Will It Fit? How to Measure Doors, Hallways and Stairs Before Buying a Sofa
Most people measure the wall where the sofa will go. Far fewer measure the route it has to take to get there: the front door, the hall, the turn into the living room, and in an apartment, the lift. In Irish homes with narrow terraced halls or tight stairs, that route is where deliveries go wrong. Here is how to check it in ten minutes.
Step 1: know the sofa’s four dimensions
- Width: arm to arm, the longest dimension.
- Depth: front to back.
- Height: floor to the top of the back.
- Diagonal depth: the measurement that decides most doorways. Put a straight edge from the top of the back to the front of the seat, then measure from the bottom of the back rail at the rear to the middle of that straight edge. A sofa can often be tilted back and passed through a doorway narrower than its full depth, as long as the doorway is wider than the diagonal depth.
Step 2: measure every opening on the route
Measure the width and height of each doorway inside the frame, with the door open, from the point where the door itself sticks out into the opening. Then measure the hall width, and the space directly beyond each doorway, because that is where you have to turn. Older internal doors in Irish and UK homes are often narrower than people expect, frequently somewhere around 76 to 84cm wide once the open door is taken into account.
Step 3: apply the simple rule
A sofa will usually go through a doorway if either its height or its depth (or diagonal depth) is smaller than the doorway width. The sofa is carried through sideways, so its length passes through the opening and only its cross-section has to fit. Legs that unscrew save a few precious centimetres.
Step 4: check the corners and stairs
- Tight turns: if the hall is narrow and you have to turn straight into a room, the sofa’s width becomes the problem. Measure the hall width and the distance from the door to the opposite wall; if both are smaller than the sofa’s width, it may need to stand on end to make the turn, which needs enough ceiling height.
- Stairs: measure the stair width, the headroom at the lowest point, and any landing turn. Banisters and light fittings are the usual obstacles.
- Apartments: measure the lift’s door, its internal width, depth and height, and its diagonal. Check with your management company whether the lift can be booked and padded for deliveries.
Real sofa sizes to compare against
| Sofa | Width | Depth | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Como 3-seater | 260cm | 91cm | 68cm |
| Ricamo 4-seater | 252cm | 88cm | 73cm |
| Parma 4-seater | 265cm | 98cm | 75cm |
| Leora 3-seater | 263cm | 103cm | 77cm |
| Braga 3-seater | 265cm | 95cm | 81cm |
| Asos 3-seater | 250cm | 101cm | 89cm |
| Aston L-shaped | 336cm | 185cm | See product page |
A low-backed sofa like the Como, at 68cm high, has a cross-section that passes through most domestic doorways when carried on its back. A deeper, taller model needs more room, so it is worth measuring before you fall for it.
Make a template
For a final check, mark the sofa’s footprint on the floor of the room with masking tape and leave it there for a day. It shows you how much walkway is left, whether the door still opens, and whether the coffee table fits in front. For walkways, aim to keep at least 75 to 90cm clear on the main routes through the room.
If it will not fit
- Take the door off its hinges, which adds a few centimetres.
- Choose a sectional or modular sofa that arrives in pieces. See our modular sofas and corner sofas, and ask which sections a model arrives in and how big each one is.
- Go smaller. A 2-seater sofa plus an armchair seats as many people as a large 3-seater and is far easier to get into a terraced house. Our small sofa range is built for tight rooms.
- Order to size. Some made-to-order models can be made in different widths; ask before you order.
Bring your measurements to us
Bring the door, hall and stair measurements, plus a phone photo of any tight turn, to our Portlaoise showroom (Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm) or include them when you contact us, and we will check them against the sofa you are looking at before you order. Comfort matters too, so read our guide to sofa cushion fillings while you are measuring.
