How much paint do I need?

There’s nothing worse than getting halfway through a decorating project and realising you haven’t got enough paint.

By calculating how much you need beforehand, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, effort and petrol. Here’s how to work it out.

1. Measure your space: You’ll need to measure the maximum height and width of your walls and then multiply the two together to figure out the overall square metre measurement. (visit our interior paint range here)

2. Remember your windows and doors: Obviously your windows and doors take up space so you need to account for this too. Measure them both, times the number together to get the square metre and then subtract this from your overall square meterage.(visit our interior windows and door paint range here)

3. How many coats do you need? The amount of paint you’ll need is also influenced by the number of coats you’re using. We recommend using two coats of our Optiva Durables for a beautifully deep colour. So multiply your square metres by two.

4. A little bit more maths: Finally, take your total number and divide it by the metre squared per litre on your tin. In the case of our paints, that’s 10m². Don’t forget to account for touch ups or ‘just in case’ scenarios.

Do all that, and voila! You’ve got the amount of paint you’ll need to finish your decorating.

Or alternatively…

Or if like us you’re more of a words person than a numbers person – use our Paint Calculator to get an accurate number in seconds. All you’ll need to do is measure the width and height of your walls and we’ll do the rest.