Methodology & Assumptions
Last reviewed: 19 July 2026.
SpaceCheck's clearance figures are consumer planning guidance, not legal, accessibility, fire-safety, or building-code certification. They're meant to help you judge whether a sofa or table will feel comfortable, not to satisfy any regulation.
Units and internal storage
Every length you enter — in centimetres, inches, or feet and inches — is converted to whole millimetres immediately, using 1 inch = 25.4 mm and 1 foot = 304.8 mm exactly. All calculations run on that millimetre value. When you switch the displayed unit, we reformat from the stored millimetre value — we never re-parse the rounded number you last saw on screen. That's what keeps the verdict stable no matter how many times you switch units.
In feet-and-inches mode, inches must be between 0 and 11.99; 12 or more is rejected so a value never displays as, for example, "5′ 12.0″".
Sofa & sectional fit
A sofa physically fits an orientation when its whole footprint stays inside the room rectangle. For an L-shaped sectional, we model the actual L-shape — a main rectangle plus a chaise rectangle attached to one end — rather than only the outer bounding box, so the open floor beside the chaise is represented correctly.
Assumption: the chaise's own width along the wall isn't a required input, since most shoppers don't have that number handy. We approximate it as equal to the sofa's body depth — a common simplification for square-ish chaise end modules. This only affects the sketch's proportions, not the reported clearance numbers, which are measured from the actual front edges you told us about (body depth and chaise depth).
Circulation targets
| Preset | Target | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Compact | 61 cm (24 in) | Limited space; movement may feel tight |
| Practical | 76 cm (29.9 in) | Reasonable everyday passage |
| Comfortable | 91 cm (35.8 in) | More generous circulation |
These are product defaults, not universal rules — they live in one configuration file and can be tuned without touching any calculation logic.
Sofa verdict
- Does not fit — the footprint crosses the room boundary in this orientation.
- Tight — it physically fits, but the narrowest relevant clearance is below the compact target (61 cm (24 in)).
- Workable — clearance meets the compact minimum but misses your selected target.
- Comfortable — clearance meets or exceeds your selected target.
The "relevant" clearance is the walkway directly in front of the seating — in front of the main run, and, for a sectional, in front of the chaise separately, since it usually sticks out further and is often the real limiting factor. Side gaps next to the sofa's ends are shown for reference but don't drive the verdict, since they're rarely a walking route.
We evaluate every simple orientation (long wall, short wall, and — for a sectional — chaise left or right) and point out the one with the greatest limiting clearance among those that fit. We call this "best among the simple orientations checked" rather than "best" outright, because doors, windows, and other obstacles aren't part of the Phase 1 model. In a plain rectangle, left- and right-chaise produce identical numbers; choose the side that suits your room's real doors and walkways.
Dining-table clearance
SpaceCheck doesn't animate a chair pulling out. Instead, it assigns a planning zone from the table edge based on how you describe each side's use.
| Side use | Target | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Chair use only | 76 cm (29.9 in) | Chair can be used, but passing space is limited |
| Normal circulation | 91 cm (35.8 in) | Common general planning allowance |
| People pass behind diners | 107 cm (42.1 in) | Room for a person to pass behind a seated diner |
| Main route / doorway / kitchen / balcony | 122 cm (48 in) | Generous route where traffic is expected |
The table is centred in the room. Left/right available space is room width minus table width, split evenly; top/bottom is room length minus table length, split evenly. Chair icons in the sketch are explanatory only — the dashed clearance zone is the authoritative number, not the icon's size.
Dining verdict
- Comfortable — every side meets its own target.
- Workable — no side is below 76 cm (29.9 in), but at least one misses its target.
- Tight — one or more sides is below 76 cm (29.9 in), but the table footprint fits.
- Does not fit — the table footprint exceeds the room.
The maximum recommended table size for a given pattern is room dimension − target side A − target side B on each axis. If that's zero or negative, the selected pattern can't be achieved in that room at any table size.
Rounding
We always compare unrounded millimetre values internally and round only for display. A measurement exactly equal to a target passes that target — clearances are never bumped down by display rounding.
What this tool doesn't model (yet)
- Doors, windows, columns, fireplaces, and kitchen islands.
- Irregular or curved rooms, or multi-room floor plans.
- Delivery-path geometry through stairs or angled hallways.
- Arbitrary rotation angles (only 0° and 90° placements).
Always confirm a retailer's current product measurements before purchasing — dimensions can change between product revisions.