Kitchen paint calculator

A typical kitchen needs about 2 gallons + 1 quart

Based on a standard 14 × 12 ft kitchen with 9-ft ceilings, the walls work out to about 417 sq ft after subtracting 1 door and 2 windows. A standard two-coat repaint needs roughly 2 gallons + 1 quart of quality interior paint. The recommended finish for a kitchen is satin — more on why below.

Satin Is The Minimum, Consider Semi-Gloss

Kitchen walls catch airborne grease that settles into a film and fingerprints near switches and the fridge. You need a finish you can scrub without burnishing. Satin is the standard and handles most kitchens. Behind the stove, around the sink, and in a small galley kitchen where the walls get hit constantly, semi-gloss is worth the extra shine for how easily it cleans. Match it to how heavily you actually cook.

Sequence Around Cabinets And Backsplash

Cut in carefully where walls meet upper cabinets and run alongside the backsplash — these are tight, visible lines that a sloppy cut ruins. Pull the range and fridge out if you can to reach the wall behind them, since those gaps collect grime and are the first place an old color peeks through. If you are also painting cabinets, do them first and let them cure hard before the walls, so you are not banging fresh wall paint while sanding doors.

Degrease The Walls Before Anything

This is the prep step people skip and regret. A thin grease film coats kitchen walls even if they look clean, and paint will not bond to it — it peels in sheets or beads up as you roll. Wash the walls with a degreasing cleaner, rinse, and let them dry before priming or painting. Pay special attention to the wall behind and beside the stove, which carries the heaviest cooking residue.

How the kitchen paint math works

Wall area is perimeter × ceiling height: (2 × 14 + 2 × 12) = 52 ft of perimeter, times a 9-ft ceiling, equals 468 sq ft of gross wall. We subtract 21 sq ft per door and 15 sq ft per window, leaving about 417 sq ft of paintable wall. Multiply by the number of coats, divide by a coverage rate of about 388 sq ft per gallon, and round up to the nearest quart — that is the number you take to the store. Change any input in the calculator above and it recalculates instantly.

Paint needed by coats

Two coats is the right default for almost every repaint. Use one coat only for a same-color refresh, and three for dark-over-light changes or vivid colors that cannot hide in two. The ceiling adds 168 sq ft (length × width) when you choose to paint it — usually a separate flat-white product, so most people buy a dedicated gallon for it.

What it costs to paint a kitchen

Doing it yourself, the paint for two coats runs about $90–$158 (roughly 2.25 gal at $40–$70 a gallon), plus $50–$100 in supplies — rollers, brushes, tape, trays, and a drop cloth. That is your whole cost if you bring the labor.

Hiring a painter changes the math: most pros charge $2–$5 per square foot of floor area, so a 168 sq ft kitchen lands around $336–$840. Labor is 75–95% of an interior bill because prep, cutting in, and cleanup eat the hours. For a full paint-plus-labor breakdown, use the paint cost calculator.

Paint cost by brand

Coverage is similar (about 350–400 sq ft per gallon) across the major interior lines, so the price tier is what moves your bill. These are current per-gallon prices for the brands the calculator can price for you — pick one in the result panel above and it multiplies your gallons for this kitchen into an exact paint cost:

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