Minneapolis Interior Painting Prices: A Room-by-Room Breakdown With Headwaters Painting

What does it cost to paint the interior of my home in the Twin Cities?

This guide helps provide a ballpark on what to expect if you were to hire a professional painting company to paint your home in Minneapolis or the surrounding metro. There are many factors that contribute to the cost of painting a room, space, or structure. This is a guide for a rough ballpark on what painting costs in 2025. We would be happy to visit your space and provide a free, no pressure on-site estimate!

For the majority of interior work we typically  use the following Sherwin Williams products:

• Walls: Duration Matte (Washable, durable, covers excellent)
• Trim, Cabinets, and Built-Ins: SW Emerald Urethane (washable, durable, self-levels very well to hide imperfections)
• Ceilings: ProMar Ceiling Paint (bright white 2 coat application)

Interior Walls

Application Method: Brush and roller for repaint projects. On commercial or new construction projects we may apply the paint with a sprayer and backroll.

Ballpark Price: 

• Interior bedroom wall painting for a 12×12 room typically ranges from $400 – $600 including materials.
• Interior walls in a kitchen (15’x15’) or bathroom/ powder room (5’x5’) typically range between $300 and $600. This is dependent on size, style, wall space, and areas to mask and paint around. While the walls are usually smaller than a bedroom, the actual painting can take as much time as a larger room due to cabinets, built-in fixtures and protecting countertops.
• Intermediate Stairwell Landing – 15ft to 20 ft high walls. The majority of stairwell areas with intermediate landings cost between $600 and $800 to paint. To paint stairwells safely there are many ladder moves involved especially while working directly over stairs. This is also dependent on the height of the landing. Some are 20’ tall while others are closer to 10’ – 12’.

The main factors that contribute to cost: 

• Is there a drastic color change?? Most color changes cover well in two coats, however going from, say, a dark blue to  white will require an additional third coat.. Bright white colors and vivid colors typically require a third coat and a few extra hours of labor and material. This is all to ensure proper coverage
• Are there any major drywall repairs? Large damages to drywall and stress crack repairs add time to a project. To repair, we cut the crack, apply fiber tape, apply mud, sand and prime before painting. Small drywall repairs like nail holes or a ding on the wall are included in our standard prep.
• How tall is the room? An 8 foot wall height is quicker and takes less material than painting a 9 or 10+ foot tall room.
• Are there any built-ins or extra areas to cut around? Painting clean lines around built-in cabinets or many windows takes additional time. We also take extra time to mask any built-in’s or areas not being painted.
• Sinking “nail pops” is common on stairwells. They are typically a screw that is pushing through the drywall. We cut a small 1”x1” hole, sink the screw, patch, prime and paint.

Trim, Windows, and Doors; Our Approach

Painting baseboards or trim that is stained wood is a different process than previously painted or pre-primed trim. When changing from stain to paint, we have extra prep steps like filling nailholes, caulking the baseboards, oil priming and sanding between each coat.

Application Method: On most projects we apply our enamel using a paint sprayer. If the surface is older and has been painted multiple times by hand (visible brushstrokes or many layers of paint showing) we may paint them by hand.

Baseboards and Crown Molding

Recoating previously painted baseboards or crown molding typically ranges from $150 to $250 per room.

Converting stained baseboards or crown molding to a painted finish typically costs between $250 and $350 per room.

Door Frames 

Recoating previously painted door frames typically ranges from $100 – $130 per frame.

Converting stained door frames to a painted finish typically ranges from $200 – $230 per frame.

Doors  

Recoating previously painted doors typically ranges from $150 – $250 depending on the style of door.

Converting stained door frames to a painted finish typically ranges from $370 – $425 depending on the style of door.

Working on doors with windows, or intricate wooden patterns take significantly longer than a standard interior door.

Window Trim 

Standard Windows(Includes Casing, Jamb, and Sill)

Recoating previously painted window trim (no other areas) typically ranges from $100 – $175 depending on the style of window.

Converting stained window trim (no other areas) to a painted finish typically ranges from $250 – $350 depending on the style of window.

Double Hung Windows + Casing, Jamb, and Sill

Recoating previously painted windows and double hung windows typically ranges from $220 – $300 per window depending on size and style.

Converting stained windows and double hung windows to a painted finish typically ranges from $400 – $500 per window depending on size and style.

Each window is different and factors like grilles, difficulty to access areas of the windows, and repairing damages on the wood contribute to prices changing.

Ceilings 

Popcorn vs smooth 

Application Method: Our process for painting ceilings varies depending on the texture of the ceiling, and if we are painting any other areas in the space. We paint most ceiling projects using a paint sprayer. This ensures a smooth finish without risking damaging popcorn or knockdown texture. On occasion we may brush and roll a smooth ceiling, especially if the space is smaller.

