Sofa, armchair and bench dimensions

At a glance

Millimetres, from the finished floor; seat height is the loaded seat, measured as the drawing shows. Overall width, depth and height are typical practice for our partner upholsterers to confirm; the 160 and 240 cm sofa lengths, the ottoman and bench lengths and the window-seat height are the figures on our own pages.

Read every dimension the same way

Most disagreement about a sofa size is about where it is measured. An overall depth with or without the lean of the back, a seat height loaded or unloaded, an arm height from the floor or from the seat: each moves the number by tens of millimetres. The letters in the key match the drawings. The seat conventions are those of our seat height, depth and width sheet, and back angles are on seat rake and slope.

Length from places, and sectionals in modules

A straight sofa is built up from its parts: the overall length (A) is the number of places times the place width (D), plus two arm widths (C). Using 550 to 650 mm per place, the range on our seat sheet, and arms of 100 to 250 mm, a typical practice figure:

Arithmetic on the ranges stated; the inputs are typical practice. Our sofas page gives a 160 cm loveseat to a 240 cm three-seater, both inside these ranges.

A corner sofa or sectional is built as separate modules joined on installation, which also lets it be reconfigured later if the room changes. Choose the splits for the route as well as the room: the largest side of the largest module has to travel the whole route, so write the module sizes and the split lines on the drawing, and have the join and the cover match across it agreed on the shop drawing.

Armchairs, ottomans and benches

• Armchairs use the same seat geometry as a sofa: one place between two arms, so the overall width is mostly the arms and the seat. Say whether the width is the arm-to-arm or the widest point, which on a wing or a rolled arm are not the same.
• Coffee-table ottomans are typically built around 80 to 120 cm square on our ottomans page. Set the height as for a coffee table, 380 to 450 mm in our table heights guide, level with or a little below the sofa seat, and make the top firm enough to take a tray.
• Benches take their length from the place: an end-of-bed bench from the bed, a hall bench of 110 to 180 cm from the hall (our ottomans page), a window seat from the opening. Our window seats page gives a seat height of 42 to 46 cm and a seat depth of 50 to 55 cm for a relaxed lean-back, narrower if the opening is shallow.
• Pouffes and footstools are set from the seat they serve, at or a little below it. Give the finished height on the drawing, loaded, like any other seat.

Will it get through the door?

A sofa is more often stopped by a corner, a stair or a lift than by the front door. Our delivery access survey sheet has the route checklist and the two geometry tests; this section applies them to a sofa 2,200 mm long, 900 mm deep and 850 mm high. A sofa can be carried three ways, and each way sends a different pair of dimensions through the door and a different footprint round the corner. The longest dimension always goes through last.

Rigid box, carried level, no packaging: a screening step, not a guarantee. The passage at a square turn is (length + 2 x thickness) / 2.83, from the corner test on the delivery survey sheet, rounded up to 10 mm. Add the packaging to every dimension, keep room for hands, and when the answer is close make a cardboard template and carry it along the route.

Standing it up. To stand the sofa on its end from lying down, the clear ceiling height where it is stood up must be more than the diagonal of its side: about 2,360 mm for 2,200 by 850, or 2,380 mm for 2,200 by 900 (rounded up to 10 mm). A room with a 2,400 mm ceiling leaves almost nothing, and any bulkhead or light fitting takes it away.

Measuring the door. Approved Document M, Volume 2 defines the effective clear width of a door as the width measured at right angles to the wall, from the outside of the door stop on the closing side to any obstruction on the hinge side, whether the open door, its stop or its ironmongery (Table 2 note and Diagram 9). That is the right way to measure any door for a delivery. Table 2 sets minimum effective clear widths for accessible entrance doors (paragraph 2.13(b)) and for internal doors in buildings other than dwellings (paragraph 3.10(b)): 800 mm for a straight-on door in a new building, and 1,000 mm for an external door to a building used by the general public. They are minimums for new work in England, not the widths you will find: older buildings, dwellings, which another volume covers, and doors that are not on an accessible route can be narrower, so measure each door.

