How to Measure Dining Chair Width & Length

Place the chair on a flat surface in the corner of a room, with the back and one side against two adjoining walls.

View the chair from above and, unless either the legs or seat are obviously the most forward part of the chair, draw a straight line on the floor between the front legs to mark the maximum forward extent of the legs. Hang a plumb line from the front edge of the seat. Plumb lines settle to create a perfectly vertical line. If the line meets the ground forward of the line between the legs, the seat overhangs the legs. Mark the position of the plumb bob on the floor. This is the forward-most point on the chair. If the plumb line falls behind the line, then the legs are farther forward than the seat. Measure between the base of the wall at the back of the chair and the forward-most line. This is the length of the chair.

View the exposed side of the chair from above. Unless either the legs or seat are obviously the wider parts of the chair, use a builder's square to draw a straight line at 90 degrees from the back wall until it touches the leg that is farthest from the side wall. Hang a plumb line from the edge of the chair seat and from the edge of the chair back. If either location results in the plumb line landing outside the line between the wall and the legs, mark the widest point.

Measure the distance from the side wall to the widest point. This is the width of the dining chair.