How much paint does a room need?
A simple way to work out litres of paint, primer and putty for a room in a Bengal home, with a worked example and a free calculator.
Most people at our counter ask the same thing first: how many buckets will I need? Buy too little and the second coat won’t match. Buy too much and the extra sits in the verandah for years. Here is how to get close before you visit.
Step 1: Measure the walls, not the floor
Paint covers walls, so start with the perimeter of the room: add up all four wall lengths. Multiply by the wall height. Most village and town houses here have walls of 10 to 11 feet.
A room of 12 × 10 ft with 10 ft walls: (12 + 10 + 12 + 10) × 10 = 440 sq ft of wall.
Take away what you won’t paint:
- About 21 sq ft for each door
- About 15 sq ft for each window
With one door and two windows: 440 − 21 − 30 = 389 sq ft. If you’re painting the ceiling too, add length × width (120 sq ft), making 509 sq ft.
Step 2: Multiply by the number of coats
New walls and colour changes need two coats. A fresh coat of the same shade on a wall in good condition can sometimes manage with one, but two always looks more even. For two coats, double the area: about 1,020 sq ft of painting.
Step 3: Divide by what the paint covers
Every paint covers a different area per litre, and rough or porous walls drink more. As a rough planning figure on a smooth, primed wall:
| Paint | Covers per coat (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Acrylic distemper | 55–65 sq ft per kg |
| Interior emulsion (e.g. Easy Clean) | 100–120 sq ft per litre |
| Exterior emulsion (e.g. WeatherCoat) | 80–95 sq ft per litre |
| Primer | 100–110 sq ft per litre |
For our example in Easy Clean: 1,020 ÷ 115 ≈ 9 litres. That’s two 4 L tins and a 1 L, or a single 10 L if it’s in stock.
Don’t forget primer and putty
- Primer goes on once, under the paint. It helps the topcoat stick and spread evenly.
- Putty fills small dents and rough patches. On older walls, two thin coats of putty make the difference between a smooth finish and a patchy one.
The quick way
Our paint calculator does all of this for you. Enter the room size and pick a paint, and it suggests packs and an estimated cost from this week’s prices. Or send the room sizes on WhatsApp and we’ll send you a complete list.