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Paint calculator

Living Room Paint Calculator: How Much Paint for a Living Room?

Enter your living room and get the exact amount to buy, adjusted for coats, doors, windows, ceilings, and primer. Free, no signup.

Your living room

Advanced

You need

0 gallons
Rounded up to full containers.
Paintable living room area 0
Ceiling area 0
Total area × coats 0
Exact amount needed 0

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How to estimate paint for your living room

Living rooms are usually the largest painted space in a home, and open-concept layouts and tall or vaulted walls push the gallon count up. Enter the full length, width, and wall height, and add the ceiling if you plan to paint it.

A large living room commonly lands at two to three gallons for two coats. If your ceilings are 9 or 10 feet, or the room flows into a dining area, enter the true dimensions rather than a standard 8-foot height.

Coverage cheat sheet

Surface / situationApprox. coverage per gallon
Smooth, previously painted surface350 to 400 sq ft
New or bare wood / drywall (thirsty)250 to 350 sq ft
Textured, rough, or weathered200 to 300 sq ft
Primer200 to 300 sq ft

This tool defaults to 350 sq ft per gallon for a living room. Change it under Advanced if your surface is rougher or more porous than average.

Frequently asked questions

How much paint for a large living room?
A 20 by 15 living room with 9-foot walls has roughly 630 square feet of wall. Two coats at 350 sq ft per gallon works out to about 4 gallons before subtracting doors and windows.
Should I paint the ceiling the same time?
It is far easier to paint the ceiling before the walls while the room is already emptied and masked. Check the ceiling box above to add its area to your estimate.
How many square feet does a gallon of paint cover?
One gallon of interior wall paint typically covers 350 to 400 square feet in a single coat. Textured, porous, or dark-to-light surfaces cover less, so this calculator uses a conservative default to keep you from coming up short.
Should I buy extra paint?
Yes. Keep a little for touch-ups. Rounding up to full gallons usually gives you enough of a cushion; for large jobs, add roughly 10 percent so you have a color-matched can on the shelf later.

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