The honest answer to “how much does it cost to paint a house” is a range, and the range is wide. On Long Island in 2026, a full exterior repaint runs anywhere from $3,500 for a small Cape to $18,000 for a large Colonial with heavy prep. Interior whole-house jobs run $4,500 to $14,000. Kitchen cabinet refinishing runs $1,800 to $4,500. The difference between the low end and the high end is almost entirely about prep condition, size, and paint grade — not about contractor greed.
This guide breaks down what you’re actually paying for, what a legitimate itemized estimate looks like, and the specific line items that signal a painter who knows Nassau and Suffolk housing stock versus one who doesn’t.
Exterior painting cost on Long Island
Exterior pricing is driven by four variables: square footage of painted surface, siding type, prep condition, and paint system.
- Small home (Cape, 1,000–1,400 sq ft): $3,500–$6,000
- Medium home (ranch/split, 1,500–2,200 sq ft): $5,500–$9,500
- Large home (Colonial, 2,500–3,500 sq ft): $8,500–$14,000
- Very large home (4,000+ sq ft or intricate trim): $12,000–$22,000
Cedar shingle on North Shore homes runs 15–25% higher than vinyl or Hardie because of the oil-based primer step and extra coat on the windward side. Homes in Great Neck, Huntington, and other coastal towns get an additional windward-face second coat on south and east walls — we include it on every Long Island coastal job.
What’s included in a proper exterior quote
- Pressure washing all surfaces (24–48 hr dry time before paint)
- Scraping every area of failed paint
- Hand-sanding feather edges
- Caulking every seam, joint, and trim line
- Spot-priming bare wood with oil-based primer
- Two coats of premium acrylic topcoat
- Hand-brushed trim on all window sash, fascia, eaves
- Replacing rotted boards before paint (itemized separately)
Interior painting cost on Long Island
Interior pricing depends on room count, ceiling heights, wall condition, and sheen choices.
- Single room (bedroom, 12’×12’): $450–$900
- Kitchen or living room (plus ceiling): $750–$1,600
- Whole floor (4 rooms + hallway): $3,000–$5,500
- Whole house (8–12 rooms): $4,500–$12,000
- High-end custom (Level 5 patching, trim + cabinet): $12,000–$28,000
Pre-1978 homes in Levittown, parts of Hicksville, and much of older Nassau require EPA RRP lead-safe protocols — containment, HEPA vacuums, certified waste handling. That adds roughly 8–12% to the interior cost but keeps your family safe and keeps the contractor out of EPA trouble.
What drives the high end of the range
- Plaster walls (most Garden City, Great Neck pre-wars) need skim-coat prep
- Oil-to-water transition on old trim requires adhesion primer
- 10-foot+ ceilings take significantly more time on cut-ins
- Crown molding and wainscot are hand-brushed, not sprayed
- Dark-to-light color changes require 3 coats, not 2
Cabinet refinishing cost
Kitchen cabinet refinishing on Long Island runs $1,800 to $4,500 for a typical 25–40 door kitchen. Compare that to $18,000–$45,000 for cabinet replacement and the math is obvious when the boxes are structurally sound.
- Small kitchen (15–25 doors): $1,800–$2,800
- Medium kitchen (25–40 doors): $2,800–$4,000
- Large kitchen (40+ doors, island, trim): $4,000–$5,500
- Two-tone (island accent color): add $400–$600
A proper refinish removes doors and drawer fronts, sprays them off-site in a dust-controlled booth with Benjamin Moore Advance or Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane, and brush-cuts the boxes on-site. Takes about a week for a typical kitchen.
Deck staining cost
- Small deck (under 300 sq ft): $600–$1,200
- Medium deck (300–500 sq ft): $1,200–$2,200
- Large deck with rails and stairs: $2,200–$3,800
Cedar and IPE decks need stripping before stain; pressure-treated decks usually just need brightening. Penofin or Sikkens penetrating stain on cedar, solid stain on older pressure-treated.
What a legitimate estimate looks like
Every quote should itemize:
- Prep scope (wash, scrape, sand, caulk, prime)
- Number of coats
- Specific paint product and finish/sheen
- Surfaces included (siding, trim, shutters, doors) and any exclusions
- Rotted wood/drywall repair as a separate line
- EPA RRP protocol line (if pre-1978)
- Warranty terms (workmanship + manufacturer)
Why prices vary so much between painters
The wide range in Long Island painting quotes comes from three places: what prep is actually performed, what paint product is used, and whether the contractor is licensed and insured. A $4,500 exterior quote and a $9,500 exterior quote on the same house are almost never both doing the same work. One of them is cutting prep, using Behr Ultra from Home Depot, and not carrying workers comp. The other isn’t.
Pay for prep. Pay for licensed labor. Pay for a paint product with a real manufacturer warranty. The paint job that costs twice as much lasts three times as long.
When to get a Long Island painting estimate
For exterior work, schedule estimates in February–March for a spring paint window (April–June), or June–July for a fall window (September–October). Good painters book out 6–10 weeks in season. Interior work is easier to schedule — most projects can start within 2 weeks of an accepted estimate.