Furniture Buying Guide
Furniture size guide for Kenyan homes
Bed sizes in feet and centimetres, TV stand widths by screen size, sofa proportions, dining sizes and the clearances that decide whether your room feels comfortable.
Before anything else: measure twice
Five minutes with a tape measure saves a lot of trouble later.
Measure the room
- Wall length, wall to wall, at floor level — not at eye level, where skirting can mislead you.
- Note where doors and windows sit, and which way doors swing.
- Mark power sockets, TV points and radiators. Furniture that blocks a socket is furniture you will move again.
- Sketch it roughly on paper. It does not need to be neat, only accurate.
Then measure the route in
This is the step people skip, and it is the one that goes wrong. A sofa that fits the room perfectly is useless if it will not go up the stairwell.
- Gate and main entrance width
- Every doorway along the way, measured with the door open
- Corridor width, and the diagonal at any tight corner
- Stairwell width and headroom, or the internal dimensions of the lift
If the numbers are tight, tell us before you order. We build modular pieces that go in as sections and assemble inside the room — which is exactly the kind of problem custom furniture is for.
The tape-on-the-floor trick. Mark out the footprint of the piece on your floor with masking tape before ordering. It takes two minutes and tells you more than any measurement on paper. Walk around it. If the route feels tight with tape, it will feel worse with furniture.
Sofa sizes
Seat count is a rough guide. Width and depth are what actually matter.
| Type | Typical width | Depth | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armchair | 80–100 cm | 85–95 cm | Corners, reading spots, filling out a set |
| 2-seater | 140–165 cm | 85–95 cm | Apartments, snugs, bedroom sitting corners |
| 3-seater | 180–210 cm | 90–100 cm | The standard living room sofa |
| 4-seater | 220–260 cm | 90–100 cm | Larger lounges, family homes |
| L-shape / corner | 240–300 cm long side | 160–200 cm short side | Open-plan rooms, maximising seating |
The measurements nobody lists but everybody feels
- Seat depth 55–65 cm — normal upright sitting. Above 70 cm you are lounging, which is lovely but harder to get out of.
- Seat height 40–45 cm — lower feels casual, higher is easier for older people and anyone with knee trouble.
- Back height 75–90 cm — anything above 85 cm supports your head; below that it supports your shoulders.
Rule of thumb. Your sofa should take up no more than two thirds of the wall it sits against. A 300 cm wall wants a sofa around 200 cm, not 280 cm. The gap either side is what stops the room feeling stuffed.
Browse sofa sets or L-shape and corner sofas — and remember any of them can be built to your dimensions at the same price.
Example: a three-seat sofa from the Monsoon catalogue. Use actual W × D × H before ordering.
TV stand sizes
TVs are sold by diagonal. Furniture is sold by width. That mismatch is why so many stands end up too small.
The Kenyan standard is 6 ft — 183 cm. It is the size most homes here buy, and it comfortably suits everything from a 43 inch up to an 85 inch screen. If you are not sure what to choose, this is almost always the right answer.
| Screen size | Actual TV width | On a 6 ft stand | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 inch | ~71 cm | Very generous | Lots of surface either side — a smaller 4 ft unit may suit better |
| 43 inch | ~96 cm | Ideal | Comfortable margin, room for decor either side |
| 50 inch | ~111 cm | Ideal | Well balanced |
| 55 inch | ~122 cm | Ideal | The most common pairing in Kenyan homes |
| 65 inch | ~144 cm | Ideal | Still ~20 cm clear each side |
| 75 inch | ~166 cm | Snug but fine | Roughly 8 cm each side — sits neatly, little margin |
| 85 inch | ~188 cm | Wall-mount it | The screen is slightly wider than the stand, so mount it and use the unit for storage |
If the TV stands on the unit, the unit should be wider than the screen. An overhanging screen looks unbalanced and tips far more easily — which matters in a house with children. Once you reach 75 or 85 inches most people wall-mount anyway, and at that point the unit below is storage rather than a base, so width stops being a safety question.
Height and viewing distance
- Stand height 40–60 cm. The centre of the screen should land at your eye level when seated — usually 100–110 cm from the floor.
- Sit back 1.5 to 2.5 times the screen diagonal. For a 55 inch, that is roughly 2 to 3.5 metres.
