Furniture Spacing Guide — Standard clearances

Why these clearances matter

Furniture clearances are the difference between a room that looks beautiful in a 3D render and a room that feels right when you walk through it. Get them wrong and clients get frustrated within weeks of moving in — chairs that hit walls when pulled out, sofas you have to step over to reach, beds you can't make properly.

How to use this guide

1. Use these clearances at the design stage, before furniture is selected — they often dictate which sofa or dining table will fit.
2. For retrofits, measure your current space against these standards to identify what's wrong before a client tells you.
3. Combine with the Standard Dimensions reference for door, window, cabinet and counter sizing.
4. For small rooms, you can often go to the lower end of these ranges. Below the lower end, function suffers.

The 3-30-300 rule

A useful shortcut for living-room layouts: 3 inches of breathing space between cushions on a sofa, 30 inches from sofa to coffee table for legs, 300 sqft minimum for a comfortable conversation grouping. If you're working with less than 300 sqft, use one statement piece + accent chairs rather than a full sofa-set.