Size your sofa
Seats first, then the wall it has to sit against.
How this calculator works
- Length = seats × seat width + (2 × arm width). Everything is in inches because that is how upholstery is specified in India.
- Depth follows the seat width you pick: 33 in for 22-inch seats, 36 in for 24-inch, 40 in for 28-inch lounge seating.
- Wall needed = sofa length + 24 in, a foot of breathing space each side so the sofa does not read as wedged in.
- Coffee table = 66% of sofa length × 20 in deep, the proportion that looks right and leaves reach from every seat.
- Room depth needed = sofa depth + 18 in gap + 20 in table + 30 in walkway. For a standard three-seater that is 104 in, or 8 ft 8 in.
- An L-shape chaise adds 64 inches on one end and needs 30 inches of clearance beyond it.
| Configuration | Seat width | Arms | Total length | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-seater, slim arm | 24 in × 2 | 8 in | 56 in / 4 ft 8 in | 36 in |
| 2-seater, standard | 24 in × 2 | 16 in | 64 in / 5 ft 4 in | 36 in |
| 3-seater, slim arm | 24 in × 3 | 8 in | 80 in / 6 ft 8 in | 36 in |
| 3-seater, standard | 24 in × 3 | 16 in | 88 in / 7 ft 4 in | 36 in |
| 3-seater, lounge | 28 in × 3 | 16 in | 100 in / 8 ft 4 in | 40 in |
| 4-seater, standard | 24 in × 4 | 16 in | 112 in / 9 ft 4 in | 36 in |
Design and build under one accountable roof
Worked example — the default three-seater
| Step | Arithmetic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Seats | 3 × 24 in | 72 in |
| Arms | 2 × 8 in | 16 in |
| Sofa length | 72 + 16 | 88 in / 7 ft 4 in |
| Wall needed | 88 + 24 | 112 in / 9 ft 4 in |
| Wall available | 12 ft | Fits |
| Coffee table | 88 × 0.66 | 58 × 20 in |
| Room depth needed | 36 + 18 + 20 + 30 | 104 in / 8 ft 8 in |
| Room depth available | 11 ft | Fits |
The Mumbai living-room problem
Most Mumbai living rooms are between 11 and 14 feet on the long side, and they have to carry a sofa, a television, a dining table and a route from the front door to the bedrooms. The sofa is the largest object in that negotiation, so it is the one that has to be sized honestly.
Two moves buy the most space. The first is choosing slim track arms over rolled arms: on a three-seater that is sixteen inches of length recovered for the same seating, which is the difference between a sofa fitting a wall and not. The second is abandoning the second sofa. Two facing sofas is a suburban-house arrangement; in a 12 ft room it leaves a corridor between them. A sofa with two light chairs opposite gives the same seat count, breaks up visually, and the chairs can move when you have fourteen people over for Diwali.
The third move, which people resist, is buying a sofa with legs. A sofa sitting flush on the floor reads as a solid block; the same sofa on four-inch legs lets the floor run underneath and the room reads larger. It costs nothing and it is the single most reliable trick for a small living room.
Every constant on this page comes from Greenbox site records — measured drawings, signed BOQs and completion certificates from projects delivered between 2023 and 2026 — rounded to the figures an estimator would actually write down. We publish them so the arithmetic can be audited rather than trusted. Treat the output as a planning figure: accurate enough to brief a landlord, a bank or a family, and not accurate enough to sign a contract against.
What this tool does not cover
- Getting it into the flat. Measure the lift car, the lift door, the staircase turn and the flat door before ordering — a 7 ft sofa that will not enter is a common and expensive discovery.
- Recliner mechanisms, which need 6–18 inches of clearance behind the sofa unless they are wall-hugger units.
- Sofa-cum-beds, which need the full opened footprint checked, not the closed one.
- Fabric and frame quality, which decide whether the sofa still looks right in year five.
- Loose furniture cost — this tool sizes, it does not price.
- For the whole room layout, use the furniture arrangement planner.
Selected work by Greenbox Design Studio. Tap any image to enlarge.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a standard 3-seater sofa?+
About 88 inches, or 7 ft 4 in — three 24-inch seats plus two 8-inch arms. Slim-armed versions come in at 80 inches and rolled-arm English styles go to 96. Always ask for the overall length, not the seat count.
How much space do I need in front of a sofa?+
Eighteen inches to the coffee table, then 30 inches of walkway beyond it. Adding the sofa's own 36-inch depth, a standard arrangement needs about 8 ft 8 in of room depth.
What size coffee table for a 3-seater sofa?+
Roughly two-thirds the sofa length, so 56 to 60 inches for an 88-inch sofa, and about 20 inches deep. Height should be level with or slightly below the seat cushion.
Is an L-shaped sofa a good idea in a small living room?+
Sometimes. The chaise adds 64 inches on one end, so it only works if that end runs into a corner rather than across a walkway. In a room under 12 ft wide it usually blocks the route from the door, and a three-seater with an ottoman gives you the same put-your-feet-up option without the footprint.
How big should the rug under a sofa be?+
Large enough for the front legs of every seat in the group to stand on it. For an 88-inch sofa that means at least 8 ft × 6 ft. A rug that floats in the middle with all the furniture off it makes the room look smaller, not larger.