A normal 12–16 m² bedroom is easy to paint, but easy to over- or under-buy on. Here's the simple method.
A typical 14 m² bedroom with a 2.4 m ceiling has about 33 m² of wall. With 2 coats at 10 m²/L coverage that's 6.6 L of paint – one 5 L tin + one 2.5 L tin.
Wall area = (room perimeter × ceiling height). For a 4 × 3.5 m bedroom that's (4+3.5)×2 × 2.4 = 36 m² of walls – before subtracting doors and windows.
Subtract windows and doors if they take up a lot of wall. For a typical bedroom that's usually 2–4 m².
Most paint needs 2 coats on a fresh wall. Total litres = (wall area ÷ coverage) × number of coats.
Wall area: 33 m² net. 33 ÷ 10 m²/L × 2 coats = 6.6 L. Buy one 5 L tin + one 2.5 L tin. A bit of leftover is fine – it's useful for touch-ups later.
Enter your room dimensions, coat count and coverage – the calculator works out litres and rounds to tin sizes.
If you're doing the room from scratch, yes. That's 14 m² extra paint area – usually with 1 coat of ceiling paint.
8–12 m² per litre on a smooth wall. Rough, porous or dark walls drink more – be conservative.
On new plasterboard, patched walls or a big colour change (dark to light), yes. That's 1 extra coat on top.
A weekend at a relaxed pace. Saturday: prep + first coat. Sunday: second coat.
Keep going with one of these – they pair well with what you just read.
Wall paneling material list
Complete material list for wall paneling with boards or panels – from calculation to checkout.
Read guide →Build a drywall partition wall
Stud spacing, sheets, screws and the usual pitfalls. A clean DIY partition wall.
Read guide →Deck project from start to finish
Step-by-step guide to planning and building a deck. Measuring, materials, budget and mistakes.
Read guide →Create a free account and explore all features with a complete demo project.
No credit card required. Free demo project included.