Before you fall in love with a new sofa or sectional, there's a less exciting question that decides everything: will it actually get through your front door? At Silver Furniture in Cicero, a furniture and mattress store on Cermak Road (5527 W Cermak Rd, Cicero, IL 60804), our delivery team runs into this problem almost every week — especially in the older two-flats and bungalows that make up so much of Cicero, Berwyn, and the surrounding Chicago neighborhoods. The good news: five minutes with a tape measure before you buy can save you a returned delivery and a lot of frustration.
Why This Trips Up So Many Cicero and Berwyn Homes
A lot of the housing stock around Cermak Road was built between the 1920s and 1950s — solid brick two-flats, bungalows, and courtyard buildings with charm to spare but doorways and stairwells that were never designed with a modern oversized sectional in mind. Interior doors from that era often run 28 to 30 inches wide, narrower than what you'll find in newer construction. Two-flats frequently have an enclosed stairwell up to the second-floor unit with a tight 90-degree turn at the landing, and basement stairs can have low headroom that a taller sofa back won't clear. If you're in one of these buildings — or in a vintage courtyard apartment in Berwyn, Pilsen, or Little Village — measuring first isn't optional, it's the difference between move-in day going smoothly and a piece going right back on the truck.
The Measurements You Need Before You Buy
Grab a tape measure and write these down before you shop for a sofa or a sectional:
Every doorway along the path. That means the front door, any hallway doors, and the door to the actual room — not just the widest one. Measure the width of the opening (not the frame) and the height. Also check the width of any hallway or stairwell the piece has to pass through; a doorway can be plenty wide but a narrow hall right after it will stop a sectional cold.
Stairwell turns and clearance. If furniture has to go up or down a staircase, measure the width of the stairs, the height of the ceiling above the stairs, and the diagonal distance across any landing where the stairs turn. A piece has to clear the turn diagonally, not just fit the stair width.
Ceiling height in tight spots. Basement stairwells and enclosed porches in older Cicero and Berwyn homes sometimes have lower ceilings than the rest of the house. A sofa back that's taller than the ceiling clearance at a turn simply won't make it, no matter how wide the doorway is.
How to Measure the Sofa or Sectional Itself
Once you know your tightest doorway, hallway, and stairwell dimensions, measure the piece the same way:
Width, depth, and height at the largest points — arm to arm, front to back, and floor to the top of the back cushion.
The diagonal depth measurement. This is the number that actually predicts whether a couch clears a doorway, because movers tip a sofa on its end and walk it through at an angle rather than carrying it flat. Measure diagonally from the bottom front corner to the top back corner of the sofa. If that diagonal measurement is smaller than your doorway's diagonal (measured the same way, corner to corner), the piece will almost always fit through with some careful maneuvering — even if the sofa's straight-on width looks tight.
Sectional pieces separately. Most sectionals ship and move as individual sections that reconnect once they're in the room, which is exactly why a sectional often makes it into a home a straight sofa couldn't. If you're set on a large sectional for a tight Cicero or Berwyn stairwell, ask about modular pieces that break down into smaller sections — it's usually the easiest fix.
What Our Delivery Team Checks Before They Show Up
When you buy from our Cermak Road showroom, ask us about doorway and stairwell width up front — we deal with this constantly across Cicero, Berwyn, Little Village, Pilsen, and the rest of Chicago's West and South Sides, and we'd rather flag a tight fit before delivery day than after. On orders over $999, delivery is free within our local service area (a flat $99 fee applies below that); our team brings the piece into the room you choose, does the assembly, and hauls away all the packaging, on a scheduled delivery window so you're not waiting around all day. Full details on coverage and scheduling are on our delivery page, and if you're specifically looking at what delivery to the city looks like, see our furniture delivery in Chicago page.
If It Won't Fit: Your Options
Sometimes a doorway just wins. If that happens, you've usually got three good paths: switch to a modular sectional that breaks into smaller, separately-carried pieces; go with a sofa in a slightly smaller scale (our guide to choosing the right sofa walks through sizing a piece to your actual room); or consider a recliner or loveseat instead, which we compare directly in our recliner vs. sofa breakdown. Either way, it's worth walking the full living room collection in person — seeing the actual scale of a piece on our showroom floor tells you more in thirty seconds than a set of dimensions on a screen.
Bring Your Measurements to Cermak Road
The easiest way to avoid a doorway surprise is to bring your numbers with you when you shop. Stop by Silver Furniture at 5527 W Cermak Rd in Cicero — our team will help you match a sofa or sectional to what will actually get into your room, tell you what's currently on the floor, and walk you through 0% APR financing for qualified buyers so a new piece fits your budget as well as your doorway. We're open Monday through Friday 10 AM to 8 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 6:30 PM, and Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM. Call us at 708-477-6162 with your measurements and we can tell you over the phone whether a specific piece is likely to work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my sectional fit through my door?
Most likely yes, even in a tight Cicero or Berwyn doorway, because sectionals move as individual sections rather than one large piece. Measure your narrowest doorway's diagonal (corner to corner) and compare it to the diagonal depth of the largest single section. If you're still unsure, our team can talk through the specific dimensions with you before delivery day.
How do I measure furniture for delivery in a Chicago two-flat or apartment building?
Measure every doorway, hallway, and stairwell turn the piece has to pass through — not just the front door — including width, height, and diagonal clearance at any stair landing. For upper-floor units, also check for low ceilings over basement or enclosed stairwells, which are common in older Cicero and Berwyn buildings.
Do you deliver to Cicero, Berwyn, and Chicago?
Yes. We deliver throughout our local service area, starting with Cicero and Berwyn and extending into Chicago neighborhoods like Little Village, Pilsen, the West Side, and beyond, plus Oak Park and River Forest. Delivery is free on orders over $999 ($99 flat fee below that), and our team brings your furniture into the room you choose, assembles it, and removes the packaging on a scheduled delivery window.
Can I finance a new sofa or sectional?
Yes, we offer 0% APR financing for qualified buyers, so you can furnish the room you need without paying the full amount upfront. Ask our team on Cermak Road for details when you visit.