- Wall-mounting? You still want a unit beneath for the decoder, console, cables and storage. It just does not need to carry the weight.
- Going wider than 6 ft? Anything above 183 cm is normally built to order. We make them to your wall at catalogue prices.
See TV stands and media units, or if you want the whole wall designed as one piece, look at TV wall design.
Bed and mattress sizes in Kenya
Kenyan beds are sold in feet. Here is what each size actually measures.
| Size | In centimetres | Commonly called | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 × 6 | 90 × 180 cm | Single | Children, hostels, guest rooms, staff quarters |
| 3.5 × 6 | 105 × 180 cm | Small double | Teenagers, tight guest rooms |
| 4 × 6 | 120 × 180 cm | Double | One adult with room to spread, couples in small rooms |
| 4.5 × 6 | 135 × 180 cm | Queen | Couples in apartments |
| 5 × 6 | 150 × 180 cm | King | The most popular size for couples in Kenya |
| 6 × 6 | 180 × 180 cm | Super king | Master bedrooms, couples with young children |
| 6 × 6'3 | 180 × 190 cm | Extra-long super king | Anyone over about 6 feet tall |
Measure the bed frame, not the mattress. A 5×6 frame has an internal space of 150 × 180 cm, but its external footprint is larger — usually 10 to 20 cm more on each side once you count the frame and headboard. That external number is the one that has to fit your room.
Room space you need
- Leave 60–75 cm on at least one side and the foot of the bed to walk and make it.
- A 5×6 bed comfortably needs a room of about 3 m × 3.5 m once you add a wardrobe.
- A 6×6 wants roughly 3.5 m × 3.8 m to avoid the room feeling like a mattress with walls.
- Headboards typically add 5–15 cm to length and sit 100–140 cm high.
Shop beds and bed frames or mattresses by size.
5×6 example
The Monsoon grey upholstered bed listing specifies a 150 × 180 cm mattress size. Always confirm the outer frame dimensions too, because upholstery and the headboard extend beyond the mattress.
Dining table sizes
Allow 60 cm of table edge per person. Everything else follows from that.
| Seats | Rectangular | Round | Room needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 120 × 75 cm | 90–100 cm dia. | 2.8 × 2.5 m |
| 6 | 160 × 90 cm | 120–130 cm dia. | 3.4 × 2.7 m |
| 8 | 200 × 100 cm | 150 cm dia. | 3.8 × 2.8 m |
| 10 | 250 × 100 cm | 180 cm dia. | 4.3 × 2.8 m |
| 12 | 300 × 110 cm | Not practical | 4.8 × 2.9 m |
The numbers that make dining comfortable
- Table height 75 cm and chair seat height 45 cm — that 30 cm gap is what your legs need.
- Leave 90–110 cm between the table edge and the nearest wall. Below 75 cm nobody can pull a chair out and walk past.
- Table depth 90 cm lets two people sit opposite each other without knocking knees. 75 cm is the practical minimum.
- Round tables seat more in less space and are far better in a square room. Rectangular suits long rooms.
Watch the pendant light. Hang it 75–85 cm above the table surface and centre it on the table, not on the room. Getting the table size right and the light wrong undoes the whole thing.
See dining tables.
Wardrobe sizes
Depth is fixed by physics. Width is up to your room.
| Element | Measurement | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Depth | 60 cm | A hanger is about 45 cm wide plus clothing. Below 55 cm, shoulders touch the door |
| Short hanging | 100–110 cm high | Shirts, blouses, folded trousers, jackets |
| Long hanging | 150–180 cm high | Dresses, coats, kanzus, full-length garments |
| Shelf spacing | 30–35 cm | Folded stacks without them toppling |
| Drawer height | 15–25 cm | Underwear and accessories in the shallow ones, knitwear in the deep |
| Total height | 210–240 cm | Floor to ceiling wastes nothing and stops dust settling on top |
Width per person
- One person: 100–150 cm is usually enough.
- A couple: 200–250 cm, ideally split so each has their own side.
- Hinged doors need 60 cm of clear swing space in front. Measure that before you commit.
- Sliding doors need none, which makes them the right answer in a narrow bedroom — but you can only ever open half the wardrobe at once.
