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Explore sofasWill my sofa fit through the door and lift?
The short answer
A sofa fits if its smallest dimension (usually the depth or the height) is smaller than the clear opening of every point on the route in: your main door, the lift door, and any tight corridor turn. Measure each one, and compare it to the sofa's narrowest face, not its width.
If a one-piece sofa is too big, a modular sofa solves it by arriving in separate pieces, and a compressible sofa that ships in a box almost always gets in. Send us your door and lift measurements on WhatsApp and we will confirm the route before anything is made.
How do you know if a sofa fits through your door?
The number that matters is not the sofa's width. It is the sofa's smallest face against the door's clear opening, the actual gap you have once the door is open, measured between the inside edge of the frame and the door leaf, not the full frame. A sofa is rarely carried in flat and square. It goes through on its side or stood on end, so the depth and the height are what need to clear, and those are smaller than the width.
Measure the clear opening of your main door, and if you have a gate, measure that too, because the gate is often the tighter of the two. Then take the sofa's depth and height from the product page and compare. Most flats in Singapore have main doors that take a two or three seater without trouble, but yours is the only measurement that counts, so check it rather than assume it. A few centimetres decides the whole delivery.
Will a sofa fit in an HDB lift?
There are two measurements in a lift, and people only take one. The first is the lift car, the floor space and the height inside. The second, and the one that usually decides it, is the lift door, which is narrower than the car behind it. A sofa can stand comfortably inside the car and still never get through the opening, so measure both, and treat the door as the real limit.
The trick most delivery crews use is to stand the sofa on its end, which trades width for the lift's height and often clears a door that looks too narrow flat. That only works if the lift is tall enough and the building allows it. Most lifts in Singapore flats take a standard two or three seater this way, but lift sizes vary a lot between older and newer blocks, so the only honest answer is to measure your own lift door and car height before you order.
What about stairs and walk-ups?
In an older walk-up block with no lift, the staircase itself is rarely the problem. The real constraint is the turning room on the landing, the flat space where the stairs double back, where the crew has to pivot a long piece around a corner. A sofa can travel straight up a narrow flight and still get stuck at the half-landing where there is no room to swing it round.
So measure the landing, the width of the stairwell, and the height of the ceiling above the turn. Tell us the floor you are on and where the tight turns are, and we will work out whether the sofa can be carried up in one piece, brought up as separate modules, or needs another route in.
An honest note
The sofa that fits your room is not always the sofa that fits the way into it. A large one-piece sofa can be the wrong call in an older flat with a small lift or a tight stair, even when the living room has the space. This is worth checking before you fall for a size, not on delivery day, when the only options left are the expensive ones.
What if it does not fit?
A sofa that will not go through in one piece is not the end of the order, it just changes how it arrives. A modular sofa like the Sammie is the first answer, because it comes as separate modules, each one far smaller than the assembled sofa. The Single is 88cm wide, the Two 130cm, the Three 175cm, the Corner 100cm by 100cm per side, all 105cm deep, and they are carried in and put together inside your home. A door or lift that a full three seater cannot pass will usually take the pieces one at a time.
The next answer is a sofa that ships compressed. The Sienna is foam-only and arrives in a box, then expands in your room, which makes it the easiest of all to deliver, because a box gets through doors and lifts that no built sofa can. Hoisting a sofa up the outside of the block and in through a window is the last resort, not a plan. It is slow, it needs a permit and a professional crew, and it costs more than the delivery itself, so it is the option you reach for only when every other route is closed.
How does Paliano check before you order?
The whole problem is avoidable, and avoiding it is free. Before you commit to anything, send your main door, lift, and corridor measurements on WhatsApp, a few photos help too, and you reach a real person who checks the route in against the sofa you are looking at. We would rather tell you a size is tight and steer you to the modules or the Sienna than let you find out when the crew is standing in your corridor.
This is the same reason the order comes with a few quiet safeguards. Delivery islandwide is free, we take your old sofa away at no cost, and you have a 30-day home trial we collect ourselves if the fit is wrong once it is in the room. If you would rather sit on every model first and ask in person, our Experience Corner at Beauty World Centre #02-30 is open 11.30am to 7.30pm daily. For more on how delivery works, our FAQs cover the common questions.
Where a sofa actually gets stuck
Five points decide almost every delivery in a Singapore flat. Here is what to measure at each, and the problem that usually catches people out. The measurements are yours to take, your own door and lift are the final word.
| Access point | What to measure | The usual problem |
|---|---|---|
| Main door | Clear opening with the door fully open, and the gate if you have one | The gate is tighter than the door, or a hinge stop narrows the gap |
| Lift car | Internal floor space and the ceiling height inside | Looks roomy, but you cannot stand a long sofa on end if the car is short |
| Lift door | The width and height of the opening itself | Narrower than the car, so this is the real limit, not the space inside |
| Corridor / lobby turn | The width at the tightest turn between lift and front door | No room to swing a long piece around the corner into your unit |
| Staircase landing | The turning room where the stairs double back, plus ceiling height | The flight is fine, the half-landing has no room to pivot the sofa |
Lift, door, and stair sizes vary between blocks. Measure your own route, or send us the numbers and we will check it for you.
Common questions
Do modular sofas fit more easily? +
Yes, and this is the main reason to choose one for a flat with tight access. A modular sofa arrives as separate pieces rather than one large object, so each module has to clear the door and lift on its own, and a single piece is far smaller than the assembled sofa. The Sammie comes this way, the modules are carried in and joined inside your home. A door or lift that a full three seater cannot pass will usually take the pieces one by one.
What is the narrowest space a sofa can pass? +
It depends entirely on the sofa's smallest face, not a fixed number. A sofa is carried through on its side or stood on end, so what has to fit is the depth or the height, whichever is smaller, against the clear opening of the gap. Measure both the sofa's narrowest dimension and the tightest point on the route, then compare the two. If they are close, send us the figures and we will tell you whether it works before you order.
Can you deliver to a walk-up? +
Yes, we deliver to walk-up units, but tell us the floor and any tight turns first so we can plan it. In an older block the staircase is usually fine, it is the turning room on the landing that decides whether a long sofa can be carried up in one piece or needs to come up as separate modules. With the floor and a photo of the stairwell, we can confirm the route before delivery day rather than discover it on the stairs.
Send us your door and lift.
Message your main door, lift, and corridor measurements on WhatsApp, photos help too, and we will confirm the route in before anything is made. Free, and no pressure to buy.