Most furniture that gets returned fits the room perfectly. What it does not fit is the route to the room, and that is a measurement almost nobody takes before ordering.

1. The doorway, at its narrowest point

Measure the clear opening with the door open — the door leaf itself steals 30 to 40 mm. A three-seat sofa bed carton is commonly 90 to 100 cm wide, which is more than a standard internal door in many Bhopal flats.

2. The staircase turn

A straight flight is easy. A half-landing turn is where large cartons stop: measure the diagonal across the landing, not the width of the stairs. If that diagonal is under 120 cm, flat-packed is the only realistic option for a bed or a large sofa.

3. The lift

Note the internal depth and the door height, and check whether the lift is available to move goods in your building — several societies restrict it to certain hours. A lift that takes a person will not necessarily take a 190 cm mattress box standing upright.

4. The finished piece, in the room

Only after the route works does the room matter. Mark the footprint on the floor with newspaper and leave it for a day. A bedside table that looks small on a screen is a different object beside an actual bed.

What we can do with those numbers

Send them to us before ordering and we will compare them against the carton dimensions we hold. We would rather answer that question than process a return of a piece that never got past the landing.