The Ottoman Bed Boom: UK Sales Trend Report 2016-2026

The rise of the ottoman bed is a storage story, not a bedroom furniture story. As UK bedrooms have absorbed functions they were never designed for and wardrobes have run out of room, the volume beneath the mattress has become the largest unused space in the average bedroom, and the ottoman base is the mechanism that unlocks it.

We cannot quantify that rise. No public UK source tracks bed base sales by type over a ten year period, and we do not publish our own commercial data, so this report contains no sales figures, no growth percentages and no market share claims. What it does contain is an explanation of the housing conditions that made the ottoman base the obvious answer, a specification comparison against the alternatives, and clear guidance on the clearances a lifting base needs.

Key findings at a glance

• No named public UK source publishes bed base sales by type across the last decade, so this report presents no trend figures.
• The Nationally Described Space Standard sets minimum internal floor areas for new homes, and bedroom storage requirements have to be met within those areas.
• The space under a standard double mattress is the single largest unused volume in most UK bedrooms.
• An ottoman base needs vertical clearance for the lift, which makes low ceilings and sloping loft rooms a genuine constraint rather than a detail.
• Side lifting and end lifting bases suit different room layouts, and the choice is dictated by which side of the bed has free floor space.
• Gas struts are serviceable components with a working life of their own, independent of the frame.
• Drawer divans, under bed boxes and ottoman bases solve the same problem with very different access patterns.

The housing context that created the demand

Three pressures converge in the modern British bedroom. The first is floor area. The Nationally Described Space Standard sets out minimum internal floor areas and built in storage provision for new homes in England, and while it raises the floor it also codifies rooms that are efficient rather than generous. A double bedroom sized to standard has limited wall length once a bed, a wardrobe and a door swing are placed.

The second is the change of use. Bedrooms now routinely hold home working equipment, exercise gear, and the seasonal overflow that a loft or a garage used to take, particularly in flats and terraced housing without either. The third is the rental market, where fitted storage cannot be added and every storage solution has to be furniture that moves with the tenant.

Set against that, the ottoman base is an efficient answer because it consumes no additional floor area at all. The bed already occupies the footprint; the base simply makes the volume beneath it accessible. That is a different proposition from adding a chest or a second wardrobe, both of which cost floor space that these rooms do not have. Where the bedroom does have wall length to spare, a chest from the modern chest of drawers UK range still earns its place, but in a standard double it is often the ottoman base that resolves the problem.

How the storage options compare

The table below compares under bed storage approaches on the specification points that determine whether each will work in a given room. It is a practical comparison of access and clearance requirements, not a popularity ranking.

Under bed storage options compared by access method, the clearance each needs and the room conditions that suit them.

Storage type	Access method	Clearance needed	Suits
Side lifting ottoman	Mattress platform lifts from one long side	Vertical headroom above the bed, plus standing room on the lifting side	Rooms with free floor on one long side
End lifting ottoman	Platform lifts from the foot of the bed	Vertical headroom, plus standing room at the foot	Beds placed between two walls or in an alcove
Drawer divan	Drawers pull out horizontally	Floor clearance equal to the drawer depth, on the drawer side	Rooms with permanent clear floor beside the bed
Under bed boxes on castors	Boxes slide out by hand	Floor clearance plus box depth	Rented homes and frames with a high base rail
Blanket box at the foot	Hinged lid at bed end	Floor area at the foot of the bed	Larger bedrooms with space beyond the bed
Standard slatted frame	No integrated storage	None	Rooms with adequate wardrobe provision

Why clearance decides the outcome

The failure mode with an ottoman base is not structural, it is spatial. A side lifting base pivots the entire mattress platform upward, and the mattress goes with it. In a room with a standard ceiling that is rarely an issue, but in a loft conversion with a sloping ceiling, under a sloped dormer, or in a bedroom with a low beam, the platform can foul before it reaches the position where the struts hold it. The check is simple and worth doing before ordering: measure from floor to ceiling at the point above the bed where the mattress will travel, and compare it against the height of the base plus the length of the mattress standing on edge.

