Will it fit?

How to measure before buying

1. Measure the usable room. Start inside skirting boards. Mark radiators, door swings, drawers and sockets separately; the calculator does not know where they are.
2. Use the furniture's complete size. A mattress is smaller than its frame. Sofa arms, protruding feet and delivery packaging can change the outside dimensions.
3. Choose your clear space. Tape the furniture footprint on the floor, walk around it and pull out the chair or open the cabinet you need to use. Enter a clearance based on that check.
4. Measure the whole delivery route. Include the building entrance, lift, stairs, turns and final doorway. Record the clear opening with the door open, not the nominal door size.
5. Save the plan and verify before ordering. Send the measurements to the retailer when any corner, removable component or tilt is uncertain.

Delivery measurement reference: Room & Board's furniture fit guide. The calculations and worked examples here are our own.

Two worked examples, with the arithmetic shown

A sofa in a 9 × 10 ft room

The room is 108 × 120 in. A 78 × 34 in sofa centered against the back wall leaves (108 − 78) ÷ 2 = 15 in on each side. Add a 16 in gap and an 18 in deep coffee table: 120 − 34 − 16 − 18 = 52 in in front of the table. That meets a chosen 36 in front clearance. A door swinging into that space could still change the answer.

A 48 × 36 in table in a 10 × 10 ft room

Centered in a 120 × 120 in room, the table leaves (120 − 48) ÷ 2 = 36 in on the sides and (120 − 36) ÷ 2 = 42 in at the ends. These figures describe the empty floor around the table; use the actual chairs to decide whether that is enough for your household.

What the doorway result does and does not mean

The checker tries six ways to present a rectangular furniture envelope to a rectangular opening. Each needs the furniture width plus twice your allowance to fit the clear opening width, and the presented height plus twice the allowance to fit the opening height. Only confirmed removable leg height is subtracted.

A successful opening check does not establish that the piece can reach that orientation in the hall. A failed straight check does not establish that an experienced delivery team cannot tilt or turn it through. Share the complete route measurements with them before making that decision.

Continue planning your small home

• Start here: a renter's small-space plan
• Compare measured layouts for a narrow entryway
• Measure a cabinet with pipes before choosing baskets
• Work out shelf spacing and storage-bin sizes