Get Your Kitchen or Living Room Painted Before Christmas in Edinburgh
If you're hosting family this year, December has a way of sneaking up on you. The kitchen walls that looked a bit tired in October suddenly look worse with a houseful of guests on the way, and the living room you meant to freshen up in the summer is still waiting. The good news is that getting your kitchen or living room painted before Christmas in Edinburgh is very achievable, as long as you plan it properly and book early.
Why get your home painted before Christmas in Edinburgh?
The festive season is when your home is used hardest and seen most. Kitchens are busy from morning to night, living rooms fill up with visitors, and every scuffed wall, marked ceiling and chipped skirting board is on show. A fresh coat of paint does more for the look of a room than almost anything else, and it's far quicker and less disruptive than a renovation.
Which rooms make the biggest difference?
Kitchen painting: walls, ceilings and woodwork
The kitchen is where most Christmas cooking, chatting and washing up happens, so it's usually the room people notice first. It also takes the most punishment: steam, cooking grease and constant hands on doors and frames all leave their mark, and ceilings above the hob often discolour first.
Repainting a kitchen properly covers the whole room: the walls, the ceiling, door frames and doors, skirting boards, window boards and any boxing-in around pipes. Done well, it makes the room feel clean, bright and new again without touching your units, worktops or appliances. Our interior painting and decorating service covers kitchens as well as every other room in the house.
A living room refresh
For most people, the living room is where guests spend the most time. Repainting the walls, ceiling and woodwork, and filling the cracks that appear over the years, can make the whole room feel new again. In Edinburgh's tenement flats and the period homes of the New Town, Stockbridge and Morningside, that often means careful work around cornicing, ceiling roses, panelled doors and deep skirtings. In newer homes in Leith or Portobello, it may simply be a change of colour and a properly durable finish. For more on cornicing, woodwork and cosy winter colours, see our companion guide to getting your living room painted before Christmas.
Coping with steam and grease in the kitchen
Paint in a kitchen has a harder job than paint in a bedroom, so the preparation and product choice matter more. A few things make the difference:
Degreasing first: walls, ceilings and woodwork are washed down to remove the thin film of grease that builds up in every kitchen. Paint won't bond properly to a greasy surface, however good it is.
Dealing with stains: marks from steam, water or smoke on ceilings are sealed with a Zinsser stain-blocking primer so they don't bleed back through the new paint.
Treating condensation spots: mould around windows or in corners should be cleaned and treated, not simply painted over.
Wipeable finishes for kitchen walls and woodwork
In a busy kitchen, you want walls you can wipe clean after a splash of gravy or a sticky handprint. We use Johnstone's Trade paints, chosen for each surface: a washable, scrubbable matt or a soft-sheen finish for kitchen walls, a moisture-resistant finish for ceilings, and a tough satin or gloss for doors, frames and skirtings. Once fully hardened, they can be wiped down with a damp cloth.
If you're weighing up sheen levels, our guide to paint finishes explains which works best where. And if your kitchen units are looking dated as well, we also offer kitchen cabinet painting as a separate job.
How far ahead should you book?
December is one of the busiest times of year for decorators, because so many people want the same thing: a finished home before the holidays. The sooner you get in touch, the more choice you'll have over dates.
Leave some breathing room at the end too. Aim to have the work finished at least a few days before your first guests arrive, so paint has time to harden and furniture can go back without a rush.
What's achievable in a few days?
Every home is different, and the only honest way to give a timescale is to see the job. That's why we give a written quote after a visit rather than a guess over the phone. As a general guide:
A kitchen: walls, ceiling and woodwork can often be done in a few days, depending on the size of the room, how much cleaning and stain-blocking is needed, and how much cutting in there is around units and tiles.
A single living room or bedroom: often similar, depending on its size, the condition of the surfaces and how much preparation and repair is needed.
Several rooms: these can be planned in a sensible order, so the rooms you need most for Christmas are finished first.
Not sure what's realistic before the holidays? Ask. We'll tell you honestly what can be done in the time you have, and if something is better left until the new year, we'll say so.
Quick-drying and low-odour paints
Nobody wants a house that smells of paint when people are coming round, especially in the room where the food is. Modern water-based paints help a lot here: they're low in odour and quick drying, so rooms can be used again much sooner than with older solvent-based products.
It's worth knowing the difference between touch dry and fully cured. Paint can feel dry within hours, but it keeps hardening for some time after that. Treat new paintwork gently for the first while: no scrubbing, and go easy with sticky tape and Christmas decorations. If anyone in your household is sensitive to smells, or you have pets or a new baby, mention it when you book and we'll talk you through the lowest-odour options.
Preparation and protection
A finish only lasts as long as the preparation under it. Before any paint goes on, we:
protect floors, worktops, appliances and furniture with dust sheets and masking
fill cracks, dents and gaps with Toupret fillers and sand them smooth
clean and degrease kitchen walls, ceilings and woodwork so the primer and paint bond properly
prime bare timber, repairs and shiny surfaces with Zinsser primers
seal stains, such as water marks on ceilings, so they don't bleed through the new paint.
This is the part of the job that makes the difference between a finish that looks good for Christmas and one that still looks good next Christmas.
Keeping disruption low before guests arrive
A few things help everything run smoothly in a busy December:
Agree the order of work up front, so you know which room is out of action and when.
Clear worktops, small items and ornaments before we start; we'll move and protect larger furniture.
Keep the kitchen working: we can plan the work so the kettle, fridge and cooker stay usable where possible, and tidy at the end of each day.
Put the tree up afterwards, not before. It's much easier to decorate a freshly painted room than to paint around a Christmas tree.
We work Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:30, across Edinburgh and the Lothians. We're a family-run business with public liability insurance up to £5 million.
Book your December painting now
If you'd like your kitchen or living room looking its best for the holidays, the best thing you can do is get your quote booked in now, while there's still a choice of dates. Call or text 07514 665726, or request a free quote online. We'll visit, talk through what you'd like done and give you a clear written quote and a realistic timescale.
Christmas painting FAQs
Can you paint my kitchen before Christmas?
Often, yes, if you get in touch early enough. A kitchen's walls, ceiling and woodwork can usually be done in a few days, but December fills up quickly, so the sooner we can visit and agree dates, the better your chances of it being finished well before the holidays.
What's the best paint for kitchen walls?
A washable, wipeable finish that copes with steam and grease. We'll recommend the right Johnstone's Trade product for your walls, ceiling and woodwork when we quote.
Will my house smell of paint when guests arrive?
Not if the work is planned with a few days to spare. Low-odour, water-based paints and good ventilation mean the smell usually fades quickly once the work is finished.
Can I use the kitchen while you're working?
Usually in a limited way. We'll plan the work so you can still make a cup of tea and a meal where possible, and explain exactly what to expect when we quote. Living rooms and bedrooms are usually out of action while they're being painted.
Do you work in tenement flats and period homes?
Yes. We work in tenement flats and older properties across Edinburgh, where cornicing, high ceilings, old plaster and original woodwork need careful preparation.
How do I get a quote?
Call or text 07514 665726, or use our contact page. Quotes are free. You'll find more answers on our FAQ page.
Need a hand? Edinburgh Painting Specialists is a family-run painting and decorating business. Call or text us on 07514 665726 or get a free quote.
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