13/10/2026
"It’s only a little kitchen"…
The true reality...
Every time I get an enquiry for a kitchen, I quite often hear:
“It’s only a little kitchen, it shouldn’t take you more than a day or so.”
And yes… it might be a little kitchen 💪🏻
But, what people don’t always see is the amount of time and preparation that goes into getting it ready before we even start painting ✨️
This photo is from this morning’s job, and it has taken me around an hour just to sheet everything up and prepare the kitchen.
That includes:
✔️ Sheeting all the units and worktops.
✔️ Protecting the floors.
✔️ Masking and taping everything properly.
✔️ Protecting sockets.
✔️ Protecting appliances.
✔️ Masking around all the different areas and angles.
✔️ Making sure everything is properly sealed and protected before sanding begins.
And then there’s the prep, sanding, filling, priming, painting and finishing to actually do.
A kitchen may have less wall space than a standard room, but it can actually be far more time-consuming because you've got cupboards, worktops, appliances, sockets, corners, awkward angles and loads more cutting in.
In fact, there can be more time spent preparing and cutting in a small kitchen than there is painting an average-sized room.
This is also why, when I'm working on a kitchen, the kitchen is generally unusable until the job is completed.
Just imagine if I had to spend anything from 1 to 2 hours every morning sheeting everything up, then another 1 to 2 hours at the end of every day un-sheeting and cleaning everything down, only to do it all again the following morning.
That's not productive time.
So when you're getting estimates for decorating work, don't just look at the size of the room and think “it's only small.”
There's a lot more involved than simply putting paint on the walls 😊
The preparation is a huge part of the job — and it's what makes the finished result look good. 👌🏼
This photo show just how much preparation goes into what might look like “just a little kitchen.” ✨️
