Almost every room that feels wrong feels wrong for the same reason: the furniture fits, but the gaps between it do not. Clearance is the space you leave empty so people can walk, sit down, open a door, or pull out a drawer. Get the clearances right and even a small room breathes. This is the master table the rest of our guides point back to.
The master clearance table
Treat every number as a minimum, not a target. Where two numbers appear, the first is the tightest you can live with and the second is comfortable. Round up whenever the space is a route people use daily.
| Where | Minimum | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|
| Main walkway | 75 cm | 90 cm |
| Secondary walkway | 60 cm | 75 cm |
| Sofa to coffee table | 40 cm | 45 cm |
| Behind a pulled-out dining chair | 100 cm | 120 cm |
| Beside a bed (to walk and make it) | 70 cm | 90 cm |
| Wardrobe or cabinet door swing | 60 cm | 90 cm |
| In front of a room door | 60 cm | 90 cm |
| Drawer or desk-chair pull-out | 90 cm | 100 cm |
Why these numbers, not others
None of this is arbitrary. Every clearance traces back to the size of a human body doing something: standing, turning, passing, or reaching. Once you know the body measurements, you can size any gap the table does not list.
- A body is about 55 cm across at the shoulders. That is the absolute floor for any gap a person moves through.
- One person passing wants about 60 cm, enough to walk without brushing the furniture on either side.
- Carrying something (a laundry basket, a tray, a box) needs about 75 cm, because your elbows push out past your shoulders.
- Two people passing, or one person turning with something, wants about 90 cm.
Reading the table room by room
Living room
Keep the main route through the room at 75 to 90 cm and hold the sofa 40 to 45 cm off the coffee table: close enough to reach a mug, far enough to walk past. See how to plan a small living room for the full order of placement.
Dining room
The 100 to 120 cm behind every seated side is the single biggest clearance in most homes, and the one people cut first. Against a dead-end wall you can drop to 75 cm, enough to stand but not pass. The dining table size guide turns this into total floor area per table.
Bedroom
Leave 70 cm minimum down at least one long side of the bed so you can walk it and change the sheets, 90 cm if two people get in and out. Match the bed to the room first with standard bed sizes.
Doors and storage
A hinged door sweeps a 60 to 90 cm arc; never park furniture inside it. Wardrobe doors and drawers need their full depth of clear floor in front, 60 cm for a swing, 90 cm for a deep drawer you stand back from.
Numbers on a page only go so far. Trace your room, drop furniture in, and walk the gaps in 3D before you buy. The rest of the sizes live in the furniture dimensions guide.