Those overstuffed couches and armchairs are a movie-watching, weekend-lounging dream. Except when moving day comes, nobody quite remembers how you got them into the living room in the first place: the Furniture doesn’t fit the door, no matter how you measure it! Where there’s a will (and some creativity), there’s a way. Here are our tips on moving oversized furniture in and out through a door that seems just a little too small.

Measure the width, height, and length of the furniture

If it’s a really fluffy sofa that might be difficult, but measure based on the firm structure of the piece that can’t be squeezed to become smaller.

Measure the height and width of the doorway

If the height of the furniture is higher than the top of the doorway, its width must be narrower than the door’s width. Otherwise, how did that thing get into the room in the first place? Depending on where the couch is tallest/widest, you can rotate it to better align it with the door.

If the furniture is both wide and tall, how long is it? Could you tip it up on end, in the instance of a couch, and wiggle it through the door that way? If the couch has low arms, this provides the option of navigating around the doorway like a corner.

A few more tips…

• Trying to move a sleeper sofa through a door? Remove the legs first, and be sure to secure the expandable mattress or, better yet, remove it if possible when you remove the cushions
• Big couch, small door: take the door off its hinges. It may not seem like it would make that much of a difference, but in tight spaces and difficult navigation, every bit counts. Consider that when you’re measuring for furniture before you move in, and just leave the door off until you’re done
• Cardboard or furniture dollies can help when sliding the furniture through the door is the best way. Just remember that dollies take up a...Read More