A sofa fits a European flat when its depth leaves at least 60 cm of clear floor in front of it, and its width plus 40 cm of arm clearance fits the wall you measured. Seat depth matters more than overall width: anything over 90 cm deep turns a small living room into a corridor.
Quick reference: what fits where
| Room floor area | Realistic seating | Max sofa width | Max sofa depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 12 m² | 2 people | 170 cm | 85 cm |
| 12–18 m² | 2–3 people | 210 cm | 95 cm |
| 18–25 m² | 3–4 people | 260 cm | 100 cm |
| Over 25 m² | 4+ or L-shape | 300 cm+ | 105 cm |
These are working limits for a room with a television opposite the sofa. If the sofa faces a wall rather than a screen, you can go 15–20 cm deeper.
Measure three things before anything else
- The wall. Measure between the skirting boards, not between the walls — skirting eats 2–3 cm on each side in most European flats.
- The doorway. Measure the narrowest point the parcel has to pass: front door, hallway corner, lift opening, stairwell turn. Flat-packed furniture usually passes where an assembled sofa will not.
- The turning circle. You need 60–80 cm of clear floor to walk past a sofa. A 240 cm sofa in a 260 cm room leaves a corridor, not a living room.
Depth is the number people get wrong
A 95 cm deep sofa in a room 3 m across leaves 205 cm. Take off 35–45 cm for a coffee table and you have 160 cm of walking space, which is comfortable. Do the same sum with a 105 cm cloud sofa and the walkway drops to 150 cm — still fine, but the room starts to feel full once a rug and a side table arrive.
Cloud and modular sofas are deep by design. Their depth is what makes them comfortable to lie on, so the trade is deliberate: you buy a seat you can stretch out on, and you give up floor.
Bed frames, wardrobes and the 90 cm rule
For a bedroom, keep 90 cm of clear floor at the foot of the bed and 60 cm beside it if you want to open a wardrobe door comfortably. A 160 cm bed frame with a 20 cm headboard needs a wall of at least 165 cm once you allow for the frame thickness.
Narrow storage solves the hallway problem differently: a 17 cm deep shoe cabinet holds 15 pairs and still lets a pram pass. Measure the hallway width minus 80 cm, and that is your maximum cabinet depth.
Check these four numbers on every product page
- Overall width, depth and height — the footprint once assembled
- Maximum recommended load — per seat, per shelf, and total
- Assembly requirement — some pieces arrive fully assembled and will not fit through a narrow door
- Packed dimensions — so you can check the parcel against your lift and corridor
Every furnolio product page lists all four. If a number is missing, ask before ordering rather than after.
Where to go next
- Living room furniture — sofas, sectionals, coffee tables and TV stands
- Bedroom furniture — bed frames, wardrobes and nightstands
- Narrow storage — shoe cabinets and hallway units
- Modular vs cloud sofa — which shape suits a small flat