Fully Furnished

Sofas, beds, mattresses, dining tables, rugs and dressers carry real prices read at the shop that sells them, with the date on every row. Every other category is still sample data.

What should you measure before a big piece of furniture is delivered?

Summary

Measure three things: the wall and floor where the piece will sit, the extra depth it takes when drawers, doors or a sofa bed open, and the narrowest point between the building entrance and the room. For delivery, what has to fit is the box, which can be a very different shape from the furniture. Article's rule of thumb is a door wider than the box is tall.

Measure the box, not the sofa

Most product pages list two sets of dimensions. Article describes them as one for the product itself and one for its box, the second being the one for mapping the route into your home.

ProductAssembledAs delivered
Article Vati 80" Sofa Bed34.5 H x 80 W x 39.5 D inOne box, 28 H x 39 W x 82 L in
Article Basi Queen Bed Frame12 H x 63 W x 83 D inTwo boxes, the longer 11 x 13 x 87 in
IKEA KILBERGET 3-drawer dresser33 7/8 W x 16 1/8 D x 30 3/4 H inTwo flat packages, the larger 35 3/4 in long and 51 lb 4 oz
Burrow Range sofavaries by number of seatsOne box per seat, about 40 lb each, plus a leg box

The Vati box needs every door on the way to be wider than 28 inches. The Basi box is short in cross-section but 87 inches long, and that length is what an elevator has to swallow. Burrow says its seat boxes fit through just about any door.

The route in, step by step

Article's measuring guide covers four places.

  • Doorways: height, width, and the diagonal between the door jambs. Allow for knobs and the door swing, and take the door off its hinges if you can.
  • Hallways: measure diagonally, to see whether the box can be tilted or turned.
  • Elevators: measure the diagonal depth, from the bottom corner of the door to the upper back corner of the car.
  • Stairs: measure at the narrowest point, between the railings, and check the diagonal if the box will go up tilted.

Article also says you can unbox an item to get it in, as long as you keep the packaging for a possible return. That advice holds at other stores too: Burrow's return fee is 10% of the price with the original packaging and 20% without, up to $250 per item.

Depth once the piece is in use

A dresser against the wall takes more room than its depth. KILBERGET is 16 1/8 inches deep and each drawer pulls out 8 5/8 inches, so the drawers reach 24 3/4 inches from the wall before anyone stands in front of them. Sofa beds are harder, because the opened length is often not listed. Vati's page gives only the mattress, 60 by 70 inches, so the open bed runs at least 70 inches out from wherever the back ends up.

If someone uses a wheelchair or walker

Turning and transfer space depends on the person and the device. For a reference number, the U.S. Access Board's guide to the ADA Standards shows a turning circle of at least 60 inches, and accessible routes at least 36 inches wide that may narrow to 32 inches at points such as doorways for no more than 24 inches.

Apartments have their own rule. Under the Fair Housing Act regulations, buildings first occupied after March 13, 1991 that have four or more units and an elevator, plus ground-floor units in other buildings of four or more units, must have an accessible route into and through each covered unit and doors wide enough for a wheelchair. Furniture placement can still block that route, whatever the building provides.

The delivery tier sets who does the carrying. IKEA's standard delivery ends outside your home or in the lobby, and In-Home delivery to one room starts at $69 for non-members. Article offers front-door, in-room and white-glove service, and its delivery partners do not take the boxes away, so the empties need somewhere to go as well.

Sources

Run by Kaz, an individual. Published 28 September 2026.