Unlike wallcoverings which are sold by the metre, wallpaper is typically packaged in 10m long rolls which are either 52cm or 72cm wide. We recommend treating walls with windows and doors as full walls when calculating how much wallpaper is required for a space, because it is likely that as much paper will be used cutting and piecing around the recesses as would be used on a straight drop.
1. To determine the wall width, measure each individual wall from corner to corner.
2. Divide the width of the wall by the width of the roll to determine how many wallpaper drops (widths) are required for that wall. Repeat this process for each wall, the combined total will identify the number of drops needed to paper the room.
NOTE: Full widths of wallpaper should not be turned into a corner as walls are never even and creasing may occur. Only 2 - 3cm should be turned into the next wall and therefore, for calculation purposes, any part-widths should be calculated as full-widths.
1. To calculate the length of full drops required, measure the height to be decorated and add an extra 30cm (15cm top and bottom) for trimming. Then add on the pattern repeat as identified in the pattern book or on the label, e.g. 52cm.
2. Once the total required length has been calculated, divide it into the length of the roll (normally 10m). This will identify how many drops can be achieved from a full roll. Remember to only count full drops.
NOTE: If selecting a wallpaper that has a ‘random match,’ or ‘free match,’ or is recommended to be ‘reverse hung alternate lengths,’ there is no need to add on the pattern repeat when calculating the drop length.
Learn more about the difference between pattern repeat and pattern match in our previous article.
Simply divide the total number of drops needed for the room by the amount of drops achievable from a roll to ascertain the total number of rolls required.
Add 10% up to the nearest full roll to account for wastage in designs with a pattern match of up to 26cm. For designs with a pattern repeat of over 26cm add 15 - 20%.
Explore our extensive range of wallcoverings here and discover what's on trend in contemporary wallcoverings in our previous article.
