Most furniture is chosen by eye, but it is judged by the body. A sofa that looks right can still leave your feet hanging, and a dining table that photographs well can trap your knees under a deep apron. Ergonomics simply means checking each piece against how people sit, reach and move.
The good news is that a handful of measurements does most of the work. Below are the typical figures for seating, tables, reach and circulation, and a few ways to test them against your own household before you order.
Start with three body measurements
Before comparing product sheets, take three measurements of the people who will use the room most. Sit on a firm chair with your feet flat and your thighs roughly level:
- Lower-leg height: floor to the back of the knee. For most adults it falls between 40 and 48 cm. Seat height should be close to this figure.
- Thigh length: back of the seat to the back of the knee, typically 45–55 cm. Seat depth should leave a gap of about two to four fingers behind the knee.
- Seated elbow height: seat to the underside of a relaxed elbow, usually 20–27 cm. This sets armrest height and the gap between seat and table.
If one person in the household is much taller or shorter than the others, design for the person who uses the piece every day, not for an average.
Seat height, depth and getting up
A common living-room seat height is 42–46 cm. Lower, lounge-style seats around 38–42 cm feel relaxed but ask more of the knees when standing up, which matters for older family members. For them, a seat near 46 cm with firm front edges and armrests to push from makes a real difference.
Seat depth decides posture. Around 55–58 cm of usable depth suits upright sitting and conversation; 60–65 cm suits people who sit back with their legs tucked or who are tall. Very deep seats usually need back cushions to bring the backrest forward for shorter users. Armrests are generally most comfortable 18–25 cm above the seat, matching seated elbow height.
The seat should also keep its height under load. At Sitdesign, upholstered frames are kiln-dried beech and seats combine high-resilience (HR) foam with sprung seating, so the seat does not sink far below its nominal height when you sit. If you are comparing models such as the Platon sofa with pieces from our armchair collection, compare seat height and depth first, then style.
Tables: the gap that matters
At a dining table, the key figure is not the table height alone but the distance between the seat and the tabletop. A gap of 27–30 cm lets the forearms rest comfortably and leaves space for the thighs. With a typical table height of 74–76 cm, that means a chair seat of about 45–48 cm, as with the Bellini dining chair.
- Leave at least 62–65 cm of clear height from the floor to the underside of any table apron, so knees and armrests slide under.
- Allow about 60 cm of table edge per person, or 70 cm when chairs have arms.
- Check where the table legs or pedestal sit; a central base frees the corners for extra places.
In the living room, a coffee table at seat height or up to 5 cm lower is comfortable to reach, and 40–45 cm between the sofa front and the table is a common rule. A side table is easiest to use within 5 cm of the armrest height. If you are choosing from our dining tables, measure the apron height, not only the overall height.
Reach zones for storage
Things you use every day belong between hip and shoulder height, roughly 70–150 cm from the floor for most adults. Sideboard and console tops at 75–90 cm are easy to use standing and to place things on in passing. Deep, low drawers suit items used less often; the bottom 30 cm is the least comfortable zone, as it means bending or kneeling.
For a TV wall, the centre of the screen is usually most comfortable near seated eye height, around 100–110 cm from the floor for a typical sofa, with the viewer looking straight ahead or slightly down.
Circulation: space to move
Ergonomics also covers the paths between pieces. Typical guidance:
- Main walkways through a room: 90–100 cm.
- Secondary paths, such as between a sofa and an armchair: 60–75 cm.
- Behind a dining chair: at least 75 cm to pull the chair out, and 100–120 cm if people need to walk behind seated guests.
- Beside a bed: 60–70 cm on each side you get out of.
Doors, drawers and cabinet fronts need their own swing space, so measure them open. We cover the planning side in more detail in how circulation patterns influence furniture placement. The same checks apply to offices and meeting rooms, as in the Sanel Asansör headquarters in Denizli, where people sit for long periods and move in and out of rooms all day.
Testing before you order
Put masking tape on the floor to mark the footprint of a new piece, then walk around it for a day. Sit on chairs and sofas you already find comfortable and measure their seat height and depth; those numbers are a better brief than any catalogue photograph. Every Sitdesign piece is handmade in our own factory in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, and custom dimensions are available on request, so a seat height, depth or table size can be adjusted to the people who will use it.
Send us your measurements and room plan through our contact page, and we will suggest models and sizes, send leather samples and prepare a quote.
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