Believe it or not, making your furniture shopping and buying experience a good one starts before you ever set foot in a store. It even starts before you have decided what piece or pieces of furniture you need, what color you want, or even what style you like. One of the best things you can do to make sure you have a good furniture experience is measure. Measure to save yourself disappointment, time, and money.
Now most people, when planning to furnish a room, do measure, but the problem is that they don't measure everything they need to. Sure, you might measure the room dimensions to see where everything is going to go, but you are likely to forget that the furniture has to get in and out of the room. Look to see how many doorways and hallways the pieces have to go through, what types of turns they have to make, and where furniture will have to go up or down stairs.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for you to measure your doorways, stairwells, and hallways all three. Remember that your furniture not only has to fit in the room, and through the doorways, but it also has to turn corners and fit under the overhang of any stairwells in the path to the final room. Also, bear in mind that there is no such thing, despite what you may think, as a standard doorway. Sure, carpenters and builders shoot for certain sizes, but over time your home may settle, boards may warp, and builders may even take liberties in design. Saying to your salesperson that the furniture will fit because “I have a standard door” is an invitation for problems. Also, nobody consults furniture manufacturers (many of whom are located overseas) on door sizes or hallway widths.
Though your salesperson should be able to help you figure out what will fit, you must bring the right information. Measure the width and height of each doorway as well as the distance to any immediate walls through that doorway. Additionally, if your furniture (including mattresses) needs to go upstairs, measure the distance from the steps to the ceiling above the stairs. If you have a hallway from which you have to make a turn, measure the height in the turn, the width from the corner to the wall, and widths on both sides of the turn. If you keep in mind that there is no such thing as over measuring for furniture, you should be fine.
These measurements will certainly take time, but it is time well spent. With most furniture retailers, your best case scenario is that when it does not fit you will lose your delivery fee. The worst case scenario is that they will say "tough," not take the furniture back, or at least charge you a restocking fee. In other words, save yourself, the salesperson, the store a lot of time, trouble, and money by making sure you have thoroughly measured before going in and even beginning to shop.
KEEP IN MIND: In my experience in the furniture industry, stairwells cause more problems than anything else. Make sure you measure stairs thoroughly.
KEEP IN MIND: The most commonly returned pieces due to “will not fit,” are large headboards (especially king sized), mattresses (the foundation doesn’t bend, remember), large sofas, and dining room sets.
The Furniture Guy
