Fresh walls make an immediate impression, but it is the skirting boards that give a room its finished, tailored look. Chipped paint, gaps at the wall junction, or a yellowing gloss from five tenancies ago quietly undermine an otherwise well-decorated flat. Done properly, painted skirting boards are one of the highest-impact details in a London home — and one of the most consistently overlooked.

Why skirting boards need proper prep, not just a coat of paint

Skirting boards move. Temperature changes, building settlement, and the general flex of a London period property mean that boards shift slightly over time, opening gaps at the top (where the skirting meets the plaster) and at internal corners. Painting over these gaps traps them in place and means the new paint cracks within months as movement continues.

Our prep sequence:

Caulk the wall junction: We run a line of flexible decorator's caulk along the top edge where the skirting meets the plaster, then tool it smooth and leave it to skin before painting. This is the step that separates a professional finish from a DIY one — and the one most often skipped.
Fill dents and chips: Fine surface filler into any dings, chips, or old fixing holes. Sanded back flush once dry.
Sand the existing surface: A light key with fine-grit paper gives the new paint something to bite. On heavily built-up surfaces with runs or drips from previous coats, we flatten these back first.
Clean down: Sugar soap removes grease and dust before we apply any paint. On skirtings in kitchens or near doorways this step matters more than people expect.

Satinwood vs gloss: which finish for London homes?

Gloss was the default for decades and still suits period properties well — it reads as traditional, is easy to wipe clean, and looks correct on tall, profiled Victorian skirtings. The downside is that it shows surface imperfections more readily, so prep must be thorough.

Satinwood has become the preferred choice in most contemporary London interiors. It has a soft sheen rather than a high shine, is more forgiving of minor surface variation, and reads as cleaner and more modern. On smooth MDF skirtings in a new-build or a recently refitted flat, satinwood is almost always the right call.

We use Dulux Trade formulations as standard — both their Satinwood and Quick-Dry Gloss are well-regarded in the trade for coverage and durability. For clients who want a specific heritage shade to complement a Farrow and Ball or Little Greene wall colour, we can tint to match or use those manufacturers' own woodwork ranges on request.

The colour question

White and off-white are the safe choice and remain the most common. Brilliant White reads as crisp and clean; Timeless or similar warm whites sit better against aged plaster and period features. A small but growing number of London flat-owners are choosing to paint skirtings in a deep tone — matching the wall or going darker — for a more architectural, considered effect. We are happy to advise based on what you have going on with the walls and flooring.

Cost: what to expect per linear metre

Skirting board painting is priced per linear metre of board, from £7/m. The rate depends on the profile complexity (flat MDF boards are faster than ornate Victorian timber), the height of the skirting, and the condition of the existing paint. Most London bedrooms have 10–15 linear metres of skirting; a larger open-plan reception might run to 20–30 metres.

As a rough guide:

Small bedroom (10–12 m): from around £70–90
Medium room (15–18 m): from around £105–130
Large reception or open-plan (20–30 m): from around £140–220

Our minimum visit is £250, which means it usually makes sense to bundle skirting boards with other trim work in the same visit — doors, door frames, radiators, or window sills. Combining a full set of skirtings with two or three interior doors in one visit is one of the most cost-effective ways to refresh a hallway or living room without repainting the walls.

Bundling with doors and other trim

Our woodwork and trim painting service covers all painted woodwork — skirtings, doors, frames, architraves, window boards, and radiators — in a single visit or sequence of visits. If you are having a room repainted and want the woodwork done at the same time, we plan the sequence so walls and woodwork do not cut across each other mid-job. If you just want the trim refreshed without touching the walls, that is equally straightforward.

For clients in buildings where parking is restricted — which is most of inner London — we work by tube or on foot, carrying everything we need. No parking surcharges, no congestion charge added to the invoice.

What good skirting boards actually do for a room

It is worth saying plainly: freshly painted, properly caulked skirting boards make a room feel complete in a way that is hard to achieve with anything else at the price. They draw the eye down and around the perimeter of the room, reinforcing the junction between walls and floor as a deliberate, finished detail. In period properties with high ceilings and ornate profiles, a clean skirting in the right finish is as important to the overall impression as the wall colour itself.

Get a quote for your skirting boards

Tell us the rooms you want done, roughly how many linear metres of skirting you have (or just the room size and we will estimate), and your postcode. Get an instant quote here — we respond quickly and can usually visit within a few days for smaller trim jobs.

Skirting Board Painting in London: Cost, Prep & Finish (2026)