This is the category where buyers most often discover the size problem after delivery, and it is entirely preventable with a tape measure and five minutes.
Measure the piece
Height, width and depth, in centimetres. Seat height for anything you sit on. Diagonal depth for large items, because that is what actually decides whether something goes through a doorway at an angle.
Then measure your route
Not just the room:
- The doorway, width and height
- The stairs, including the turn at the top, which is where most wardrobes stop
- The lift, if there is one
- Any corridor corner
Furniture does not travel in a straight line, and the narrowest point on the route is the real constraint.
Then measure the space
Including what is already there. A sofa that fits the wall but blocks a door is still the wrong sofa.
Homeware
Rugs by length and width, and say whether it is the pile or the whole. Lamps by height and shade diameter. Pots by diameter at the top and by height. Mirrors by the frame, not the glass.
What to ask the seller
"Can you measure height, width and depth on camera, and does it dismantle?" Dismantling changes every number above. Questions to ask.
What protection covers
Measurements materially wrong or a different item: seven days from delivery. A piece that does not fit a room you did not measure is not — which is the whole reason for this page.
Questions people ask
Does it dismantle?
Ask. It frequently changes whether a piece can reach the room at all.
What is diagonal depth?
The corner-to-corner depth of a piece — the figure that decides whether it can be angled through a door.
Should I ask for a photograph with something for scale?
Yes, alongside the measurements rather than instead of them.
More: buying furniture, delivering it.