site · the standards
The standards
Every verdict on this site comes from this table. It is versioned, because editing a value silently rewrites every conclusion derived from it.
Every one of the 12 standards in use carries a source that has been read and cited. 1 of them is a convention rather than a standard: no code or design reference publishes the figure, so the row names who agrees on it instead, and says so.
| Standard | Applies to | Minimum | Recommended | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary walkway Main circulation path through a room. | everything | 30″ | 36″ | Panero & Zelnik, Human Dimension & Interior Space (Watson-Guptill, 1979), §8.1 Horizontal Circulation Spaces: 30 in minimum for a single lane with no obstructions, 36 in suggested read 2026-09-08 6 sources corroborating |
| Secondary walkway Path between two pieces of furniture rather than through the room. | everything | 24″ | 30″ | De Chiara & Callender, Time-Saver Standards for Building Types, 2nd ed. (McGraw-Hill, 1980), Residential › Living Rooms › specific space allowances, item 2: single passage between tall objects, hip height or over, 2 ft to 2 ft 6 in minimum read 2026-09-08 4 sources corroborating |
| Sofa-to-coffee-table gap Clear distance from the sofa front to the near edge of the coffee table. | sofa, coffee_table | 16″ | 18″ | Panero & Zelnik, Human Dimension & Interior Space (Watson-Guptill, 1979), §2.1 Living Spaces: the clearance between the front of the seat and the edge of the table is limited between 16 and 18 in (40.6 and 45.7 cm) read 2026-09-08 7 sources corroborating |
| Seated viewing distance Seating distance from the screen, as a multiple of the screen diagonal. | media_console | 1.2× | 1.6× | ITU-R BT.500-15 (05/2023), Part 1 §2.1.3.2 and Table 1-1: design viewing distance 3.2 picture heights for 1920 × 1080, converted here to 1.57 × the 16:9 diagonal; with Samsung, 'Recommended viewing distance for your TV': screen size × 1.2 at a 40° field of view read 2026-09-08 6 sources corroborating |
| Rug size under a seating group Rug width relative to the anchor furniture width, for a front-legs-on placement. | rug | 1× | 1.15× | conventionEditorial convention, surveyed 2026-09-08: no code or design reference publishes a rug proportion. Front legs on the rug (11 of 11 sources); the rug at least 6 in past each end of the sofa, 8 in ideal read 2026-09-08 6 sources surveyed |
| Bedside clearance Walking clearance along the side of a bed. | bed_frame, nightstand | 24″ | 30″ | Neufert, Architects' Data, 3rd English ed. (Blackwell Science, 2000), Bedrooms: at least 600 mm, preferably 750 mm, around the bed read 2026-09-08 8 sources corroborating |
| Clearance at the foot of the bed Walking clearance between the foot of the bed and the opposite wall or piece. | bed_frame | 24″ | 30″ | Neufert, Architects' Data, 3rd English ed. (Blackwell Science, 2000), Bedrooms: at least 600 mm, preferably 750 mm, around the bed — the wording covers the foot read 2026-09-08 4 sources corroborating |
| Desk chair pushback Clearance behind a desk chair to push it back and stand up. | desk | 32″ | 36″ | NKBA Kitchen Planning Guidelines with Access Standards, Guideline 8 (Traffic Clearance at Seating) read 2026-08-24 2 sources corroborating |
| Standing room at a wardrobe Clear floor in front of a wardrobe or closet to open it, stand, and reach in. | wardrobe | 31½″ | 48″ | Metric Handbook: Planning and Design Data, 2nd ed., ed. Adler (Architectural Press, 1999), ch. 2 §6 Activities, fig 2.63 Dressing in front of wardrobe: 800 mm (1200 mm with arms outstretched), from Noble, Activities and Spaces; with ICC A117.1-2009 §905.2 and 2010 ADA §305.3, 48 in clear floor space, as the accessible tier read 2026-09-08 3 sources corroborating |
| Door swing arc Floor a hinged door sweeps, as a radius from the hinge. Nothing permanent may stand inside it. | everything | 34″ | 36″ | NKBA Kitchen Planning Guidelines with Access Standards, Guideline 1 (Door/Entry) read 2026-08-24 3 sources corroborating |
| Doorway clear width Clear opening width once a hung door leaf and its hardware are deducted. | everything | 29½″ | 32″ | Approved Document M, Volume 1: Dwellings (2015 ed. incorporating 2016 amendments), M4(1) para 1.15(a) and Table 1.1: 750 mm minimum clear opening (head-on approach), with HUD Fair Housing Act Design Manual (1998), Requirement 3: a nominal 32 in clear opening from a 34 in door read 2026-09-08 9 sources corroborating |
| Doorway clear height Clear opening height of an interior doorway. | everything | 78″ | 80″ | NKBA Kitchen & Bath Planning Guidelines with Support Spaces and Accessibility, 4th ed. (2022), competition excerpt, §1.1 Doorways: all doorways a minimum of 78 in (1 980 mm) high; with UFAS (1984) §4.4.2 Head Room, 80 in (2030 mm), carried across from circulation headroom read 2026-09-08 4 sources corroborating |
These are the Fit standards: what is physically possible. Where several placements all pass them, the Flow standards say how the site chooses between them, and each names the row here that can overrule it.