Will It Fit? How to Measure for a New Sofa Before You Buy

The most expensive sofa mistake isn't the wrong color. It's the sofa that fits the room but won't make it through the front door. Five minutes with a tape measure prevents it. Here's exactly what to measure, in order, plus five sofas with every number you need, including the box size.

1. Start with the room

• Sofa length: about two-thirds of the wall it sits on looks right. On a 10-foot wall, that's a sofa around 80 inches long.
• Walkways: leave 30 to 36 inches anywhere people walk.
• Coffee table: 14 to 18 inches from the front of the sofa.
• The tape trick: mark the sofa's length and depth on the floor with painter's tape and live with it for a day. If you keep stepping on the tape, go smaller.

2. Measure every squeeze point on the way in

The room is rarely the problem. The path is. Walk from the curb to the room and measure:

1. Every doorway: the width inside the frame with the door fully open. The door itself and the doorstop trim steal an inch or two; taking the door off its hinges gives that back.
2. Hallways: the width, and how much room you have to swing the sofa at each turn.
3. Stairs: the width, and the ceiling height where the stairs turn. That low spot catches more sofas than anything else.
4. Elevator: the door width and the inside depth and height.

Write down the smallest number. That's your limit.

3. Compare your limit to the sofa's depth or height, not its length

Movers carry sofas through doors on their back or tipped on their side, so the length almost never matters. What matters is the smaller of the sofa's depth and height. If your tightest doorway is wider than that number, with an inch or two to spare, it goes through.

4. If it ships in a box, measure for the box

A lot of sofas, including many of ours, ship in a box with the legs off, and that box is what has to get through the door, up the stairs and into the elevator. It's usually smaller than the finished sofa is deep or tall, but it's heavy, so plan on two people. We list the box size for every sofa below.

5. Small tricks that buy you inches

• Legs off: most sofa legs unscrew, which takes a few inches off the height.
• Cushions out: lighter to carry and easier to angle.
• Door off the hinges: usually worth an extra inch or two.

Five sofas, with every number you need

All measurements are in inches: width x depth x height. Box sizes are for the shipping carton.

Elaine Sofa (Light Gray), $549
Sofa 73 x 32 x 33. Box 74 x 34 x 26. Button tufting and tapered legs in an apartment-friendly 73 inches.

Nora Velvet Sofa (Platinum), $632
Sofa 74 x 40.5 x 31.5. Box 76 x 43 x 29. Smooth velvet, two plush seat cushions, sloping arms and solid wood legs.

Theodorus Velvet Sofa (Copen Blue), $588
Sofa 82 x 32 x 30. Box 84 x 35 x 24. Block-tufted velvet on pecan-stained solid wood legs, and only 32 inches deep.

Owen Boucle Sofa (White), $445
Sofa 85 x 32 x 32. Textured boucle, high-density foam seat and back cushions, solid oak legs and two bolsters.

Ashton Vegan Leather Sofa (Slate), $850
Sofa 84 x 35 x 34. Box 91 x 39 x 22. A solid wood frame, a firm block-tufted seat and two back cushions.

Still not sure?

Send us your measurements, or a photo of your room, on Instagram or call real people at 1-973-276-0444. We'll tell you honestly what fits. Every piece at Inmod is picked for quality at a fair price, with free shipping. Browse everything at inmod.com.