How Much Wallpaper Do You Actually Need? A No-Math-Required Guide
Figuring out how much wallpaper to order is usually the part that stalls people out before they even start. Nobody wants to end up short mid-project, or order way more than they need and have four rolls sitting in a closet forever. Here's how to think about it without pulling out a calculator.
Start with square footage, not rolls
Before you think in terms of "how many rolls," think in terms of "how much wall." Measure the height of your wall and the width, multiply them together, and that's your square footage for that wall. Do that for every wall you're covering, then add them up.
Don't subtract for windows or doors unless they're large. Small gaps like that aren't worth the math, and having a little extra on hand is a good thing anyway.
Know your roll size
Each roll in our Tempaper x Novogratz collection measures 20.5 inches wide by 16.5 feet long, which comes out to about 28 square feet per roll. Some patterns are also available in a double roll, at 20.5 inches wide by 33 feet, or about 56.37 square feet. If you're covering a larger wall or a full room, the double roll usually means fewer individual strips to line up, which can make installation faster.
The simple version
Once you have your total square footage, divide it by 28 (or 56.37 if you're using double rolls) to get a rough number of rolls needed. Then round up, and add roughly 10 to 15 percent on top of that for trimming, pattern matching, and any mistakes along the way. Wallpaper with a larger pattern repeat, like our Family of Cranes or Feather Palm designs, tends to need a bit more extra since you'll be lining up the pattern as you go.
Some real-world examples
A powder room accent wall, roughly 4 feet wide and 8 feet tall, comes out to about 32 square feet. One roll gets you there, with a little left over.
A full accent wall in a bedroom, say 12 feet wide and 9 feet tall, is about 108 square feet. That's around 4 standard rolls, or 2 double rolls.
A small closet interior, walls and all, usually lands under 30 square feet total, so one roll is often enough for the whole thing.
When in doubt, round up
It's always easier to have an extra roll on hand than to run out mid-project and have to reorder, especially with patterns that could vary slightly in shade between production runs. Extra wallpaper isn't wasted either. It's useful for patching a wall down the line, or trying it somewhere small like the back of a bookshelf or a drawer front.
A quick gut check
If math still isn't your thing, here's the shortcut. Small accent wall or closet: one roll. Full wall in an average bedroom: two to four rolls, or one to two double rolls. Full small room, like a powder room or a nursery: plan on four to six rolls total.
From there, it's just a matter of picking the pattern. Whether that's something quiet like Zebra Marble or something with real personality like Painted Lips, the sizing math stays exactly the same.
Shop the guide
Patterns with a larger repeat, worth keeping the extra 10 to 15 percent rule in mind for.
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