Built-in beats freestanding in most Kenyan bedrooms. Alcoves, boxed-in pipework and slightly off-square walls are the norm, and a standard wardrobe leaves dead space at every one of them. This is the single most common thing we build to measure.
Coffee and console tables
Coffee tables
- Length: about two thirds of your sofa. A 210 cm sofa wants a table around 120–140 cm.
- Height: level with the sofa seat, or up to 5 cm below. Usually 40–45 cm.
- Gap from the sofa: 40–45 cm. Close enough to reach your cup, far enough to walk past.
- Round tables are the safer choice in tight rooms and in homes with small children.
Console tables
- Height 75–90 cm — roughly level with a sofa back if it sits behind one.
- Depth 30–40 cm — deep enough to be useful, shallow enough not to block a hallway.
- In an entryway, leave at least 90 cm of walking space in front.
Browse coffee tables and console tables.
See the sizing rules on real furniture
Use these live Monsoon Furniture examples to compare the type of piece, then confirm its exact dimensions before ordering.
Clearances: the cheat sheet
Rooms feel wrong because of the gaps, not the furniture. These are the numbers that matter.
If you only remember one number, remember 90 cm. That is the width of a comfortable walkway. Any route through a room narrower than that will annoy you every single day, no matter how good the furniture looks.
Six mistakes we see every week
- Measuring the room but not the doorwayThe most common and the most expensive. Measure the whole route in — gate, doors, corridor, stairs.
- Buying a TV stand narrower than the TVLooks unbalanced and tips more easily. The base should always be wider than the screen.
- Pushing every piece against a wallIt does not make a room feel bigger. Pulling a sofa 10–15 cm off the wall usually makes it feel better proportioned.
- A rug that is too smallAt minimum, the front legs of every seat should sit on it. A rug floating in the middle makes a room look smaller, not larger.
- Forgetting the headboard and the frameA 5×6 bed is not 150 cm externally. Add the frame and headboard before checking it fits.
- Trusting the colour on your phoneScreens are not colour accurate. Ask for a fabric sample, or visit a showroom, whenever the shade matters.
Common questions
What size is a 5 by 6 bed in centimetres?
A 5×6 bed measures 150 × 180 cm — five feet wide by six feet long. It is the most popular couple's size in Kenya. Remember the frame and headboard add 10 to 20 cm to the external footprint, and that is the measurement that has to fit your room.
What size TV stand do I need for a 55 inch TV?
A 6 ft stand — 183 cm — is the standard size in Kenya and suits a 55 inch perfectly. The screen itself is about 122 cm wide, leaving roughly 30 cm clear either side for speakers, decor or a decoder. The same 6 ft unit works for anything from 43 inch up to 85 inch.
What is the standard TV stand size in Kenya?
6 feet, or 183 cm. It is what most Kenyan homes buy and it suits screens from 43 inch right up to 85 inch, so it is the safe choice if you are unsure or if you might upgrade your TV later. Anything wider than 6 ft is normally built to order — we make them to your wall at catalogue prices.
How big should a dining table be for six people?
Around 160 × 90 cm rectangular, or 120 to 130 cm diameter if round. Allow 60 cm of table edge per person, and leave 90 to 110 cm between the table and the nearest wall so chairs can be pulled out.
How deep should a wardrobe be?
60 cm. A clothes hanger is roughly 45 cm wide and garments add more, so anything below 55 cm means shoulders press against the door. Depth is the one wardrobe measurement you should not compromise on.
How much space do I need to walk around furniture?
90 cm for a main walkway, 60 cm for a secondary route between pieces, and 45 cm between a sofa and a coffee table. Around a dining table allow 90 to 110 cm so chairs can be pulled out and someone can still pass behind.
What if the size I need is not listed?
We build to your measurements at the same price as the catalogue. Send us the dimensions on WhatsApp and we will confirm what is possible. Custom sizing on any piece in our range carries no premium.
Send us your measurements
Not sure whether something fits, or which size to choose? Send the numbers and a photo of the room. We will tell you honestly — including when the answer is a smaller piece.
Ask on WhatsApp Or visit us at Kasarani, Ngong Road or Ruiru Bypass · +254 791 773 251