Will My Sofa Fit Through the Door?
Enter your sofa and doorway measurements and see whether it can get through, which way round, and where the limits of the check are.
Will My Sofa Fit My Room? Free Layout Planner
Knowing a sofa fits a space is not the same as knowing it works in a room. Enter your room, your sofa and, if you like, a coffee table and a TV, and we check the gaps that make a room comfortable.
A guide, not a guarantee. The planner works on one wall of seating in a plain rectangular room. It does not know about doors, windows, radiators or other furniture, so check those with the tape outline on your floor.
The spacing that makes a room work
Designers use a handful of simple distances. None of them is a rule, but each marks the point where a room starts to feel either comfortable or cramped.
| What | Comfortable | The least that works |
|---|---|---|
| Walkway in front of or past a sofa | 75 to 90 cm | 60 cm |
| Sofa to coffee table | 40 to 45 cm | 30 cm |
| Legroom in front of a sofa (seating area) | 45 cm or more | 35 cm |
| Eyes to a TV screen | 1.2 to 2 times the diagonal | Closer feels intense, further feels distant |
How to measure your room
- Length of the sofa wall: corner to corner, or between the doors and furniture it has to sit between.
- Distance to the opposite wall: from the sofa wall straight across. If the TV unit stands against that wall, enter its depth and we take it off for you.
- The sofa: width along the wall, and depth out from it, at the widest and deepest points.
Tape it out before you buy
The planner ends with a masking tape guide: how many strips to cut, how long each one is, and where to put them. Marking the outline on the floor shows you things a drawing cannot, such as whether the sofa blocks the door swing, how it sits against the window, and how it feels to walk round. Leave it down for a day before you decide. See also our sofa bed space checker if the sofa opens into a bed.
Planning a purchase? Browse our sofas, armchairs and curated collections.
Frequently asked questions
How much space should there be between a sofa and a coffee table?
About 40 cm is the usual answer, and anything from 30 to 50 cm works. Closer than that and your knees hit the table. Further and the table becomes a stretch to reach.
How much room do I need to walk past a sofa?
About 75 cm is comfortable for a route people use regularly, and 60 cm is the least that most people can manage without turning sideways. If the sofa is in a seating area rather than on a route, about 45 cm in front is enough for your legs.
How far should my sofa be from the TV?
A common rule of thumb is between 1.2 and 2 times the screen diagonal, measured from your eyes to the screen. A 55 inch TV, which is about 140 cm across the diagonal, is usually watched from about 1.7 to 2.8 metres.
Does the planner work for a corner sofa?
Use the overall width and depth of the sofa. For an L-shape that is cautious, because the box that holds it is bigger than the sofa itself, but it keeps you on the safe side. A corner sofa also needs its return in the room, so check the other wall too.
What is the masking tape guide for?
It tells you exactly how long to cut each strip of tape so you can mark the sofa and table on your floor. Standing in the taped outline is the quickest way to feel whether a room is going to be comfortable, before you spend any money.
Does it allow for doors, windows and radiators?
No. It plans one wall of seating in a plain rectangle. Check door swings, radiators, sockets and window sills yourself, ideally with the tape outline on the floor.
Can I use inches?
Yes. Switch to inches at the top of the form. Everything is calculated in centimetres and converted for you.
Is my data stored or sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. If you copy a results link, the measurements are in the link itself, and nothing else.
More free tools
Will My Sofa Turn the Corner?
Check whether a sofa, or one section of a corner sofa, can be carried round a right-angle turn in your hallway, upright or tipped, drawn to scale.
Will My Sofa Bed Open Up in My Room?
Find out whether a sofa bed opens fully in your room with space left to use it, and how many people it sleeps.
What Size Bed Do I Need?
Tell us who sleeps in the bed and how tall they are, and get a recommended UK size, a comparison of every size and the room you need.
Will My Bed Fit My Room?
Check a UK bed size against your bedroom for room to get in and out, open drawers and wardrobe doors, drawn to scale.
Will My Bed Base Fit Through the Door?
A divan or ottoman base cannot fold. Check it through your doorway and round a tight corner, and see whether a two-part base would help.