In a walk-up, the staircase is the first editor of your furniture. It gets a vote on every sofa, every bed and every cabinet before you do, and it is not sentimental. I have seen a beautiful three-seater spend a night on a Brooklyn stoop because nobody asked, at the point of purchase, whether its arms came off. They did not.
The pieces that last in a walk-up are the ones built to come apart.
So this is not a guide to measuring a staircase. It is a guide to buying furniture for a walk-up apartment, a brownstone or any home where everything arrives by stairs. The right pieces make move day dull, which is exactly what you want, and they come with you to the next place too.
Buy furniture that comes apart
The most useful question you can ask in a showroom is not how deep the seat is. It is what comes off. Good furniture for stair access is designed in pieces, and it does not have to look like flat-pack to do it.
- Sofas. Almost every sofa has removable legs, which buys you a couple of inches. Better ones have bolt-on arms or a removable back. Ask, and ask for it in writing.
- Sectionals and modular sofas. Each module is a manageable size on its own. A large seating group that arrives as three pieces will climb stairs a single long sofa never could.
- Beds. Choose a frame that bolts together and a split foundation rather than a single king box spring.
- Tables. Removable legs are better than a fixed pedestal. A trestle base usually comes apart.
- Case pieces. Hutches, bookcases and wardrobes that separate into an upper and a lower half.
If you are commissioning custom upholstery, tell the workroom it is going into a walk-up before they build the frame. Removable arms, a back that lifts off or a frame made in two halves are all things a good workroom can do. They cannot do it after the fact.
Old furniture was often built for this
Here is something I love about antiques. A great many of them were made to be moved, because the people who owned them moved too, and houses had narrow stairs long before New York did. Secretary desks and breakfronts are usually made in two sections that lift apart. Many old French armoires knock down, held together with pegs or wedges, so the sides, doors and cornice come away. A good antique chest of drawers is mostly air once the drawers are out.
That makes antiques better walk-up furniture than a lot of modern pieces, which is one more argument for mixing old and new. Old things look better with new things next to them, and in a brownstone they often get up the stairs more easily, too. Ask the dealer how a piece comes apart before you buy it, and keep the hardware in a labeled bag that rides with you, not in the truck.
Choose the right scale, not the smallest
People moving into a walk-up often overcorrect and buy everything small. The rooms then feel like a dollhouse, especially in a brownstone parlor with tall ceilings. Proportion is about the room, not the stairs. The trick is to get the scale you want from pieces that arrive in smaller parts: a long seating group made of modules, a big table on removable legs, a tall bookcase in two halves.
Visual weight matters as much as actual size. Sofas on tapered legs, chairs with open arms and tables you can see under all read lighter in a room, and they tend to be lighter to carry. For more on getting the scale right in a compact apartment, see making a small space feel generous rather than cramped. And for the bigger question of matching furniture to the house you actually have, choosing furniture that complements your home is a good place to start.
Weight is the other dimension
A piece that fits the stairs still has to be carried up them. Marble tops, solid stone tables and big cast iron pieces are heavy enough that every flight changes the job, for the crew and for the price. That does not mean avoiding them. It means knowing which floor they are going to and planning for it. A marble top that lifts off its base is a two-person carry. A marble table in one piece may not be.
Rugs are heavier than people expect. A large hand-knotted wool rug is a serious weight rolled up, and it is long. Roll it pile out, tie it, and plan its route up the stairs like any other long piece. It will bend a little at a landing. A stiff rug pad will not, so roll the pad separately.
The sofa question
The sofa is where most walk-up purchases go wrong, so it deserves its own rule. If the sofa does not come apart, the measurement that matters is not its length. It is the depth and height of the frame, because that is what has to turn the corner at the landing. A long, low sofa with a modest depth gets into places a short, deep, high-backed one cannot. If you love a particular classic shape, there are elegant sofas for a classic living room that work in narrower frames.
When a piece simply will not go up the stairs, some brownstone moves bring it in through a front window with a hoist. It is a real service, and it is the last resort, not the plan.
Protect the house while you are at it
Old stairs are part of what makes a brownstone or a walk-up beautiful, and they are easy to damage. Ask for padding on banisters and newel posts, runners or board on the treads, and corner guards at the landings. The building or the landlord may require it anyway. Photograph the stairs and hallway before anything moves.
Many moves combine both kinds of building. A move might start in a fourth-floor walk-up in a converted brownstone and end in a newer rental tower with a loading dock and a booked service elevator. When you compare local movers in Brooklyn, ask each one how they would handle both ends of your move, including the stairs, which pieces they would take apart, and who puts them back together.
A walk-up buying list
- Sofas with removable legs and, ideally, removable arms or back
- Modular seating for anything larger than a three-seater
- Bolt-together bed frames and a split foundation
- Tables with removable legs or a trestle base
- Case pieces that separate into two halves, antique or new
- Heavy tops that lift off their bases
- Rugs you can roll, carry and turn at a landing
Houses should be lived in, and every room should be enjoyed, including the one at the top of four flights. Buy pieces that can make the climb, and the stairs stop being a problem and go back to being one of the nicest things about the house.
Frequently asked questions
What furniture is best for a walk-up apartment?
Pieces that come apart: sofas with removable legs and arms, modular sectionals, bolt-together bed frames, tables with removable legs, and case pieces made in two halves. Many antiques, such as secretaries and armoires, are built this way.
How do I know if a sofa will fit up my stairs?
If it does not come apart, compare the sofa's depth and frame height with the clearance at the tightest turn on the stairs. Length matters less than people think. Ask the retailer which parts are removable before you buy.
Should I avoid heavy furniture in a walk-up?
Not necessarily. Choose heavy pieces whose tops or sections separate, and tell your movers which floor they are going to, because every flight affects the crew and the cost.
