Furniture and Furnishings - Small hallway with 90^ turn... need furniture... help!

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aaron7
11-01-09, 07:38 AM
The entrance to my apartment goes down a hallway into a 90^ turn. I had a hard time getting a coffee table through there.

How the HECK am I going to get a couch or loveseat in there?

Do they dissassemble? If not, how much of a PITA am I getting into if I TRY to take them apart?


Beachboy
11-02-09, 02:37 PM
Aaron, taking apart upholstered furniture like a couch or loveseat is simply not something that's practical to do. The upholstery and padding are usually stapled onto the frame, and the frames themselves are usually stapled, glued, doweled, or screwed together. There is no practical method to taking apart upholstered furniture to get it around a corner or through a narrow doorway.

Are there any other doorways into your apartment like a sliding glass door onto a balcony? Ask the landlord how you are supposed to get furniture in there. If you can't get a couch or loveseat in there, I'm not sure how you are going to get a dresser, boxsprings, or bedframe in there either.

To be a viable rental apartment, there HAS to be some way to get standard furniture items in there. Perhaps a professional mover might have some suggestions if the landlord doesn't have any. You might also ask for the name and phone numbers of previous tenants and ask them what they did.

aaron7
11-02-09, 02:42 PM
Actually, though it is a second floor apartment (top of a house), there is no second entry.

The only way into the house with anything is up the stairs and around that skinny corner.

The previous tenants were very old and simply had small furniture in there.

Not sure what I can do!


jb_freebsd
11-03-09, 06:10 AM
Not to answer your question, but I bought a used beanbag
chair (sports theme) real cheap, and might use it before I
ever more-than-momentarily use the couch. So you may want to use those instead...

Beachboy
11-03-09, 08:30 AM
In my opinion, its not reasonable to expect you to get rid of your perfectly good furniture and buy new stuff specifically to fit into this apartment. I get the impression this is an older house which has been remodeled into apartments. But to me, a tenant should have a reasonable expectation to be able to move in the standard sized furniture items commonly expected in most homes, such as a full size coach, full size bed, dresser, etc. Yeah I agree a huge pit group may not be reasonable to expect to fit, but you shouldn't be relegated to living with beanbag chairs or an air mattress.

How attached are you to this apartment? You might want to check with your city's code inspection department or tenant/landlord relations folks to see if you have a valid complaint of not being able to fit standard furniture items into your apartment. If nothing else, you might be able to get out of any lease you've signed. If the landlord knew there are issues moving in furniture, it should be been mentioned during the apartment showing.

aaron7
11-03-09, 08:35 AM
Oh, this apartment was full of code violations (no ground fault outlets, no second exit, no vent or window in the bathroom, etc.

We took care of the simple stuff and I honestly haven't a problem with the furniture thing; it just sucks to have to figure out how to get stuff in there.

I bought a loveseat over the weekend that we were able to squeeze in there. Gouged up the wall a bit but nothing some joint compount won't fix.

AnthonyJP
11-08-09, 11:49 PM
So this apartment not only has a very tight corner that makes it very difficult for you to get standard-sized furniture pieces, but it is also not safe. I have only one recommendation if you intend on staying in an apartment for a longer time: get another one. Safety should come first.