How Big is it Really?

You're considering buying a piece of furniture, it's the perfect colour, it's the perfect shape, it would look great in the room, but will it fit? 

It happens to a lot of us; we we see a piece of furniture sitting in someone's house, or on a showroom floor and it doesn't seem so big, and then you bring it into your own house and what do you know, it's much bigger than you really thought. That plush upholstered couch takes up a 1/3 or your living space, and lets not talk about the fight it was to get it in the front door?

So where do you start?

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Floor Space:

First you need to know the size of your space, and the space for the intended piece. It's not a silly idea to mark out the floor with painters tape to decide on the foot print of the piece. Remember to allow a bit more space when it comes to pieces like your sofa. If the arms are curved, or you have a decorative back, it may mean that it has to come out from the wall further than you first thought. Which may mean that perfect piece isn't so perfect after all. How much room do you have around it? Is there enough space to comfortably walk around it?

Entryways:

Will it fit through the door? If it won't fit in the front door will it fit around the corner to come through the sliding door? Now you've got it inside, will it fit down the hallway and through any internal doors? Will it bang into lights? Will it get stuck in the stairwell? 

Make sure you measure both the Heights and the widths!

Furniture:

It seems pretty obvious to measure the length, depth and height, but also measure the diagonal depth (this will be critical in getting it through entryways).

So have you bought a piece of furniture and you thought everything was going to be great until you got it home?