Stress cracks on a ceiling are more involved than drywall stress cracks due to having to match texture after repairing. After repairing a stress crack and re-texturing the cracks should not come back. There may be a slight difference in texture after a major ceiling repair.

12×12 room – $150 – $350 depending on stress crack repair, water damage, re-texturing and if we are painting the walls. If we are painting the walls there is a little bit less masking we need to do.

Ceiling Damage Repair In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota 

This is a ceiling repair project where the clients removed a wall and applied a DIY solution. Their repair did seal the ceiling, however the homeowners wanted a more uniform finish and lasting repair when they reached out about our ceiling repair process.

We masked off the space, cut the damage out, and scraped out the surrounding areas (3 x 15 feet) that were re-textured and applied drywall to make the ceiling more level. After the ceiling was flush we applied popcorn texture to blend the ceiling. The cost to repair the damage was $1,022 in this case. This project took two days to complete considering dry time for mud and primer.

Popcorn Removal – $6 – 8 per foot 

Popcorn ceiling texture removal to knockdown or smooth typically falls between $6 and $8 per square foot in Minneapolis. Our price tends to land on the $7 per foot range for most projects.

Popcorn removal in a 12×12 room is typically $1,000 – $1,200 including the cost of materials.

The factors that can influence pricing are:

• Whether or not the popcorn ceiling has been painted before.
• Are there any stress cracks to repair before we skimcoat?
• Are any areas difficult to access? Stairwells with intermediate landings are trickier than a standard bedroom.
• Are we removing popcorn texture in the closets of the bedrooms?

Cabinets, Vanities, and Built-In Shelving 

Our process for painting cabinets or built-ins

1. Mask off counter-tops, walls, floor, door ways, and appliances.
2. Remove Doors, Drawers, and Shelves(Re-install after painting).
3. Clean all cabinet surfaces with degreaser.
4. Sand all cabinet surfaces with medium grit sand pads.
5. Vacuum and wipe clean surfaces with a micro-fiber towel.
6. Apply 1-2 coats of Oil-Based Primer.
7. Fill any nail holes, dents, and imperfections after prime coat and spot prime.
8. Sand again with fine-grit sand pads prior to applying the finish coat.
9. Apply two coats of Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Enamel.

Kitchen Cabinet projects typically range between $4,000 and $7,000 to complete. The main factors in pricing are door and drawer count and if we will be repairing damages to the wood during out prep process. Converting from stained to paint takes an extra coat of oil primer and sanding. Re-coating previously painted cabinets in good condition (no major peeling, just normal we and tear) are slightly quicker to complete and require less material.

Bathroom vanities with 4 – 8 doors/drawers typically range between $800 and $1,500 depending on how much masking is involved and the general size and shape of the bathroom.

Laundry room cabinets typically range in cost from $2,000 to $4,000, depending on the size and style of the space. Larger setups with 10 or more doors and multiple drawers require significantly more time to complete compared to smaller built-ins with just two doors.

 

Things to consider when comparing estimates:

• Not all products offer the same durability, coverage, and final finish. Headwaters Painting uses the highest quality products on the market from Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore. We use products that we are experienced in applying on every project to ensure the best end result. Differences in product choice can impact the total cost of a project with paint ranging from $35 – $110 per gallon.
• Do you trust one company more than another? When gathering estimates it is important to consider which company you trust the most. Did they show up on time and communicate before the appointment? Did they provide a clear and accurate scope of work including products, number of coats, and written timelines? Did they explain their crews and who may be working on your project? Did anything feel unclear?
• Did the estimates you are comparing offer the same warranty? Headwaters Painting offers a 3-year warranty on all work we complete.
• Did they include a complimentary color consultation? Headwaters Painting includes a 90-minute consultation with Mary Fidler, who owns and operates Design Intervention.
• What type of business is providing the estimate? Is it a franchise, single operator, or team of painters? How long have they been serving the Twin Cities? Headwaters Painting is a small family and woman owned business based in Northeast Minneapolis. We have been in business since 2015!
• Are they Professionalized? Headwaters Painting is actively involved in the Paint Contractors Association (PCA). The PCA Is a 140-year old non-profit that centers around professionalizing the painting industry. Headwaters Painting has been a Minnesota’s best award winner multiple years in a row. Our team has developed strong relationships with vendors, coating sales representatives, and industry peers to create efficient and lasting solutions for our clients.
• Did the estimate provide proof of insurance and workers compensation? Headwaters Painting is fully insured, has a current workers comp policy, and is lead certified. All of our crews are lead certified as well.
• We are open to price matching other estimates you have gathered. To reduce our estimate we would need to see a copy of the other estimate you gathered so we can compare apples to apples. We will let you know within 24 hours if we are able to reduce our price.

We hope this blog post provided a ballpark for what to expect when hiring a professional painting company in the Twin Cities. Every painting project we visit is unique and we would be happy to visit your space and provide an accurate and transparent no-pressure estimate.