitchens.

I am in Hampshire. We paid over 2k for strip, paper and paint, and all woodwork glossed.

Our room is about 8m x 4m with a window one end, a french door to the garden the other, and the door to the rest of the house on a third wall, so really two whole walls, the ceiling, and a chimney breast.

We accepted due to general lack of trades availability, and needing it done. The quality is awful. The walls weren't rubbed down, holes weren't filled properly, it is just shit. If my wife hadn't been ill, I would have made more of a fuss about it, but overall it was better than bare walls for the last few months of her life.

As soon as I have the wherewithall I will be doing it again myself.

If yours is just a coat of paint over existing paper, your quote sounds high, but everything is stupid money at the moment.

I cannot get my head around people using professional decorators for their own home. It's such a simple job. Unless you have especially high ceilings and need specialist equipment to do it, just pop to b&q and get some trays and rollers and do it.
I paint every painty surface once a year and rewallpaper only when it looks tired so maybe once every 4 years?

I’ve had most of my house repainted this year. For the most part each room took 1.5 days, I day to prep the walls and woodwork and do first coat, half a day for second coat and clean up. Cost me £250 for each room and I paid for the paint.

Painting is the easy bit, prep takes time and the better the prep = the better the finish

As for moving furniture, that’s a two man job if you want it done properly.

I've been doing my own decor for almost 50 years OP, still find it enjoyable even if it now takes me possibly 6 days to paint out a room rather than 2!
It is a very handy skill to have and the money saved can be spent on a lovely rug or picture. Buy some good rollers & brushes (ask at the DIY shop) get the radio on and I'd recommend getting some easy meals prepped in the freezer too.
When 'paste the wall' wallpaper came in it changed my life!