How much wallpaper do you need? This free wallpaper calculator works it out drop by drop: it counts the drops (strips) your wall needs, how many drops you get from each roll once you allow for trimming and the pattern repeat, and turns that into the number of rolls to buy.
Choose a feature wall or a whole room, type the size and pick the pattern. It works in meters or feet, and you can change the roll size under More options if your wallpaper is not a standard 52 to 53 cm (20.5 to 21 in) wide roll.
How many rolls of wallpaper do you need?
Choose a feature wall or a whole room, type the size and pick the pattern. The rolls appear right away.
More options: roll size, exact pattern repeat
Roll width, length and pattern repeat are printed on the label. The standard roll is about 52 to 53 cm (20.5 in) wide and 10.05 m (33 ft) long. We add 10 cm (4 in) to every drop for trimming.
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<p style="font-size:13px;margin:6px 0 0"><a href="https://dailyspacehacks.com/wallpaper-calculator/">Wallpaper Calculator</a> by Daily Space Hacks</p>
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These charts use standard rolls, 10 cm (4 in) of trim on every drop and the pattern repeat shown. They do not include the spare roll we recommend you add.
| Walls 2.4 m high, 52 cm x 10.05 m rolls | Plain or no repeat | Large repeat (64 cm) |
|---|---|---|
| Feature wall 2.5 m wide | 2 | 2 |
| Feature wall 3 m wide | 2 | 2 |
| Feature wall 4 m wide | 2 | 3 |
| Feature wall 5 m wide | 3 | 4 |
| Room 3 x 3 m | 6 | 8 |
| Room 3 x 4 m | 7 | 9 |
| Room 4 x 4 m | 8 | 11 |
| Room 4 x 5 m | 9 | 12 |
| Walls 8 ft high, 20.5 in x 33 ft rolls | Plain or no repeat | Large repeat (25 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Feature wall 10 ft wide | 2 | 2 |
| Feature wall 12 ft wide | 3 | 3 |
| Feature wall 14 ft wide | 3 | 3 |
| Room 10 x 10 ft | 8 | 8 |
| Room 10 x 12 ft | 9 | 9 |
| Room 12 x 12 ft | 10 | 10 |
| Room 12 x 14 ft | 11 | 11 |
Notice the difference between the two charts. A 2.4 m wall plus trim is 2.5 m per drop, so a 10.05 m roll gives exactly four drops. An 8 ft wall plus 4 in of trim is about 8 ft 4 in, and four of those need just over 33 ft, so a 33 ft roll gives only three full drops. On 8 ft walls, a pattern repeat often costs you nothing extra.
How the Wallpaper Calculator Works
It uses the strip method from Bob Vila’s guide on how to measure for wallpaper, instead of dividing the wall area by the roll area. Area alone ignores the paper you waste at the top and bottom of every drop.
- Drops needed = the width to cover (one wall, or the distance all the way around the room) divided by the roll width, rounded up.
- Length of each drop = wall height + 10 cm (4 in) for trimming + the pattern repeat. The trim follows Selected Wallpapers, whose calculator allows about 2 in (5 cm) on all sides.
- Drops per roll = roll length divided by the drop length, rounded down. A leftover piece shorter than a full drop is waste.
- Rolls = drops needed divided by drops per roll, rounded up. We add one spare roll on top.
The results match the figures in Dunelm’s wallpaper measuring guide: with standard 52 cm x 10.05 m rolls and walls about 2.4 m high, a wallpaper with no repeat gives four drops per roll, and a repeat of up to 64 cm gives three.
How to Measure for Wallpaper
- Measure the width. For a feature wall, measure from corner to corner. For a whole room, measure all the way around, including chimney breasts and other projections, as Practical DIY advises.
- Measure the height from the top of the skirting board (baseboard) to the ceiling or coving, in a few places. Use the tallest figure.
- Do not take off doors and windows. Bob Vila’s guide says not to deduct them. Practical DIY only subtracts very large windows or areas that will not be papered.
- Read the label for the roll width, roll length and pattern repeat, and enter them under More options if they are not standard.
Pattern Repeat Explained
The pattern repeat is the height after which the design starts again. To line the pattern up across the seams, each drop has to start at the same point in the design, so you lose up to one repeat of paper on every drop. Practical DIY notes that, generally, the larger the vertical repeat, the more rolls you will need, because the waste is greater.
Plain papers, textured papers and designs labeled free match have no repeat to line up. Even a small repeat of around 27 cm (10.6 in) can cost you a whole drop per roll on 2.4 m walls, and large repeats of 53 or 64 cm (21 to 25 in) waste more on taller walls. On a big room, that adds several rolls.
Wallpaper Roll Sizes
| Roll | Width | Length | Covers about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard UK roll | 52 cm (20.5 in) | 10.05 m (33 ft) | 5.2 m² (56 sq ft) |
| European roll | 53 cm (20.9 in) | 10 m (32.8 ft) | 5.3 m² (57 sq ft) |
| US double roll | 20.5 to 27 in | 27 to 33 ft | 56 to 70 sq ft |
| US single roll | 20.5 to 27 in | 13.5 to 16.5 ft | 28 to 35 sq ft |
Sizes come from Practical DIY (standard UK roll) and Selected Wallpapers (European and US rolls). Selected Wallpapers notes that one European roll is roughly one American double roll. Before you order, check whether the price and the label refer to a single or a double roll.
Before You Buy
- Buy one spare roll, or two for a large repeat on a big room. Bob Vila suggests one or two more rolls than you think you need, and Practical DIY adds a couple for large repeats.
- Check the batch number on every roll. Practical DIY advises buying only rolls with the same batch or lot number to ensure color matching, and Dunelm recommends buying extra for complex rooms to ensure batch continuity.
- Keep the spare with its label. It is useful for repairs later.
Wallpaper Calculator FAQ
How many rolls of wallpaper do I need for a feature wall?
A feature wall 3 m (about 10 ft) wide and 2.4 m (8 ft) high needs 2 standard rolls with no pattern repeat: six drops, four drops per roll on a 2.4 m wall. A 4 m wall with a large repeat needs 3. Add one spare roll from the same batch.
How many rolls of wallpaper for a 12 x 12 room?
A 12 x 12 ft room with 8 ft walls needs about 10 standard 20.5 in x 33 ft rolls: 48 ft of wall all the way around is 29 drops, and each roll gives three drops once you allow for trimming. Buy 11 to have a spare. Doors and windows are not taken off.
How many drops do you get from a roll of wallpaper?
A standard 10.05 m roll gives four drops on a wall about 2.4 m high with no pattern repeat, and three drops with a repeat of up to 64 cm. On taller walls or with a large repeat you may only get two or three drops per roll.
Should I subtract doors and windows when measuring for wallpaper?
Usually not. You still need drops above and below doors and windows, and cutting around them wastes paper. Measure the full wall and only subtract very large openings, such as a wide patio door or a wall of windows.
More Room Planning Tools
Decorating a bedroom? Our box room bedroom ideas and small bedroom storage ideas help you plan the rest, and wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to dress up a small powder room or downstairs toilet. For soft furnishings, try our curtain size calculator and rug size calculator.
How this guide was made: researched and written with the help of AI tools, fact-checked against trusted sources and published by Mohamed Elber. Images are AI-generated illustrations. See our Editorial Policy.