How much paint do I need for a 12×14 room?

For a typical 12×14 room with 8-foot walls, one door, two average windows, and two coats, a planning estimate is about 3 gallons when using roughly 350 square feet of coverage per gallon.

Worked example

Start with the room perimeter. A 12×14 room has a 52-foot perimeter. Multiply 52 feet by an 8-foot wall height to get 416 square feet of wall surface before subtracting doors and windows. A simple planning estimate might subtract about 20 square feet for one door and 15 square feet for each of two windows, leaving roughly 366 square feet per coat.

Two coats would cover about 732 coat-square-feet. At 350 square feet per gallon, that is a little over two gallons mathematically, so rounding up gives a three-gallon purchase estimate.

Why coverage varies

Actual coverage depends on the paint, wall texture, color change, surface condition, primer use, and application method. A dramatic color change or porous surface may require more product. Always check the coverage range printed by the paint manufacturer you plan to buy.

Do ceilings count?

This example is for walls only. If you are painting the ceiling, calculate that separately as 12 × 14 = 168 square feet per coat. Trim, doors, and cabinets also use different products and coverage assumptions.

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