How much paint do I need for one wall?
One gallon, for the usual case. A 12 ft wall under an 8 ft ceiling is 96 sq ft, and two coats over it takes 1 gallon. The honest number is 0.55 gallons, but three quarts costs more than a gallon at the register. For the accent wall, the touch-up that grew, or the one wall the movers ruined. Painting the whole room instead? That is the room paint calculator.
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How the math works
One wall is width times height: 12 ft wide under an 8 ft ceiling is 96 sq ft. Subtract 20 sq ft per door and 15 per window sitting in that wall. Two coats on the bare 96 is 192 sq ft of spreading, or 0.55 gallons at 350 sq ft per gallon. That rounds to a gallon, and the leftover is your touch-up stash; accent walls collect scuffs like a hallway.
Questions people ask
How much paint do I need for one accent wall?
A quart usually will not make it: a 12 ft wall under 8 ft ceilings is 96 sq ft, and two coats is 192 sq ft of spreading, which is 0.55 gallons. The calculator rounds that to one gallon, and for deep accent colors that is the right call anyway because dark bases often want a third coat.
Why do dark colors need three coats?
Deep reds, navies, and near-blacks use tint bases with less white pigment, which is what does the hiding. Over a light wall they streak at two coats. A gray-tinted primer under the color fixes most of it; otherwise budget the third coat.
Do I subtract the window in the wall?
Yes, same as a whole room: 15 sq ft per window, 20 per door. On a single wall those deductions are a big share of the area, so they matter more here than anywhere.
Related
Painting the whole room? The room paint calculator takes the same measurements plus doors and windows. Deep colors: one coat or two and primer for dark-to-light.