What House Painting Costs in Orange County
Real ranges for interior, exterior and cabinet work in 2026, and an honest account of what moves the number.
The Short Answer
For a typical Orange County home in 2026:
Interior, whole house (2,000 to 3,500 sq ft): $6,000 to $14,000
Exterior, single story: $5,000 to $8,000
Exterior, two story: $7,000 to $12,000
Kitchen cabinet refinishing: $5,500 to $15,000
Trim, fascia and garage doors only: $2,000 to $4,000
Our minimum job: $650
Those are ranges, not quotes, and the spread inside each one is wide for a reason. The size of the house sets the floor. The condition of the surfaces sets everything above it.
Interior Painting Costs
Priced by the room, in Orange County you are generally looking at:
Bedroom: $800 to $1,500
Living room: $1,200 to $2,500
Kitchen walls: $1,000 to $2,000
Bathroom: $600 to $1,200
Our minimum job is $650. That covers one of our painters on site for a full eight hour day, plus materials. It is the floor whether the job is a single small bathroom or a few hours of touch-up work. Below that it costs more to mobilise a crew than the work is worth, and we would rather say so up front than pad a quote to get there.
What pushes a room to the top of its range: high or vaulted ceilings, a dark color going light, which means an extra coat, heavy patching, wallpaper removal, or a lot of built-in furniture to work around. Interior work is quoted room by room, so you can also do part of the house now and the rest later.
Exterior and Cabinet Costs
Exteriors. A single story home runs $5,000 to $8,000 and a two story $7,000 to $12,000 for a full exterior repaint. Coastal homes sit higher in the range than inland ones, because salt removal and stucco crack repair add real prep hours. Trim, fascia and garage doors on their own run $2,000 to $4,000.
Cabinets. A small kitchen starts at $5,500. A larger kitchen with more doors, drawers and built-ins runs $12,000 to $15,000. Cabinet work is priced by door and drawer count rather than by kitchen square footage, which is why two kitchens the same size can quote very differently. A sprayed lacquer finish costs more than a brushed enamel, and it looks it.
Is it cheaper to paint cabinets or replace them? Painting, by a wide margin. New cabinetry for a comparable Orange County kitchen typically runs two to three times what refinishing the existing boxes costs, and if the boxes are solid there is rarely a reason to replace them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Moves the Price, and Why the Cheap Bid Is Cheap
The things that actually change the number, in rough order of impact:
Surface condition. Cracked stucco, dry rot, failing caulk, chalked coatings and peeling paint all have to be dealt with before anything goes on. This is the line item cheap bids leave out.
Color change. Going dark to light, or covering a strong color, means an extra coat across the whole job.
Height and access. Two and three story elevations need proper staging rather than extension ladders.
Lead paint. Homes built before 1978 require certified containment and disposal, which is a legal requirement, not an upsell.
HOA color approval. Not a cost in itself, but it moves the schedule, and a rushed schedule costs money.
We work throughout Orange County, and prices do shift between coastal and inland cities for the reasons above.
Contact Us
A range on a web page is not a quote. The only way to know what your house costs is for someone to walk it with you.
Call (714) 330-4040 and we will come out, measure, and put the scope and the price in writing at no charge.
CSLB License #C33-1057185 — Licensed, Bonded & Insured