Measuring Furniture to calculate Coverage

Measuring the area of your piece of furniture in m2 is a quick and easy way to work out how much paint and wax you are going to need.

The coverage of Plain Jane Chalk Paint is approximately 12m2 per litre and for Plain Jane Clear Wax it is 8m2 per 250g tin. 

You will need 2-3 coats of paint depending on which colour you are using (the whites and some really strong colours such as Ladybird or Sargent Pepper usually need a third coat) and just one coat of Clear Wax.

To calculate the area of your furniture;

1) Picture your furniture as a series of rectangles.

Eg: for a chest of drawers, 1 rectangle is the front panel, 1 for each side panel and 1 for the top. 

2) For each rectangle measure both sides so you have the height and width. Remember to keep your measurements in metres eg: 80cm = 0.8m

3) Now for each rectangle multiply the width by the height to get the square metreage of that panel. Again remember to keep your numbers in metres to avoid confusion.

4) Add the numbers for each panel together to get the full square meterage of your piece.