How much paint for a living room?
2 gallons + 2 quarts of wall paint covers a standard 14x16 living room in two coats at 8 ft ceilings. Living rooms move the estimate two ways at once: more windows and doorways than any other room (subtracting area), and the best odds of a 9 or 10 ft ceiling or an open wall to the kitchen (adding or removing whole walls). Count openings honestly and use the calculator's height field.
| Size | Wall area | Two coats |
|---|---|---|
| Modest living room (12x14) | 346 sq ft | 2 gal |
| Standard living room (14x16) | 410 sq ft | 2 gal + 2 qt |
| Large living room (12x18) | 395 sq ft | 2 gal + 2 qt |
| Great room (16x20) | 491 sq ft | 3 gal |
All rows: 8 ft ceilings, 350 sq ft per gallon, walls only. Tune it below.
Questions people ask
My living room opens into the kitchen. What do I measure?
Measure the walls that exist and are getting this color. An open plan removes a wall from the perimeter math entirely; a cased opening subtracts like a wide door, roughly its width times height. The calculator’s door count at 20 sq ft each approximates standard openings; measure wide ones directly.
Two-story family room. How much more?
A 16 ft wall carries double the paint of an 8 ft wall, so a two-story great room can double the total. Set the ceiling height field to the real number and add a quart for the roller-pole learning curve.
What sheen where the TV lives?
Matte or eggshell. Higher sheens bounce window light and lamp glow right at seated eye level. Save the semi-gloss for the trim.