Decorating: paint, wallpaper and skirting for a room
Emulsion covers about 12 m² per litre per coat on smooth, previously painted walls, so paint is worked out from the wall area, less doors and windows, times the number of coats. A 4 x 3 m room with 2.4 m ceilings needs about 5.1 litres for two coats on the walls, with one door and one window taken off. Tins come in 2.5 and 5 litres, so round up and keep the rest for touching up.
Here is everything we have on decorating a room in the UK: paint, wallpaper, skirting and the full kit list, with the guides that explain coverage, mist coats on new plaster and the order to work in.
Litres of emulsion by room size
Walls only, 2.4 m ceilings, one door and one window, at 12 m² per litre. Worked out by the paint calculator.
| Room (metres) | One coat (litres) | Two coats (litres) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 x 2.5 | 1.9 | 3.9 |
| 3 x 3 | 2.1 | 4.3 |
| 4 x 3 | 2.5 | 5.1 |
| 4 x 3.5 | 2.7 | 5.5 |
| 5 x 4 | 3.3 | 6.7 |
| 6 x 4 | 3.7 | 7.5 |
Walls, ceilings and the kit list
Measure the length, width and height, count the doors and windows and pick the coats. New plaster needs a thinned mist coat first, and a strong colour change may need a third coat. The decorating materials calculator adds ceiling paint, filler and masking tape to the list.
Wallpaper
A standard UK roll is 10.05 m long and 0.53 m wide. Plain paper on 14 m of wall 2.4 m high takes 7 rolls; with a 53 cm pattern repeat the same wall takes 9, because every drop is cut to match. Buy every roll from one batch number.
Skirting and coving
Skirting is bought in lengths of 2.4 m and longer. A 4 x 3 m room with one 0.8 m door needs 13.2 m of skirting, or 7 lengths of 2.4 m with 10% for mitres.
Every calculator for this topic
Guides
- Common Mistakes Hanging Wallpaper (UK): Rolls, Repeat, DropsWallpaper mistakes: ignoring the pattern repeat, ordering too few rolls. A room with 14 m of wall at 2.4 m high needs 7 rolls, more with a 53 cm repeat.
- Common Mistakes When Painting a Room (UK): How Many LitresPainting mistakes: too few coats, no ceiling, trusting the tin. A 4 × 3 m room with 2.4 m walls takes 5.1 litres for two coats, 7.1 with the ceiling.
- How Many Rolls of Wallpaper Do I Need? UK Room ChartRolls of wallpaper by room size for standard 10.05 m rolls, with and without a pattern repeat, and how drops, repeats and waste work.
- How Much Paint Do I Need? Litres per Room Size (UK)Work out how many litres of emulsion a room needs, with a chart by room size, how coverage changes the answer, and the tin sizes to buy.
- How Much Skirting Board Do I Need? Lengths for a Room (UK)Skirting board needed = room perimeter less the doorways, plus 10%. A UK chart of lengths for rooms from 3×3 to 7×5 m, in 2.4 m, 3 m and 4.2 m boards.
Other guides that use these calculators: Common Mistakes Laying Laminate Flooring (UK): Packs and Gaps · How Much Carpet Do I Need? Rolls, Seams and Underlay (UK) · How Much Plaster Do I Need? Bags of Skim and Bonding Coat · How Much Plasterboard Do I Need? Sheets, Screws and Tape (UK) · Laminate, Vinyl (LVT) or Engineered Wood Flooring: Which? · Staircase Regulations UK: Rise, Going, Pitch and Number of Steps · Laminate Flooring Materials List: Packs, Underlay, Beading (UK) · Stud Wall Materials List: Timber, Plasterboard, Screws (UK)
Answers for common sizes
Already know the size? These pages give the worked answer for one common size each, with the inputs filled in so you can adjust them.
Project planners
Planning the whole job rather than one material? These step-by-step planners put the calculators above in the order you will need them.
Frequently asked questions
How much paint for a 4 x 3 m room?
About 5.1 litres of emulsion for two coats on the walls with 2.4 m ceilings, one door and one window. A 5 litre tin covers it with some to spare.
How far does a litre of emulsion go?
About 12 m² per coat on smooth, previously painted walls; less on rough or porous surfaces and new plaster. The figure on the tin is the one to trust.
Do I need a mist coat on new plaster?
Yes. Bare plaster soaks up paint, so the first coat is emulsion thinned with water (the tin gives the ratio) to seal it, followed by full-strength coats.
Should I paint the ceiling or the walls first?
Ceiling first, then walls, then woodwork, so drips only land on surfaces you have not painted yet.
Related topics
Estimates only. Quantities depend on your materials, site and supplier, so check pack sizes and coverage on the label. Check the Building Regulations and any planning rules for anything structural or close to a boundary. How we calculate.