diff --git a/drivers/led_strip/Kconfig.ws2812 b/drivers/led_strip/Kconfig.ws2812
index d937974309dbb4..8f8eb680891ff2 100644
--- a/drivers/led_strip/Kconfig.ws2812
+++ b/drivers/led_strip/Kconfig.ws2812
@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@ config WS2812_STRIP_NAME
 	help
 		Device name for WS2812 LED strip.
 
+config WS2812_STRIP_MAX_PIXELS
+	int "Maximum number of pixels in a strip"
+	default 12
+	help
+		Set this to the maximum number of pixels you need
+		to control at once. There is an 8x memory penalty associated
+		with each increment of this value, so it's worth optimizing.
+
 config WS2812_STRIP_SPI_DEV_NAME
 	string "SPI master to use to drive the strip"
 	default ""
diff --git a/drivers/led_strip/ws2812.c b/drivers/led_strip/ws2812.c
index 0e3ff96b8edf66..02c7060f22eb34 100644
--- a/drivers/led_strip/ws2812.c
+++ b/drivers/led_strip/ws2812.c
@@ -48,9 +48,16 @@ LOG_MODULE_REGISTER(ws2812);
  */
 #define RESET_NFRAMES ((size_t)ceiling_fraction(3 * SPI_FREQ, 4000000) + 1)
 
+#if CONFIG_WS2812_HAS_WHITE_CHANNEL
+#define PX_BUF_PER_PX 32
+#else
+#define PX_BUF_PER_PX 24
+#endif
+
 struct ws2812_data {
 	struct device *spi;
 	struct spi_config config;
+	u8_t px_buf[PX_BUF_PER_PX * CONFIG_WS2812_STRIP_MAX_PIXELS];
 };
 
 /*
@@ -69,16 +76,15 @@ static inline void ws2812_serialize_color(u8_t buf[8], u8_t color)
 /*
  * Convert a pixel into SPI frames, returning the number of bytes used.
  */
-static size_t ws2812_serialize_pixel(u8_t px[32], struct led_rgb *pixel)
+static void ws2812_serialize_pixel(u8_t px[PX_BUF_PER_PX],
+				   struct led_rgb *pixel)
 {
 	ws2812_serialize_color(px + RED_OFFSET, pixel->r);
 	ws2812_serialize_color(px + GRN_OFFSET, pixel->g);
 	ws2812_serialize_color(px + BLU_OFFSET, pixel->b);
 	if (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_WS2812_HAS_WHITE_CHANNEL)) {
 		ws2812_serialize_color(px + WHT_OFFSET, 0); /* unused */
-		return 32;
 	}
-	return 24;
 }
 
 /*
@@ -106,9 +112,10 @@ static int ws2812_strip_update_rgb(struct device *dev, struct led_rgb *pixels,
 {
 	struct ws2812_data *drv_data = dev->driver_data;
 	struct spi_config *config = &drv_data->config;
-	u8_t px_buf[32]; /* 32 are needed when a white channel is present. */
+	u8_t *px_buf = drv_data->px_buf;
 	struct spi_buf buf = {
 		.buf = px_buf,
+		.len = PX_BUF_PER_PX * num_pixels,
 	};
 	const struct spi_buf_set tx = {
 		.buffers = &buf,
@@ -117,19 +124,18 @@ static int ws2812_strip_update_rgb(struct device *dev, struct led_rgb *pixels,
 	size_t i;
 	int rc;
 
+	if (num_pixels > CONFIG_WS2812_STRIP_MAX_PIXELS) {
+		return -ENOMEM;
+	}
+
 	for (i = 0; i < num_pixels; i++) {
-		buf.len = ws2812_serialize_pixel(px_buf, &pixels[i]);
-		rc = spi_write(drv_data->spi, config, &tx);
-		if (rc) {
-			/*
-			 * Latch anything we've shifted out first, to
-			 * call visual attention to the problematic
-			 * pixel.
-			 */
-			(void)ws2812_reset_strip(drv_data);
-			LOG_ERR("can't set pixel %u: %d", i, rc);
-			return rc;
-		}
+		ws2812_serialize_pixel(&px_buf[PX_BUF_PER_PX * i], &pixels[i]);
+	}
+
+	rc = spi_write(drv_data->spi, config, &tx);
+	if (rc) {
+		(void)ws2812_reset_strip(drv_data);
+		return rc;
 	}
 
 	return ws2812_reset_strip(drv_data);