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One of the earliest tricks I learned with couches is that if it’s shorter than the ceiling then the arms and back form this U. Sofas used to be great because t

One of the earliest tricks I learned with couches is that if it’s shorter than the ceiling then the arms and back form this U. Sofas used to be great because they were also shorter than the height of a door frame. Now everything is oversized and you need a 10-15% bigger apartment just to have one of each thing your grandparents had. With the right design sometimes this still plays out on the diagonal.

aqueueaqueue 2y ago
I have a huge sofa. It comes in sections that you can disconnect and is very easy to move.
marssaxman 2y ago
You yourself are probably 10-15% bigger than your grandparents were, since average height has increased 4 inches over the last 150 years.
- hinkley 2y ago
  I’m the “runt” of the litter. I’m maybe 5% taller and my uncles and cousins got the rest. But it’s the depth as much as the length. I get that a table has to be a couple inches wider so people don’t bump knees but your thigh bone only grows at a quarter to a third of your overall height increase, right? Couches are just oversized. They’re uncomfortable to get out of if you’re not careful when shopping.
- DiggyJohnson 2y ago
  Am I being pedantic for pointing out that that is 3x the normal two generations separating grand parents and grand kids and a height difference of only 6 percent? The only major difference since our grandparents is average weight and expectations of comfort. Correlated but not synonymous.
  - hinkley 2y ago
    I think if you’re a GenX or a Millenial the height thing relative to the grandparents is mostly true. And if you’re complaining about how tiny grandpa’s house was compared to today, you’re probably outing yourself as being born in the last century. So it’s a relatively safe bet GP made.
dkjaudyeqooe 2y ago
There is a more general principle, which is that you are in a 3D space and twisting a couch (or whatever) in it will help you find the way through. Sometimes you only need a little space above you to achieve the twist you need. Also due to the biases humans have with respect to orientation in space, turning the item upside down, back to front or both can also make things much easier.
raldi 2y ago
> if it’s shorter than the ceiling then the arms and back form this U. I'm having a hard time understanding what you mean here.
- bingo-bongo 2y ago
  Lift sofa upright, so i stands on one of the sides. If you look at it from above (like the animations), it’s now an L-shape (U-shape in the animations) with more space to move it around the corner.
  - raldi 2y ago
    If it's on its side, wouldn't it be a C? And how would that help get it around corners if, when viewed from above, all that matters is the footprint?
    - avidiax 2y ago
      If a door opens to a narrow hallway, it may be possible to put the couch upright (making an L shaped footprint viewed from above) and then work it through the doorway into the hall. If it's a really narrow hallway, you may have to continue like that.
      - raldi 2y ago
        If it's an L we're talking about the back and the seat, right? But OP didn't say seat; they said arms.
        hinkley 2y ago
        I said arms and back (I had to double check I didn't misspeak). The arms stick up higher than the seat. So the concave surface defined by the back and the arms is most of what will limit you getting through the straight edges of a doorway. There are a few couches where the seat sticking out past the front of the arms causes problems, and a few handrails in stairways that you can sneak between the arms of course, but probably nine times out of ten it's just the obtuse angle between the back and the arms that is your constraint. And that angle plus the rest of the couch around it looks a lot more like the cutout in the linked article than an L. Which is kinda the reason I brought it up.

aqueueaqueue 2y ago

I have a huge sofa. It comes in sections that you can disconnect and is very easy to move.

marssaxman 2y ago

You yourself are probably 10-15% bigger than your grandparents were, since average height has increased 4 inches over the last 150 years.

hinkley 2y ago
I’m the “runt” of the litter. I’m maybe 5% taller and my uncles and cousins got the rest. But it’s the depth as much as the length. I get that a table has to be a couple inches wider so people don’t bump knees but your thigh bone only grows at a quarter to a third of your overall height increase, right? Couches are just oversized. They’re uncomfortable to get out of if you’re not careful when shopping.
DiggyJohnson 2y ago
Am I being pedantic for pointing out that that is 3x the normal two generations separating grand parents and grand kids and a height difference of only 6 percent? The only major difference since our grandparents is average weight and expectations of comfort. Correlated but not synonymous.
- hinkley 2y ago
  I think if you’re a GenX or a Millenial the height thing relative to the grandparents is mostly true. And if you’re complaining about how tiny grandpa’s house was compared to today, you’re probably outing yourself as being born in the last century. So it’s a relatively safe bet GP made.

dkjaudyeqooe 2y ago

There is a more general principle, which is that you are in a 3D space and twisting a couch (or whatever) in it will help you find the way through. Sometimes you only need a little space above you to achieve the twist you need. Also due to the biases humans have with respect to orientation in space, turning the item upside down, back to front or both can also make things much easier.

raldi 2y ago

> if it’s shorter than the ceiling then the arms and back form this U. I'm having a hard time understanding what you mean here.

bingo-bongo 2y ago
Lift sofa upright, so i stands on one of the sides. If you look at it from above (like the animations), it’s now an L-shape (U-shape in the animations) with more space to move it around the corner.
- raldi 2y ago
  If it's on its side, wouldn't it be a C? And how would that help get it around corners if, when viewed from above, all that matters is the footprint?
  - avidiax 2y ago
    If a door opens to a narrow hallway, it may be possible to put the couch upright (making an L shaped footprint viewed from above) and then work it through the doorway into the hall. If it's a really narrow hallway, you may have to continue like that.
    - raldi 2y ago
      If it's an L we're talking about the back and the seat, right? But OP didn't say seat; they said arms.
      - hinkley 2y ago
        I said arms and back (I had to double check I didn't misspeak). The arms stick up higher than the seat. So the concave surface defined by the back and the arms is most of what will limit you getting through the straight edges of a doorway. There are a few couches where the seat sticking out past the front of the arms causes problems, and a few handrails in stairways that you can sneak between the arms of course, but probably nine times out of ten it's just the obtuse angle between the back and the arms that is your constraint. And that angle plus the rest of the couch around it looks a lot more like the cutout in the linked article than an L. Which is kinda the reason I brought it up.