How many rolls of wallpaper do I need? The strip method and a table

Short answer: a 12 × 12 ft room with 8 ft walls takes about 10 rolls of US wallpaper (20.5 in × 33 ft), and a 3 × 4 m room with 2.5 m walls about 9 standard rolls (0.53 × 10.05 m) — before you take off doors and windows and before any pattern repeat.

Dividing the wall area by the area of a roll gives too few rolls, because every roll ends with an off-cut that is too short for another full strip. Count strips instead.

The strip method in three steps

1. Strips around the room. Measure the perimeter (all the walls added up) and divide by the roll width. Round up. A 12 × 12 ft room has 48 ft = 576 in of wall; 576 ÷ 20.5 = 28.1, so 29 strips.
2. Strips from one roll. Each strip is the wall height plus about 4 in (10 cm) to trim at the top and bottom, plus one pattern repeat if the paper has one. Divide the roll length by that and round down. 33 ft ÷ 8 ft 4 in = 3.96, so 3 strips per roll.
3. Rolls. Strips ÷ strips per roll, rounded up: 29 ÷ 3 = 9.7, so 10 rolls.

The rounding down in step 2 is why ceiling height matters so much: a 10 ft wall still gets 3 strips from a 33 ft roll, but a 12 ft wall gets only 2.

Rolls of wallpaper for common rooms (US rolls)

Worked out by the wallpaper calculator with the same method:

Standard rolls (UK and Europe, 0.53 × 10.05 m)

The same method with the standard roll gives:

At 2.40 m one roll gives four strips (4 × 2.50 m = 10 m); from 2.50 m up to 3.25 m it gives only three. That is why a 2.50 m room needs more rolls than a 2.40 m room, but no more than a 3 m room.

Doors, windows and pattern repeats

• Take off about one roll for each door or large window (or count the wall width above and below them in the calculator).
• Pattern repeat: the label shows it as a number (for example 53 cm or 21 in) with a symbol for a straight or offset match. Add it to every strip length. A large repeat can turn three strips per roll into two, which means 50 % more rolls.
• Wide rolls (about 1.06 m / 42 in) give half as many strips around the room, so roughly half as many rolls — check the length too, as some wide rolls are longer than 10 m.

Buy one extra roll

Most people add one roll for mistakes and later repairs. Shops usually take back unopened rolls; check before you buy.

Frequently asked questions

How many square feet does a roll of wallpaper cover?

A US double roll (20.5 in × 33 ft) holds about 56 ft² of paper. Because you cut whole strips, it covers about 41 ft² of 8 ft wall and 51 ft² of 10 ft wall. A standard European roll (0.53 × 10.05 m) holds 5.3 m² and covers 4–5 m² of wall, depending on the height.

How many rolls of wallpaper for a 10 × 12 room?

With 8 ft walls and US rolls: 9 rolls before taking off doors and windows. With 12 ft walls: 13 rolls.

Why is wallpaper priced per single roll but sold as a double roll?

In the US many papers are priced per single roll but only sold in double rolls (two single rolls on one tube). The table above counts the 33 ft rolls you actually buy.

Should I paint the other walls instead?

For a feature wall, wallpaper one wall and paint the rest: our guide how much paint do I need works out the paint.