Understanding your result
The headline is the number of stripes in the second colour and the true stripe width, after the adjustment to fit the wall. The sub-line gives the cans of each colour and the rolls of tape. The three figures are the paint for the base colour, the paint for the stripe colour and the length of tape.
The table shows the wall, the number of bands across it, the true stripe width, the stripes in the second colour, the stripe area and the paint and tape lines. When the true width differs from the width you entered by more than about 5%, a note says so, so you can try a nearby width if the adjusted one does not suit.
A striped wall is small quantities twice. The stripe colour rarely comes to more than a quart or two, so the rounding to cans matters more than the coverage figure. The sample pot calculator helps choose the colours, the two-tone wall calculator handles a single horizontal split, and the accent wall calculator covers a feature wall in one strong colour.
How we calculate this
The span is the wall width for vertical stripes and the wall height for horizontal ones. Rounding to an odd number puts the base colour at both edges, and dividing the span by the bands gives stripes that are all exactly equal, which is what makes a striped wall look professional.
The base colour covers the whole wall because the method is to paint it first and tape the stripes over it; painting round stripes in the base colour leaves ridges along every edge. The stripe colour carries a 10% allowance rather than 5%, because the edges are cut in by brush and the quantity is small enough that the brush and tray take a larger share. Coverage is 350 sq ft per gallon per coat, from the coverage rates table.
The assumptions behind the numbers
| Assumption | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage per coat | 350 sq ft per gallon | Interior wall paint data sheets (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr): 350–400 sq ft per gallon |
| Coats | 2 each colour | Manufacturers’ recommendation for a colour change |
| Allowance, base colour | 5% | Roller loss and a touch-up jar |
| Allowance, stripe colour | 10% | Small quantities cut in by brush lose more to the brush and tray |
| Painter’s tape | 60 yd (180 ft) per roll | The standard roll length of the major brands |
| Band count | Odd | So both edges of the wall are the base colour |
Assumptions last reviewed October 8, 2026.
The calculator treats the wall as a plain rectangle. A door or a window in a striped wall interrupts some stripes, and the paint saved is small, so it is not subtracted; it is a safe overestimate. For a wall with a large opening, the square footage calculator gives the net area. The coats guide covers when a strong stripe colour needs a third coat.
Two worked examples
Vertical stripes behind a bed
A 12 × 8 ft wall, stripes about 12 in wide running floor to ceiling, two coats of each colour.
- Bands: 144 in ÷ 12 in = 12, rounded to the odd number 13
- True width: 144 ÷ 13 = 11.08 in, 6 stripes in the second colour
- Stripe area: 6 × 11.08 in × 8 ft = 44 sq ft
- Base colour: 96 ÷ 350 × 2 × 1.05 = 2.3 quarts, buy 3 quarts
- Stripe colour: 44 ÷ 350 × 2 × 1.1 = 1.11 quarts, buy 2 quarts
- Tape: 6 × 2 × 8 ft = 96 ft, 1 roll
Marking 11.08 in by tape measure is awkward, so mark it once on a straight batten or a strip of card and step it across the wall.
Narrow horizontal stripes in a hallway
A 10 × 8 ft wall, stripes about 6 in high running the width of the wall.
- Bands: 96 in ÷ 6 in = 16, rounded to the odd number 17
- True width: 96 ÷ 17 = 5.65 in, 8 stripes in the second colour
- Stripe area: 8 × 5.65 in × 10 ft = 38 sq ft
- Base colour: 80 ÷ 350 × 2 × 1.05 = 1.92 quarts, buy 2 quarts
- Stripe colour: 38 ÷ 350 × 2 × 1.1 = 30.3 fl oz, buy 1 quart
- Tape: 8 × 2 × 10 ft = 160 ft, 1 roll
The wall is smaller than the first one, but the tape is longer, because narrow stripes have many more edges. On a wider wall the same stripes would need a second roll.
Where to find your inputs
Wall width and height. Measure the wall corner to corner and floor to ceiling. For stripes that stop at a chair rail, enter the height from the rail to the ceiling.
Stripe width. Wide stripes, 8 to 12 in, read as calm and formal; narrow ones, 3 to 6 in, as busy. Try a few widths here and look at the true width each one gives.
Orientation. Vertical stripes run floor to ceiling; horizontal ones run the width of the wall.
Coats. Two for each colour is normal. A strong stripe over a pale base may need three; a tone-on-tone stripe in a second sheen of the same colour may need only one.
Coverage. From the can.
Common mistakes
- Starting at one corner with a tape measure. The stripes end unevenly at the other corner; adjust the width first.
- Painting the base colour around the stripes. Paint the whole wall first, then tape.
- Skipping the seal coat on the tape edge. It is the difference between a sharp line and a fuzzy one.
- Pulling the tape when the paint is dry. It can lift flakes of the stripe colour; pull it while wet, at a low angle.
- Measuring horizontal stripes from the ceiling. Use a level line; ceilings are rarely level enough to follow.
- Buying a gallon of stripe colour. On most walls a quart or two is plenty, as the result shows.
Questions people ask
- How do I make stripes fit a wall evenly?
- Divide the wall width by the stripe width you want, round to the nearest odd number, and divide the wall by that number. A 12 ft wall with 12 in stripes gives 13 bands of 11.08 in, so six stripes in the second colour with the base colour at both edges.
- Why an odd number of bands?
- So the pattern starts and ends with the base colour and looks the same from either corner. With an even number one corner ends on a stripe, and the eye reads the wall as cut off.
- How much paint do stripes take?
- The base colour covers the whole wall, because it goes on first. The stripe colour covers only the stripes, a little under half the wall. On a 12 × 8 ft wall with 12 in stripes that is 2.3 quarts of base and 1.11 quarts of stripe colour at two coats, so three quarts and two quarts.
- How much tape for a striped wall?
- Two edges per stripe, the full length of the stripe. Six vertical stripes on an 8 ft wall need 96 ft of tape, one 60 yd roll. Narrow horizontal stripes use far more, because each one runs the width of the wall.
- Vertical or horizontal stripes?
- Vertical stripes make a ceiling look higher, horizontal stripes make a narrow room look wider. Horizontal stripes are harder to keep level over a long wall and show any slope in the floor or ceiling, so use a laser level or a long spirit level.
- How do I stop paint bleeding under the tape?
- Seal the tape edge with a thin coat of the base colour first. That paint bleeds under the tape where the base colour already is, closes the gap, and the stripe colour then stops at a clean edge. Pull the tape while the last coat is still wet.