Wallpaper Calculator
Calculate wallpaper purchases from full strips, roll dimensions, wall height and pattern repeat. Include multiple rooms, trimming and an optional spare roll.
A square-foot estimate misses the unusable end of a roll. This calculator counts strips at the length your wall and pattern require.
Measure the rooms once
Walls, ceiling and openings. Every material below reads these.
Length and width of the floor, and the wall height.
Doors & windows entered once — each material decides how to treat them
What are you calculating?
Pick one or several. Each reads the rooms above.
Wallpaper
York Wallcoverings: 1 bolt = 56 sq. ft. (20.5 in. × 33 ft.). Many American and European papers share this size — check your product's label.
From the label. 0 for a plain or random paper.
Cut length = height + trim, rounded UP to a whole number of repeats, because every strip must start at the same point in the pattern.
4 in total = 2 in at the top + 2 in at the bottom, per Brewster and York.
Sherwin-Williams recommends one, for waste and patching from the same batch.
Not deducted by default: strips around openings are still cut full length to match the pattern, and the pieces rarely come back.
Price
Price for the full width × length selected above, not a single-roll pricing unit.
Strips first, rolls second
Divide the wall length or room perimeter by the roll width and round up to full strips. Add the trimming allowance to the wall height, then allow for the pattern match. Divide the roll length by that cut length and round down to complete strips. Divide required strips by the yield and round up to purchase units.
Worked example: an 8 ft bedroom
For a 12 × 10 ft room, the perimeter is 44 ft or 528 in. A 20.5 in wide paper needs ceiling(528 ÷ 20.5) = 26 strips. At 8 ft high plus 4 in trimming, each strip is 100 in. A 33 ft bolt has 396 in and supplies three complete strips. Ceiling(26 ÷ 3) gives nine bolts, or ten with one spare. No openings are deducted in this example.
Pattern repeat and taller walls
A 9 ft wall plus 4 in trim needs 112 in before matching. With a 27 in straight repeat, the planning cut length rounds to 135 in, so a 396 in roll yields two strips. The same 26 strips now need 13 bolts before a spare. Straight matching uses whole repeats. Half-drop adds half a repeat per strip as a conservative planning allowance; it is not an optimized cutting plan. Consult the hanger for unusual matches.
Different heights and roll terminology
Rooms with equal cut lengths share roll capacity. Different cut lengths are rounded separately so the order never assumes incompatible offcuts fit together. An installer may reduce this allowance with a cutting plan. Enter the width and length of the physical unit you buy: single-roll pricing and double-roll bolts are not interchangeable. The preset is a 20.5 in × 33 ft York bolt.
Openings, spares and product limitations
Openings are retained by default. The optional York reduction applies only to the York bolt preset and ordinary doors/windows; it is a rough manufacturer rule, not a strip layout. Confirm it with the installer. One optional spare supports repairs from the same batch. Murals, panel sets, reverse hanging and complex multiple-drop patterns require a product-specific takeoff. Use separate projects for different wallpapers.
Questions before you order
Why is this higher than a square-foot calculator?
Full-height strips, trimming and matching leave unusable material at roll ends. A pure area division assumes every scrap can be used. The strip calculation makes that difference visible.
Can I calculate an accent wall?
Yes. Use Custom room, enter the wall length as the perimeter/covered length and provide its height. Enter only the wall being papered, not the full room perimeter.
What if a roll cannot supply a full strip?
The calculator flags that room and cannot give a complete order for it. Check the roll length, wall height, trim and repeat or choose a suitable product.
Product sources and assumptions
Presets describe named products, not every product in that material family. Confirm current label coverage, sizes, availability and preparation instructions. Custom values let you use the product you are buying. Prices are entered by you.
Wallpaper
- York Wallcoverings — Wallpaper Calculator — York Wallcoverings (manufacturer)
- How to Measure & Cut Wallpaper — Brewster Home Fashions (manufacturer)
- How to Estimate How Much Wallpaper You Need — The Sherwin-Williams Company
- Wallpaper Tips & Info; Wallcovering Estimator — Wallcovering Installers Association
See methodology and sources for the assumptions behind the rest of your project.
Use the same measurements
- Interior Calculator — one workspace for the entire room project.
- Paint Calculator — wall, ceiling and primer quantities with container planning.
- Drywall Calculator — sheets and finishing supplies from the same rooms.
Working outside too? Open the Hardscaping Calculator or Landscaping Calculator for those material orders.