Buying only the paint you need keeps costs down and is better for the environment. Learn how to calculate the right amount of paint with these handy tips.

  1. First, assess the size of the area that you’re painting. Grab a friend to help measure the width and height of walls with a metal tape measure and multiply these together to calculate the overall square metre measurement.
  2. Subtract the space used by windows and doors using the same calculation method as above, and remove these from your overall square metre measurement.
  3. Multiply your new total square metre measurement by the number of coats you’ll need – we recommend factoring in at least two coats. It’s also worth including a little extra paint for touch-ups.
  4. Finally, divide this total figure by the m²/l number on your paint tin (if you can’t see it on the tin, have a look online at the product information section). For our ReColour paint, the m²/l number is 12.
  5. This will give you the total litres of paint you need for your project.

Find more advice from Dr Dulux here.