I'd argue that if you take your time and do it properly then a DIY job is often superior to paying someone to do it for you. Especially something that is easy but time-consuming like painting. I've seen so many people that have paid decorators to do things and you can see imperfections, paint bleeds or lines that aren't straight. It's much more satisfying doing something yourself well I think. Professionals will achieve a certain standard and they will do it quickly but if you have to look at that painted wall for 5/10 years then is spending a bit of time to get it right not worth it?
The only time I really consider not DIYing things is if it's something potentially dangerous, like electrics/gas/water or if the equipment needed just isn't worth buying for a one-off job or if I can't get my Dad to do it.
We paid one of the decorator's that were heavily recommended on a local FB group to come and do 3 bedrooms for us. We'd had radiators taken off wall to replace them, and new sockets in so I'd filled and sanded around those but otherwise rooms not decorated in a long time by previous owner but he talked the talk, sanding down to make walls smooth and look good etc
By far not the cheapest quote but had a good reputation
Anyway didn't sand anything, so walls still looked rough, cutting in lines were poor, one coat of gloss on window, could still see where they'd splashed paint on it before painting, one coat of gloss on skirting and wallpaper bubbled and lifted loads at the seams. He'd basically rushed it to get it over the line and if you just looked at a photo it looked ok but looking up close in any detail it was a terrible job
Had a huge snagging list which to be fair he did sort most of but the walls still looking crap meant it was all a waste of money, so we were gutted.
I learned how to decorate properly via watching creators on TikTok and did a quality job of everything myself - filling, sanding, replacing light switches, fittings and sockets so learned the electrical side, painting, even had to pour some concrete and do damp proof membrane where we had French doors fitted
Anyway it was about 9 million percent better and we saved a fortune vs getting someone else in and hoping they did a better job. I still hated doing it as I get frustrated easily with detail orientated stuff, but I'm really pleased with how it ended up, so agree it can be worth doing yourself especially if you have a lot to do. I've since done stuff like wall panelling as well which definitely took me out of my comfort zone.
Between the decorator and AV bloke I find in hard to trust online review now and prefer to see previous work ideally through active social media or knowing someone that has used them