Splitting it. Where a finished piece cannot travel whole, it is developed in sections that join on site, as our delivery page says. For a sofa, ask the partner upholsterer whether legs, arms or the back can come off, or the frame can be made in parts: not every construction allows it, and each split adds a joint and time on site. State the agreed splits on the drawing.

Overall length [2,200] mm, overall depth [900] mm and overall height [850] mm to the top of the back, measured from finished floor level, tolerance [ ] mm. Finished seat height [440] mm to the top of the loaded cushion, measured on the centreline one third of the seat depth back from the front edge (unloaded [ ] mm). Seat depth [550] mm to the face of the back at seat level. Seat width per place [600] mm centre to centre. Arm height [200] mm above the loaded seat. Seat cushion thickness [140] mm as sat on. Leg height [100] mm. Back rake [ ] degrees from vertical. Sizes confirmed on [a mock-up or the approved shop drawing] before production.

Sofa supplied as [3] modules joined on site, split as shown on drawing [ref]. Largest module [ ] x [ ] x [ ] mm. Modules to be joined by [fixing type] and the covers matched across the joins. The supplier is to state which splits are required for delivery and whether the sofa can be reconfigured after installation.

Delivery route as surveyed on [date]: narrowest effective clear door width [ ] mm and height [ ] mm, stair clear width [ ] mm and headroom [ ] mm, lift car [ ] x [ ] x [ ] mm, tightest turn [ ] mm either side. The supplier is to confirm in writing before production that each piece, or each module, passes the route in its packaging, and to state any removable parts or splits needed. Effective clear width is measured as defined in Approved Document M, Volume 2, Diagram 9.

[Ottoman or bench] [1,000] x [1,000] mm and [430] mm high to the top of the loaded cushion, measured from finished floor level. Top to be [firm enough to carry a tray]. Cover and fill as [reference]. Height confirmed against the seat it serves on [a mock-up or the approved shop drawing].

Standards and sources

• Approved Document M, Volume 2 (2015 edition with 2020 and 2024 amendments, England): paragraphs 2.13(b) and 3.10(b), Table 2 and Diagram 9 read.
• BS EN 16139:2025: non-domestic seating strength and durability; its informative dimensions annex was not read.
• Make Bespoke Studio: sofas, ottomans and benches, window seats, delivery: source of the lengths and the bench and window-seat figures.
• Make Bespoke Studio technical library: Delivery access survey: the corner and tip-up tests used above.

Questions we are asked

What are the standard dimensions of a sofa?

There is no single standard. A three-seater is often about 2,000 to 2,400 mm long and a two-seater from about 1,600 mm, typically 850 to 1,050 mm deep and 750 to 900 mm high, with a finished seat about 400 to 450 mm above the floor. Our sofas page gives a 160 cm loveseat to a 240 cm three-seater. Treat the rest as typical practice and confirm with the workshop.

How wide should each seat on a sofa be?

About 550 to 650 mm per place, centre to centre, on the ranges in our seat height, depth and width sheet. The overall length is the places times the place width, plus two arms.

How do I know if a sofa will fit through a door?

Measure the effective clear width of every door on the route, not the leaf. Two of the sofa's three dimensions, the smaller ones, have to pass the opening and the longest goes through last. Then check each corner, stair turn and lift, and the ceiling where it is stood up. Our delivery access survey sheet has the tests.

What height should a coffee table or ottoman be against a sofa?

Level with, or a little below, the sofa seat: about 380 to 450 mm in our table heights guide. A coffee-table ottoman is typically built around 80 to 120 cm square with a firm top.

Can a sectional sofa be delivered in pieces?

Yes, a sectional is built as separate modules joined on installation. The splits should be chosen for the route and shown on the drawing, and the largest module has to pass every door, corner and lift.

Is the seat height of a sofa loaded or unloaded?

Both exist. A cushion compresses under a sitter, so say which you mean. We use the loaded height, measured on the centreline one third of the seat depth back from the front edge, with the unloaded height in brackets.