Wallpaper Calculator
Enter the wall area and how much one roll actually covers, and this gives the number of rolls — with extra for matching the pattern across strips.
Rolls
10rolls
- With waste, covering
- 250 sq ft
- Wall area
- 200 sq ft
How it’s calculated
Rolls = wall area × (1 + waste) ÷ usable coverage per roll, rounded up. Usable coverage is less than the roll's printed area, because some is trimmed and some is lost matching the pattern — use the figure on the roll label for your product.
Worked example
200 sq ft of wall, a single roll covering ~25 usable sq ft, 15% for the pattern: 200 × 1.15 ÷ 25 = 9.2 → 10 rolls. Buy them from the same batch so the color matches.
FAQs
- Why is usable coverage less than the roll says?
- A US single roll holds about 36 sq ft of printed paper but yields only ~25–27 sq ft usable: you trim each strip and discard the offcut needed to line up the pattern, and a large repeat wastes more. Usable coverage is what actually ends up on the wall, which is why the label often lists both — enter the usable figure.
- How much extra for a pattern repeat?
- The bigger the repeat, the more you waste matching each strip to the last. Allow about 10% for a random or free match, 15–20% or more for a large repeat. The calculator adds this as the waste percentage.
- Single, double, or Euro rolls?
- Wallpaper is priced by the single roll but usually sold as double rolls (one continuous bolt, less waste). European rolls are a different size again. Enter the usable coverage from your specific roll and the count comes out right regardless.
Sources
- Rolls = wall area × (1 + waste) ÷ usable coverage per roll, rounded up. Geometry; usable coverage per roll is product-specific (from the roll label).