Table of Contents
What it costs
Painting a studio condo in Toronto runs about $600 to $1,100 in 2026 for walls only, two coats of Benjamin Moore on standard prep and a single colour family. Add ceilings and you are at $900 to $1,400. Add trim and doors too, $1,200 to $1,800. Numbers are pre-HST.
Key Takeaways
- Walls only: $600 to $1,100 in 2026.
- Walls + ceilings: $900 to $1,400.
- Walls + ceilings + trim and doors: $1,200 to $1,800.
- Empty units land at the low end, furnished and occupied units toward the top.
- Light prep is included; meaningful repair (cracks, water damage, wallpaper) is itemised separately.
The studio number is the most asked-about and the most variable as a percentage of total. The unit is small enough that an extra coat on one wall, a textured ceiling, or a colour change can swing the quote 20 to 30 percent. Below, where the number actually comes from in a Toronto studio, and what shifts it up or down. For the broader cost picture across the whole unit size range, start with our 2026 Toronto condo painting cost guide.
The studio wall-area math
The first thing to understand about a studio quote is that the listed square footage misleads, sometimes badly. A 400 sq ft "studio" can have anywhere from 1,000 to 1,700 sq ft of paintable wall surface depending on the layout. The actual math:
| Studio layout | Floor sq ft | Wall multiplier | Wall area (paintable) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open studio (one continuous wall plane) | 400 | 2.8-3.2× | 1,120-1,280 sq ft |
| Junior one-bedroom-style (partial wall divider, alcove) | 400 | 3.4-3.8× | 1,360-1,520 sq ft |
| Loft studio (mezzanine, tall ceiling) | 400 | 3.8-4.5× | 1,520-1,800 sq ft |
This is why the studio price band is wider than the 1-bedroom band as a percentage: a 400 sq ft open studio has ~25% less wall to paint than a 400 sq ft junior one-bedroom-style studio. The listed square footage doesn't tell us which one yours is.
Paint quantity for a typical studio
For a 400 sq ft open studio (~1,200 sq ft of wall surface), two coats of Benjamin Moore Regal Select (coverage 400-450 sq ft per US gallon):
- First coat: 1,200 ÷ 425 = 2.8 gallons
- Second coat: same = 2.8 gallons
- Total wall paint: ~6 gallons (23 litres)
A quote that says "1 gallon of paint" for a studio is planning one thin coat or assuming the smallest possible open-studio layout. For a junior or loft layout, that number doubles.
Five things that move the studio quote inside the band
The actual square footage and layout. A 350-sq-ft open studio in CityPlace sits at the bottom of the band. A 550-sq-ft junior-one-bedroom-style studio in a Yorkville mid-rise sits at the top. The wall area is what we measure, not the unit's listed square footage; sliding glass doors, large windows, and built-in storage all subtract wall surface from the painting area.
Whether the unit is furnished and occupied. Empty studios finish in 6 to 8 hours of active work. Furnished and occupied studios add 1 to 2 hours for moving and protecting contents, and the crew has to work around belongings, which slows cutting-in. The difference is usually $100 to $250.
The ceiling. A smooth 8-foot ceiling adds $150 to $400 to a walls-only quote. Add 10 percent if the ceiling is 9 feet, 25 percent if it is 10 feet or higher. Popcorn or textured ceilings are not a paint job, they are a removal job, see our condo ceilings and popcorn removal guide.
The trim package. Baseboards, door casings, and doors paint as a separate scope. Adds $400 to $700 in a studio, mostly because trim is in semi-gloss enamel that needs a separate brush set and slower drying between coats. Worth it when the existing trim is yellowed or scuffed; skippable when the trim is already in good shape.
Colour count. One colour across walls is the cheapest. Two colours adds $100 to $200 for the cutting-in time and the second product. An accent wall in a deep tone (navy, charcoal) adds another $80 to $200 because the saturated colour usually needs three coats over a light base.
A real quote example
A studio job we ran in Liberty Village last quarter, just for reference. 410 sq ft, west-facing, occupied, one wall with a TV mount that needed two anchor patches.
- Walls only, one colour (Benjamin Moore Classic Gray throughout): $850
- Patch + skim two anchor blowouts: $250
- 8-foot smooth ceiling, dead-flat: $280
- Furniture protection and re-arrangement: included
- Trim and doors: client opted out, existing trim was clean
Final invoice $1,380 plus HST. Took one day plus a four-hour return Tuesday morning for ceiling touch-ups after the first coat cured.
Most studios we quote land in a similar shape: walls plus one repair item plus a ceiling decision. The variance is the repair line, which can be $0 (clean walls) or $500+ (multiple cracks, old wallpaper to come off, water damage to address).
Why studios are the toughest size to quote sight-unseen
A 1-bedroom unit can be quoted from square footage with reasonable accuracy because the wall-area-to-floor-area ratio is consistent across most Toronto buildings. Studios vary far more because the same listed square footage can hide very different layouts:
- An open studio with one continuous wall plane has the lowest paintable area per square foot.
- A junior one-bedroom-style studio with a partial wall divider, an alcove, or a defined kitchen has 15 to 30 percent more wall area for the same floor area.
- A loft-style studio with a mezzanine or sleeping platform has 30 to 50 percent more wall area, often with a tall main wall that needs scaffold access.
We can usually quote a 1-bedroom from photos in 5 minutes. Studios get a 15-minute video walkthrough call or a 20-minute in-person visit, because guessing on layout in a small unit gets the number wrong by a meaningful amount.
What is not in the standard studio quote
Three things that come up often enough on studio jobs to mention explicitly:
Wallpaper removal. If your studio has wallpaper, removal is a separate line, typically $300 to $1,200 in a studio depending on age and adhesive. See wallpaper removal cost in a Toronto condo.
Ceiling smoothing. If the ceiling is popcorn or textured and you want it smooth, that is a separate scope, not a paint upgrade. Cost runs $400 to $900 for a typical studio ceiling, plus asbestos testing on pre-1990s buildings.
Repair beyond light prep. Hairline cracks, anchor blowouts, water-stained patches: itemised per item, $75 to $400 each. Our condo surface repair guide covers the full menu.
Studio paint timing and disruption
A studio paint job is the lowest-disruption painting work we do. One day, often finishing by mid-afternoon, with the unit habitable for sleeping that night (paint cured enough to avoid sticking; we vent the unit during cure). For occupied studios, we recommend booking the day before a planned weekend out of the unit if possible, so the paint has 48 hours to off-gas before you spend a full evening in the room.
The freight elevator booking is the biggest external variable, and in most Toronto condos a studio job fits in a single weekday window without needing a second booking. We confirm building rules and elevator access before quoting a start date.
How to get a real number for your studio
Send photos and the room dimensions. For most studios that is enough for an accurate written quote within the day. If your unit has features that change the math, a partial wall divider, popcorn ceiling, loft mezzanine, wallpaper, we may want a 15-minute video walkthrough or short in-person visit to confirm the scope before quoting.
Benjamin Moore on every job, 5-year warranty on the workmanship. To get a number for your studio, send the room dimensions and a few photos. For the cost picture across larger unit sizes, see our 2026 Toronto condo painting cost guide for the broad ranges, or cost to paint a 1-bedroom condo if you are sizing up.
Chad Saygili is co-owner of Condo Painters Pro, a Toronto condo painting specialist. He has spent years painting condos across Toronto and the GTA, works exclusively with Benjamin Moore, and backs every job with a 5-year workmanship warranty.
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