Purchasing new furniture is exciting! Whether you’re moving into a new place or redecorating your existing space, new pieces are refreshing. But before you start making plans for furnishings and decorating, you’ll need to measure your space.
Here is Woodchuck’s Furniture’s guide to accurately measuring your space so you know exactly what you need to make your dream home a reality.
Measure Entries and Passages
This is the step that is easiest to forget, but it is crucial to get accurate measurements of entryways and passages because your furniture will need to go through these to get where it belongs. This includes not just doorways and hallways, but stairwells, too.
For each of these spaces, make sure that you get accurate measurements of the width, height and diagonal measurement. Take note of things like light fixtures, railings, and any other architectural obstacles along the way. Any furniture you purchase should have some clearance around these things—at least four inches less than the passage measurements to make room for hands and moving equipment.
Measure Your Rooms
For each room that you will be furnishing, you’ll need to take a variety of measurements to make sure that you get it right.
- Measure the doorway you will be using to bring furniture into that room, height, width and the diagonal measurement from top left to bottom right, and make sure to get those measurements inside the door frames.
- Measure the length and width of the room.
- Measure the height of the walls.
- Measure all doorways, windows, radiators, fireplaces and other architectural features that will dictate where you can place furniture.
- For windows, make sure to measure not just the width and total height, but also the height from the floor.
This will give you an accurate picture of furniture sizes that can be placed within the room.
Measure the Furniture
To ensure that the furniture fits in the spaces you have for it, you’ll need to measure it, too. Make sure to allow for at least four inches of clearance around any item you plan to bring in, and keep in mind that most furniture will arrive in some sort of packaging that will make the item slightly larger than its actual dimensions.
To measure furniture, measure the tallest, deepest and widest points, making sure that you are taking note of overhangs, angles, outward curves and arms as the points from which you are measuring.
Diagonal depth is another measurement you may need, but it isn’t standard on most product detail pages, so you may have to get this measurement yourself. To determine diagonal depth, run a straight edge from the highest point of the back of the frame, not including pillows, to the front of the arm. Then measure from the bottom rear corner of sofas and chairs up to the point that bisects the straight edge. The resulting number is your diagonal depth.
Measuring properly will make furniture move-in day much easier—and it will ensure you purchase properly sized furniture for your space. When you’re ready to start shopping, Woodchuck’s Fine Furniture and Decor in Jacksonville is here to help you find exactly what you need. Our showroom is filled with the latest items from the biggest names in furniture design, and our team can help you find exactly what you need to make your dream home a reality.
