Wallpaper calculator: how many rolls of wallpaper do I need?
8 rolls
29 strips of 8 ft 0 in · 4 strips per roll · for 48 ft of wall 8 ft high
Run your own numbers
Enter it the way you measured it: 4.5, 4 1/2,
3/8 or 10' 6".
8 rolls
29 strips of 8 ft 0 in · 4 strips per roll
A 12 by 12 ft room with 8 ft walls takes 8 rolls of wallpaper 20.5 inches wide and 33 ft long: its 48 ft of wall is 29 strips of 8 ft, and each roll gives 4 whole strips.
A worked example
Walls 31 1/2 ft wide in all and 9 ft 4 in high, from rolls 27 in wide and 27 ft long with an 18 in pattern repeat, needs 7 rolls. 31.5 ft is 378 in, which is 14 strips of 27 in. Each strip is 112 in high rounded up to whole repeats of 18 in, so 126 in, and a 324 in roll gives 2 of them. 14 strips at 2 a roll is 7 rolls.
How does pattern repeat change how much wallpaper I need?
Each strip has to start at the same point of the design so the pattern lines up across the seam, which means a strip is the wall height rounded up to a whole number of repeats. With 8 ft walls and no repeat a 33 ft roll gives 4 strips; with a 21 inch repeat each strip becomes 105 inches and the same roll gives 3, so the 12 by 12 ft room goes from 8 rolls to 10. Enter the repeat from the label and the calculator does the rounding.
How do I measure a room for wallpaper?
Measure the width of every wall you will paper and add them: a 12 by 14 ft room papered all around is 52 ft. Measure the height from the top of the baseboard to the ceiling or crown molding at its tallest point. Enter the total width and the height above. To paper one accent wall, enter only that wall.
What else it is called
Wallpaper is also called wallcovering. In the US it is often priced per single roll but sold in double rolls, one long roll that is two singles; the length on the label is the one to enter. Peel and stick wallpaper and grasscloth are counted the same way, by strips of their own width and length.
Common sizes
| Wall width | 8 ft high | 8 ft high, 24 in repeat | 9 ft high | 9 ft high, 24 in repeat | 10 ft high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 ft | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 36 ft | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 48 ft | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 56 ft | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 64 ft | 10 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Rolls 20.5 in wide and 33 ft long, counted by whole strips. Wall width is the total around the room. For another roll size, use the calculator.
Where the numbers come from
- Wallpaper is hung in vertical strips, so the count is by strip, not by square feet: strips = wall width ÷ roll width, rounded up; each strip is the wall height rounded up to a whole number of pattern repeats, so every strip starts at the same point of the design; a roll gives the whole strips that fit in its length; rolls = strips ÷ strips per roll, rounded up.
- Roll width, roll length and pattern repeat are printed on the roll label and change by brand and pattern. The 20.5 in by 33 ft roll in the calculator is a starting value; enter the one on your label.
The count keeps doors and windows in: above and below each one a short strip still has to be hung, and those pieces rarely come out of leftovers. Buy every roll from the same run or batch number on the label, because colors differ between runs.
By Javier Miralles · Last updated . How this site is made.
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