Have you ever known someone who had a brand new sofa delivered to their home or apartment only to discover that the darn furniture won't fit through the door? Have you tried to move a sofa down to the basement or up to a second floor apartment only to realize that it won't go up (or down) the stairs. The problem is commoner than you may imagine. For years living room furniture grew larger and larger as manufacturers followed the dictum of "bigger is better." Meanwhile, people with older homes or apartments struggled to find small sofas that would actually fit through the door and into their homes.
There are two solutions to this problem. One, of course, is to buy smaller furniture. This is not necessarily as simple as it sounds. Sofas nearly always measure at least 78 inches in length, while loveseats rarely measure more than 66 inches in length. Buying a sofa that is between these dimensions can be time consuming and frustrating, as they are made by very few (almost exclusively small) manufacturers. Even looking up the search term "apartment sofa" on a search engine will lead you to a variety of sources, only to have you discover that 90% of them offer only full size sofas.
The other solution is to search out one of the rare Ready-To-Assemble sofa manufacturers who make sofas that are designed to be shipped unassembled. These are guaranteed to fit through any door, stairway, hall or elevator, regardless of the age of the home or remoteness of the apartment. The only problem is that aside from cheaply built IKEA -style knockdown designs there are only two manufacturers who specialize in custom built, ready to assemble sofas. Only one of those offers a quality solid oak frame, contemporary, transitional and traditional styles, and a choice of over 50 different fabrics)
Most RTA sofas look like RTA sofas and feel like RTA sofas. You can easily tell that they were assembled from parts. Since last year, however, it is possible to find quality RTA upholstered furniture that looks and feels like real, high quality conventional sofas. Custom-built, American-made RTA sofas are redefining the category. You don't have to settle for small sofas anymore if the only problem is squeezing through a door. If you need a small sofa, you don't have to settle for cheap knockdown, uncomfortable furniture..
