Short answer: measure every wall at floor level, at 1 m and at 2 m, because rooms are rarely square and old walls bow. Subtract 3–10 cm for skirting boards and radiators, and write down the door swing and every obstruction before you shop. Budget 20 minutes and one roll of painter's tape. Roughly a third of furniture returns are sizing errors, and almost all of them could have been avoided with a tape measure and a floor plan drawn to scale.
Shop the pieces in this guide
The classic mistake is measuring the room once, at waist height, in the middle. That number is a rumour. Rooms differ by 2–5 cm between the top and bottom of a wall in older buildings, doors sit inside frames, and a radiator might project 14 cm into the floor space you just confidently measured as empty.
What to write down
| Measurement | How | Tolerance to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Wall to wall (each wall) | At skirting, 1 m, 2 m | Use the shortest figure |
| Ceiling height | Floor to ceiling, 3 spots | Minus 5 cm for any pendant |
| Skirting projection | Wall to face of board | Typically 1.2–2 cm; older flats 3 cm |
| Radiator projection | Wall to front face | 8–15 cm, plus 10 cm above for heat |
| Door width (open) | Frame to frame, inner | Subtract 5 cm for handles and hinges |
| Door swing | Radius from hinge to edge | Standard 76–86 cm |
| Window sill height | Floor to sill top | Affects anything tall in front |
| Socket and switch positions | Height + distance from corner | Determines lamp and TV placement |
That is eight lines on a piece of paper, and it turns furniture shopping from guesswork into arithmetic. Photograph the sheet; you will need it in the shop, in the checkout page, and again in six weeks when the delivery arrives.
Draw it to scale, on paper or on the floor
A scale drawing at 1:20 with a ruler beats an app for most people: 1 m = 5 cm on paper, so a 220 × 140 cm sofa is a 11 × 7 cm rectangle you can physically slide around. Even better, tape the footprint out on the actual floor. Painter's tape peels off cleanly and gives you a week of walking around a ghost sofa, which is the fastest way to discover that the 240 cm sofa leaves a 40 cm gap to the fireplace.
The three clearances people forget
First, circulation. Main walkways want 90 cm, secondary paths 60 cm. Second, function: 45 cm in front of a wardrobe, 90 cm in front of a chest of drawers, 45–50 cm between sofa and coffee table. Third, the swing: every hinged door, cupboard door, oven door and drawer needs its arc kept clear, and the sum of those arcs is usually 2–3 m² of floor you cannot put furniture on. Subtract it before you plan, not after.
Check the route in, not just the room
A sofa that fits the room still has to get there. Measure the front door (frame to frame), the narrowest hallway, the lift interior (and its door), and every turn. A 240 cm sofa will not go around a 90° corner in a 100 cm hallway no matter how many people lift it. The rule that saves you: any item longer than the hallway is wide plus 10 cm cannot be turned in that hallway. Flat-pack or a removable back may be the only way in.
Keep reading
More dimension guides are in the collection, and the full index is on the furnolio journal.
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