Sell the sofa on Craiglist and count it as a lesson learned:

ALWAYS MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY
and make sure the furniture can GET INTO the apartment, not just fit into it.

I'm always amazed at how many interior desecrators do this.

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I can't imagine that would be less money that taking the thing apart.

I had a sofa disassembled/reassembled moving in and out of a NYC apartment and it was about $150 each time.

To make the legs "removable" I assume they would have to get inside the sofa in any case to add the "nut" mechanism on the inside to accept the bolt that would be on top of the legs. If the anatomy of the sofa isn't set up right it could end up being more work. I would ask a sofa dissasembling company what they think - I'm sure they have been asked before.

1. An upholsterer may be able to remove the back or legs without damaging the couch.
2. Rent a storage unit.

Call the place where the couch was purchased, they should be able to help. If not call Bloomingdale's (Medinah Temple) and ask for their resource.

Good Luck

I had to do this with some wingback arm chairs at my old Victorian rental.. My father removed the legs--unscrewed with a ratchet wrench and "hammered" off as they were also glued in place. I also had to permanently remove the bottom upholstery lining which wasn't too noticeable from most vantage points.

Anyway--getting the legs back on was a whole other production. Overall the whole thing took a good 6 hours and we still had to remove them again for the move-out--but in their second life the legs just haven't stayed on properly. (I gave the chairs to my sister, however, so.. no longer my problem!)

Other option--can you take the door off the frame (more space) or get the sofa in through a window??

An upholsterer may be able to do it -- stress on the 'may' -- but if that doesn't prove to be helpful, try calling your nearest Woodcraft store & asking if they have any contacts for local carpenters who have experience in furniture building. I have no idea what the carpenter might charge, but I would expect that s/he would be more likely to be able to remove/reinstall the legs properly.

There's a lot going on in sofa/chair legs when it comes to stresses from being sat on, pushed, bumped, all that jazz. It's not just as simple as "cut the legs off and then screw into place" -- especially if there's an integral support that runs from the sofa interior down to the legs. For that, if it's a sofa you honestly love, then do it right and get someone with solid furniture construction experience to help you.

i had this same problem when i moved into my apartment. my couch didn't fit through the doorway but it was because the way the hallway is set up. i had to get the girl across the hall from me to open her door, move the couch halfway into her apartment and then shove it through mine. taking the door off probably would have helped me. im too scared to have someone take the legs off and make them removable. i just dont want to ruin it, especially because its an antique.

On some very high quality furniture and a lot of antiques, the legs are actually part of the frame, and removing them means your sawing them off for good. If you want to live a moroccan lifestyle, you can remove the legs permanently at their base and just plop the sofa onto the floor or prop it up on a chunky base to lift it up a bit. Seems like a hassle. I'd just sell it on CL and get a smaller one WITH REMOVABLE LEGS lol.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, your question doesn't note where the sticking point is for your sofa. If the "sticking point" is the door, you can easily remove the door from the hinges by tapping out the hinge pins. If you still need more room, get a flat bar and hammer, and gently pry the moulding from one or both sides of the door. These approaches may provide a few extra inches of space to get the piece in your apartment.

Another approach is to bring the sofa in through a window. If you have double-hung windows they are very easy to remove from their casings, especially if they are of recent vintage. Look for release pins at the tops of the window sashes which will permit you to pull the bottom of the window out of the track. Slightly twisting the top of the window sash should release the top from the track.

For older windows you will need to gently pry the track mouldings from the window casings. Make sure you tape or otherwise prevent the ropes attached to the corners of the windows from falling down into the window frames or your job could become much more complicated.

Don't give up just yet. Good luck.

Original poster here....

I did measure. I even made a cardboard template of the sofa end profile. However, I wasn't able to create a life size mock-up of the sofa to see if it would make it through the foyer. I guessed, and I was obviously wrong.

I tried taking the door(s) off. I am a renter, so I'm not prepared to start prying off mouldings.

The window would probably work... if I didn't live on the second floor. I can't even imagine would be involved in attempting that.

So thanks for all the advice, but I'm pretty much giving up. The person who I bought it from (on ebay) is going to try and sell it to the second highest bidder, who seemed interested in buying it. And if that doesn't pan out, I'll just beg and plead for a return. And if that doesn't work, then who knows... I guess dump it in the garage and try the craigslist route.

Don't be afraid to take the mouldings off the doors. If the mouldings are the difference between getting the sofa in the apt and not, carefully removing them should be considered. If you're not really capable of doing it yourself, get a handy friend. Basically you take a utility knife and cut the paint along the moulding joints, then carefully pry the mouldings loose with a paint scraper, flat prybar, and gentle hammer taps.

As for 2nd floor window delivery. I've heard of people renting scissors lifts and small cherry pickers.

Wish you all the best.