Returned furniture is usually returned for one reason: it did not fit. Not the room, which most people measure, but the route to the room, which most people do not. Ten minutes with a tape measure prevents nearly all of it.
Measure the room
Note the length and width of the wall the piece will sit against and the walkway that must remain in front of it. Record the height of window sills and outlets if the piece will sit under them; a sofa back that rises above a sill looks wrong from outside and blocks light.
Measure the path
- Front door: width and height of the clear opening with the door open, not the frame.
- Hallways: width, plus the width of any turn. A 36-inch hall with a 90-degree turn will not pass a 40-inch-deep sofa carried upright.
- Interior doors: the narrowest one on the route.
- Stairs: width, ceiling height above the stairs, and the size of any landing where the piece must pivot.
- Elevators: door width, cab depth, and cab height. Many sofas go in diagonally; measure the diagonal.
Measure the piece
Product pages list width, depth, and height. For delivery you also want the diagonal depth: the distance from the top of the back to the front of the arm, measured corner to corner. Most manufacturers provide it on request and some publish it. As a rule, a sofa fits through a doorway if either its height or its diagonal depth is less than the opening width. Remove the legs if they unscrew; it often buys the crucial two inches.
Tape it on the floor
Outline the footprint on the floor with painter's tape and live with it for a day. Walk around it. Open nearby doors and drawers. This shows you what a floor plan cannot: whether the coffee table still leaves a path, whether a door swing clips the chair, whether the piece is simply too much for the room.
Before you click order
- Confirm the delivery method. Curbside means it stops at the curb.
- Check whether the piece ships assembled, in modules, or flat. Modular sectionals solve most path problems.
- Read the return policy for oversized items. Restocking fees on furniture are common and large.
- Photograph the entry and stairs; if there is any doubt, send them to the retailer or to us before ordering.