Measure Furniture

Perhaps you’re wondering why you need to measure furniture. Check out this story about a couple who recently purchased furniture for a basement theater room they constructed.

It seems that this couple decided not to take a loan, but opted instead to furnish the basement as they had the cash. Three years ago, they went to a furniture store and measured a floor model sectional sofa they liked. They knew how to measure furniture properly, and they did so. The problem came later.

The couple did not purchase the sofa at the time. However, they did build a riser in the theater room to fit the sectional sofa that they intended to purchase. It would have fit perfectly on the riser. Only trouble is, when they returned to the furniture store to order the sofa, it was no longer available. By then, the riser was built and the room carpeted.

The couple ordered another sofa instead. Although they knew how to measure furniture, they failed to do so with the replacement sofa. They also forgot to measure the obstacles in the house, such as the width of the stairwell, the height of the ceiling and the width of the downstairs hallway. When the non-sectional sofa arrived, the delivery people carried it downstairs. At least they carried it most of the way down. The staircase is narrow and makes a ninety degree turn into a hallway even narrower than the stairwell. To make matters worse, the hall ceiling is lower than standard height. The delivery people stood the sofa on end and tried to ease it around the corner. After putting a few nicks in the newly painted walls and ceiling, they gave up.

Frustrated, the delivery people returned the merchandise to the store. The homeowners ordered a new sofa, this time choosing a sectional to fit more easily into the basement. However, they again failed to measure the sofa. They also forgot about the width of the riser. When the sofa arrived, it barely squeezed into the basement. However, the new sectional is straight and the riser was built to fit the curved original sofa measured three years earlier. The homeowners were too happy to get any sofa into the basement to worry about ordering another. However, since the riser is twice the width of the sofa, the couch looks a little funky. See why you need to know how to measure furniture properly?

Another reason to measure furniture is to keep from overpowering a room with a single piece of furniture. If you can barely squeeze a sofa into a room, it probably won’t look good. A sofa that’s too large or too small for a room is not visually appealing.

Before measuring furniture, you should first know the size of the room. Make a diagram and determine how much space you have for furnishings. Before you buy any furniture, determine where you are going to place each item. Ensure there is space to decorate esthetically. Measure doorways, hallways, radiators and other obstacles to be sure you can get the furniture to its intended final destination.

To measure furniture width, place a tape measure at the rearmost point of the frame. Run it to the outermost point at the front, which will likely be the front of the armrest. You should also measure the height from the floor to the highest point, and the length from the two furthest outside points. Also, take a diagonal measurement from the outermost corners to make sure the furniture will fit around corners, and through narrow passages. If a one-piece sofa won’t fit, you’ll need to order a smaller sofa or a sectional sofa instead.