'There were some hairy moments!' Britain's smallest house in Conwy gets first sofa in 400 years

Standing at 122” tall, and just 72” wide, the house, nestled amongst a terrace of houses on Conwy’s quayside, is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as Britain’s smallest.

Snug Sofas, Smallest House in Britain. Conwy, Wales. Picture: Anthony Devlin

With just 1.5m squared of usable floor space, the diminutive, red-fronted house has never had a sofa in it - or much else for that matter.

Snug, the sofa-in-a-box company, arranged for delivery of the new sofa - the Small Biggie - as part of the mini makeover which included a new rug, flower, picture frames and cushions.

After negotiating the miniature front door frame, the sofa was built piece-by-piece.

Snug Sofas, Smallest House in Britain. Conwy, Wales. Picture: Anthony Devlin

The installation provided some hairy moments for the two-man team who had the unenviable task of fitting it in the downstairs room, which also doubles up as the lounge, kitchen, bathroom - and even has a fireplace.

However, to the delight of onlookers, Snug, and the proud homeowner - the sofa squeezed into house by less than half an inch and despite the centuries-old interior, thankfully the sofa didn’t look out of place alongside the other colourful new interior style touches.

Jan Tyley, the current owner, said: “The house is over four-centuries old, and I told Snug multiple times there’s no chance a sofa will get in there. I even measured-up and drafted a floor plan for them, but their representative was adamant they’d pull it off and I have to say, I’m amazed.

Snug Sofas, Smallest House in Britain. Conwy, Wales. Picture: Anthony Devlin

"We have people from all over the world coming to visit, and I’m delighted we can add another chapter to the house’s story - the year the house got its first ever sofa.”

The Chandegra Family, who were on a holiday in Wales and visiting Conwy when the sofa was delivered, said: “It’s been quite tense seeing if they could fit the sofa in. We’d just been inside the house, and it’s so tiny. Now the sofa is in, we’re really excited to be the first people in the UK to sit on it and it looks right at home in the building.”

The sofa in all its glory. Picture: Anthony Devlin

Rob Bridgman, CEO and Co-Founder of Snug, said: “Snug has been built around fixing the problems that the traditional sofa market couldn’t, including making sofas that arrive in a box, that can navigate awkward door frames and stairways, and fit into small spaces. The Small Biggie is our latest creation that epitomises that vision, and where better to put it to the test than in The Smallest House in Great Britain.

The Chandegra Family. Picture: Anthony Devlin

“It’s one of the most challenging deliveries we’ve ever made, but to fit the sofa into such an awkward space and be a small part of the house’s incredible history is something we are really proud of.

"We now want the rest of the nation to send us their awkward spaces, and we’ll see if we can pull off another miracle, or three.”

The challenge of getting the Small Biggie into The Smallest House in Great Britain, kicks-off Snug’s plan to take-on the rest of the nation's awkward stairwells, tiny hallways, and other small spaces.

Readers can challenge them by sending in a photo and description of your awkward space to SnugSofa.com. Three of the most challenging will be picked at random, and if Snug pull-off the delivery you can keep the sofa for free. Or if the challenge proves too hard, readers will get £1,000 in cash.