The right sofa for a small apartment in Dubai

Start with the wall the sofa will stand against. A common design rule is that the sofa takes about two thirds of it, with at least 15 to 20 cm free at each end. On a 300 cm wall, that points to a sofa of about 200 cm; on a 330 cm wall, about 220 cm.

Then check the depth, which is often the real limit in an apartment. Add up the sofa, the gap to the coffee table, the table, a walkway and the TV unit, and compare the total with your room.

If your room is shallower, mount the TV on the wall and choose a smaller table: together, that can save 40 cm or more. Our full guide to what size sofa fits your living room covers the rules in detail.

Think about who sits there every evening, not only the floor plan. A couple, or one person who likes to stretch out, is usually happiest with a generous 2-seater. A small family, or a home where friends and relatives drop by often, gets more from a compact 3-seater, as long as the walkway survives.

A deep 2-seater can feel bigger than it looks on paper. The Brioche takes only 206 cm of wall but is 102 cm deep, with a 64 cm seat: room to tuck your feet up or lean into the rounded arms. Check that depth against your room, and you get the comfort of a larger sofa on a small wall.

A corner sofa in a small room is not automatically a mistake. It can be the best use of space when it fills a corner that would otherwise stay empty, and it seats more people than a straight sofa of the same width. The test is depth: the room needs the chaise depth plus a walkway in that direction, for example 212 cm for the Nuage corner with its 152 cm chaise. If you cannot spare that, a straight sofa is the better choice. Our guide to 2-seater, 3-seater or corner compares all three.

• A low back. A sofa that stays low keeps sightlines open across the room and under the windows. The Nuage 3-seater stands just 70 cm high, which makes it look lighter than its 230 cm width suggests.
• Soft, rounded edges. In tight passages, rounded arms are kinder to hips and shins than sharp corners. The Brioche's arms curve all the way round, with no hard edge to bump into.
• A colour close to the walls. If your walls and floor are pale, an Ecru or Cloud sofa blends in and makes the room read as one calm space. A Terracotta or Forest sofa becomes a confident focal point instead, which works well when everything around it stays quiet.
• A clear floor. The more floor you see, the bigger the room feels. Keep baskets, cables and spare chairs out of the main lines of sight.

One more rule of thumb: fewer, well-chosen pieces beat many small ones. A good sofa, one table and one extra seat usually feel more spacious than a sofa surrounded by stools and side tables.

1. The sofa against the long wall, facing the TV. The classic, and often the best in a narrow room. Centre the sofa on the screen and keep the walkway along one side, not through the middle of the seating area.
2. The sofa as a divider in a studio. Place the sofa with its back to the sleeping area, facing the TV or the window. It creates a living room without building a wall. A taller back, like the Brioche at 83 cm, screens the bed better than a very low one. Leave about 60 cm behind it to walk through.
3. The sofa facing the view. If your apartment has a balcony or a big window with a skyline or sea view, let the sofa face it and put the TV on a side wall. It suits homes where the view matters more than the screen.

Whichever you choose, the Snoozo sofa bed, at 190 cm, is a good option when the main wall reaches about 290 cm and you also want a bed for guests.

The pieces around the sofa matter as much as the sofa. A round or oval coffee table of 70 to 90 cm is easier to move around than a rectangle, and it has no corners for small children to bump into. Nesting tables give you two surfaces when guests come and one when they leave. Keep the 40 to 50 cm gap from the seat whatever you choose; our coffee table guide has the sizes.

A rug that is too small makes a room look smaller. Under a 2-seater, a 160 × 230 cm rug with the front of the sofa resting on it is a good minimum, and a 200 × 300 cm rug looks more generous if the room allows. A low pile or flat weave is the easiest to keep free of fine sand and dust.

In the UAE, even a small apartment has to welcome people: weekend lunches with relatives, an iftar during Ramadan, cousins dropping by at Eid. You do not need a bigger sofa for that. Plan the sofa for everyday life, then add seats that are easy to bring out:

• two poufs that serve as footrests or side tables during the week;
• floor cushions, majlis style, kept in a basket;
• dining chairs pulled into the living area for the evening.

Count about 60 cm of seat per person. A 2-seater and two poufs seat four; add two dining chairs and you seat six, in a room that still breathes the rest of the week. For older relatives, choose the Classic seat comfort, the medium feel that is easy to get up from, rather than the softer Cocoon. Both cost the same on every sofa.

Mark the sofa on the floor with masking tape and leave it there for a day. If you keep stepping over the tape, the sofa is too big, or in the wrong place.

Every sofa page has a Will it fit? tool: type the length of your wall and you see the wall and the sofa drawn to scale, with the centimetres you have to spare. If you choose a corner sofa, remember that the chaise side is always named as seen when you face the sofa. Your sofa is handmade locally when you order, then delivered and installed across the seven emirates, included in the price, three to six days after you order. The delivery page explains what happens on the day.

In an apartment, measure the way in as well: the front door, the lift door, the inside of the lift and the corridor. Our guide on whether your sofa will fit in the lift shows how. A modular sofa, which comes in separate pieces, is the easiest of all to bring in: see are modular sofas worth it?