Measuring correctly for wallpaper is a skill that, once mastered, can save you time and money on your decorating project. Avoid making deductions for doors or windows and factor in the pattern repeat if you’re choosing a patterned wallpaper.
Use a metal tape measure to get accurate measurements, then record them.
Width
The width of your room is the first factor to consider when calculating how many rolls of wallpaper you need. Using a steel tape measure and a notepad or pencil, write down the length of each wall you plan to wallpaper, adding together the widths of each (combined width).
Remember to account for doors and windows as well, although you can typically work around these areas when hanging wallpaper by simply cutting off any extra sections that appear above or next to them. For best results, try to calculate your wall area as closely as possible to avoid overage or shortage of wallpaper, particularly if your chosen pattern has a small pattern repeat or a lot of variation between each vertical strip. I recommend this website for more wallpaper singapore.
Most wallpaper calculators recommend determining how much wallpaper you need by dividing the square footage of your room by the width of your wallpaper. Hogan warns that this method can leave you short because it doesn’t take into account the vertical pattern repeat or deductions for openings such as doors and windows.
Height
When it comes to measuring height, there are some important things to consider. First, you’ll want to make sure you exclude windows and doors unless you plan to cover them with wallpaper as well. You’ll also want to take into account the size of your pattern repeat and the pattern matching method, if applicable.
While most wallpaper calculators advise you to measure for square footage, this can leave you short because of waste and pattern matching. When calculating wallpaper amounts, it is better to measure for linear feet instead and take into account the number of usable floor-to-ceiling strips per roll.
To do this, multiply the total height of your room by the width of a single wallpaper roll (available in product specifications if buying online). This will give you the number of full drops one roll of wallpaper contains, and you can then divide that number by the total wall height to determine how many rolls you’ll need for your project.
Perimeter
Using wallpaper is an easy way to add an eye-catching accent wall or transform your whole living space. But, it’s important to plan properly so that you have enough rolls of wallpaper and can avoid any surprises when you start hanging.
Most wallpaper measuring guides suggest calculating square footage, but Hogan advises figuring the perimeter of your room in meters instead. The advantage of calculating the perimeter is that it factors in the number of doors and windows into the equation. This makes it much easier to figure out the exact amount of wallpaper you need for your project.
Once you have the total perimeter of your room in meters, divide it by the width of your wallpaper pattern. This will give you the number of usable, floor-to-ceiling strips that a roll can cover. You can then use the calculator on Graham & Brown product page to determine how many rolls you need. This is the easiest and most accurate way to calculate the amount of wallpaper needed for a room.
Square Meterage
It is easy enough to use a calculator online or download an app to find out how much wallpaper you will need for your room. Ideally, you should aim to have about 10% extra on hand for waste.
You should exclude areas that are not going to be covered with wallpaper such as doors and windows unless they have a pattern that matches the rest of the wallpaper. This may seem counterintuitive but you don’t want to run out of wallpaper midway through the project and have to start cutting around window/door frames.
The same goes for the ceiling. You will need to estimate a ceiling square footage based on the wallcovering’s pattern repeat and the amount of overlap needed to cover it. Always use a metric tape measure or meter stick with centimeters and meters printed on it for easier conversion. This is the quickest way to get accurate measurements. You can also use Graham & Brown’s handy calculator, which is available on each wallpaper product page.
