Armchair Dimensions: Standard Sizes by Style, Seat Height and Fit

Armchair dimensions by style

"Armchair" covers everything from a slim accent chair to a chair-and-a-half you can curl up in. The style name tells you a lot about the footprint, as this chart shows.

Club chairs are low and deep, built for lounging, and often have thick arms that take up 6-8 in on each side. Wingbacks are taller, with side panels at head height and a firmer, more upright seat. Slipper chairs have no arms and a lower seat, so they fit beside a bed or in a narrow corner.

Chair-and-a-half 48 × 40 inClub chair 36 × 36 inAccent chair 28 × 30 in

Armchair size in cm and mm

European and UK catalogs list armchairs in centimeters, and furniture drawings use millimeters. These are the same ranges as above, converted and rounded to the nearest centimeter.

In millimeters, a typical standard armchair is about 850 mm wide, 900 mm deep and 900 mm high, with a 450 mm seat height. Those round figures are a sensible placeholder for a floor plan before you pick a model.

Seat width, seat depth and arm height

The inner measurements decide how the chair feels. Listings often give only the outer size, so look for "seat width" and "seat depth" in the spec sheet, or measure in the store.

• Inner width: measure across the seat between the arms at cushion level. 20 in suits most adults sitting upright; 22-24 in leaves room to shift or tuck a leg up.
• Outer minus inner width = the arms. A 36 in chair with a 22 in seat has 7 in arms. Two chairs with the same outer width can differ by 6 in or more of usable seat.
• Seat depth vs your legs: sitting back, you want 2-4 in between the seat edge and the back of your knees. Shorter adults (under about 5 ft 4 in) do best at 19-21 in; tall adults at 22-24 in.
• Arm height: arms 7-9 in above the seat let your shoulders relax. Arms much higher than that push the shoulders up, which you notice when reading.

Choosing an armchair to go with a sofa

1. Match the seat height. Keep the chair seat within 1-2 in of the sofa seat so people sit at the same eye level in conversation.
2. Check the back height. Chairs whose backs are no more than a few inches higher than the sofa back keep sightlines open. A wingback is the exception: it works as a deliberate tall accent, often by a window or fireplace.
3. Scale the width. Two armchairs opposite a sofa look balanced when together they are roughly as wide as the sofa. With an 84 in sofa, two 32-36 in chairs plus an 18 in side table between them fill the same width.
4. Leave legroom and passage. Allow 18-24 in in front of the seat for feet, and 30-36 in for any walkway past the chair. Place facing chairs no more than about 8 ft from the sofa so conversation stays easy.

Pair a club or lounge chair with an ottoman at about the same height as the seat; the ottoman size guide has the matching heights. If you want a chair that reclines, compare footprints in the recliner dimensions guide, since even a closed recliner is deeper than most armchairs. The sofa size guide covers the sofa side of the layout.

Armchairs for small spaces

A small-room armchair should be under 30 in (76 cm) wide and 32 in (81 cm) deep. The useful styles are:

• Slipper chairs (22-28 in wide): no arms, so the whole width is seat.
• Accent chairs with track or open arms (24-30 in): thin arms keep a 20 in seat in a narrow frame.
• Exposed-leg chairs: visible floor under the seat makes a chair look smaller than a skirted chair of the same size.
• Swivel chairs (28-34 in): one chair can face the TV or the room, replacing two.

High-seat armchairs for older or less mobile users

Standing up from a low, soft chair takes much more effort than from a firm, higher seat. Chairs sold as "high seat" or "orthopedic" are sized for this.

The right seat height for one person is the floor-to-knee-crease measurement while seated, with shoes on, plus about 1 in. If it is a recliner you need, power lift chairs combine a high seat with a motor that tilts the chair forward; their sizing is covered in the recliner guide.

Outdoor and garden armchair sizes

Outdoor armchairs fall into two groups. Dining armchairs (about 22-26 in wide, seat 17-19 in high) are sized like indoor dining chairs. Deep-seating lounge armchairs are wider and deeper than most indoor chairs, 28-34 in (71-86 cm) wide and 30-36 in (76-91 cm) deep, with a seat of about 14-17 in (36-43 cm) once the cushion is on. Adirondack chairs sit lower still, with the seat sloping back toward the frame. The outdoor furniture guide covers loungers and full sets.

How to measure an armchair

1. Width: the widest point, usually across the outside of the arms or the flare of the wings.
2. Depth: from the front of the arm or seat to the back of the frame, including back legs that splay out.
3. Height: floor to the top of the back. For wingbacks, measure to the top of the wings.
4. Seat height: floor to the top of the seat cushion at the front, center. Soft cushions sink 1-2 in under weight.
5. Diagonal depth: needed for narrow doors. Most armchairs pass a 30 in door easily, but oversized and chair-and-a-half models (38+ in deep) often have to be tilted.

For dining, office and outdoor chairs, see the general chair size guide. Room-level clearances are in the furniture dimensions guide, and children's seating by age is in the kids furniture guide.

Frequently asked questions