The second clearance is horizontal. You have to stand on the lifting side to operate it, with enough room to step back as the platform rises. A side lifting base pushed against a wall on its lifting side is unusable, which is why the side or end of the lift should be specified to match the room rather than chosen by default.

The third is the door and the stairs. Ottoman bases arrive as substantial components, and the base sections are wider and less flexible than a slatted frame’s rails. In Victorian terraces with a tight turn at the top of the stairs, the dimension that matters is the diagonal of the largest single panel. This is worth confirming against the specification before delivery day rather than after, and it applies equally across the ottoman beds UK options and other storage bases.

Living with a lifting base

Gas struts do the work, and they are calibrated for the weight of the platform plus a mattress within a stated range. A mattress heavier than the base was designed for makes the lift stiff and the descent fast; a very light mattress can leave the platform reluctant to stay down. Matching mattress weight to the base specification is the detail most often skipped, and it is worth checking when pairing a base with anything from the mattresses UK range.

Struts also lose pressure over years of use. This is normal, they are replaceable, and a base with weakening struts is a maintenance job rather than a write off. Keeping the load inside the cavity evenly distributed and not overfilling it beyond the platform line helps considerably.

Access pattern is the honest trade off against a drawer divan. An ottoman cavity gives you the whole volume in one space, which suits bulky and infrequently needed items: spare duvets, suitcases, seasonal clothing. It is less suited to anything you need daily, because you have to clear the bed surface before lifting. Drawers give smaller, compartmentalised volume but instant access. Households tend to be happiest when the ottoman holds the things they touch a few times a year and daily items live in a wardrobe or chest, alongside the modern bedside cabinets UK that carry everyday items.

What this means for UK homes

Measure vertically first. Floor to ceiling above the bed, checked against the base height plus the mattress depth on edge, tells you immediately whether a lifting base is viable. In loft rooms and under sloping ceilings, an end lifting base positioned so the platform rises towards the high side of the roof will often work where a side lift will not.

Choose the lift direction from the room, not the product listing. Stand where you would stand to open it and make sure you have somewhere to put your feet.

Check mattress weight against the base specification, and treat the struts as a serviceable part from the outset. Store bulky and seasonal items in the cavity and keep daily items elsewhere. Finally, confirm the largest single panel dimension against your stairwell before delivery, because a base that cannot reach the bedroom is the one problem no specification can solve afterwards.

Methodology

This 2026 report was compiled from our editorial assessment as a UK furniture retailer, from standard UK bed and mattress dimensions, from the mechanical characteristics of gas strut lifting bases, and from published UK housing context including the Nationally Described Space Standard, which sets minimum internal floor areas and storage provision for new homes in England. It does not include proprietary sales data, customer data or survey fieldwork. No sales volumes, growth rates or market share figures are presented, because no named public UK source publishes bed base sales by type across the period in the title.

Citing this report

Media and websites are welcome to cite this analysis with credit to Furniture in Fashion and a link back to us, referencing the 2026 edition. The report is a qualitative, specification led assessment of why ottoman storage bases suit UK bedrooms, and it should not be described as a quantified market study.

Frequently asked questions

How much headroom does an ottoman bed need?

Enough for the mattress platform to rotate to its open position. As a working check, measure from floor to ceiling above the bed and compare it with the base height plus the mattress depth measured on edge, then add a margin for the struts to hold.

Should I choose a side lifting or end lifting ottoman?

Let the room decide. Side lifting suits a bed with clear floor along one long side; end lifting suits a bed set between two walls or in an alcove where the only free floor is at the foot.

Can the gas struts be replaced?

Yes. Struts are serviceable components with their own working life, and replacing a pair is a straightforward job that keeps an otherwise sound base in use.

Is an ottoman base better than a drawer divan?

They solve different problems. An ottoman gives one large volume for bulky, rarely needed items. Drawers give smaller compartments with immediate access but need permanent clear floor beside the bed.

What should not go in an ottoman base?

Anything needed daily, anything damp, and anything that would obstruct the platform when it closes. Keep the load level with the platform line and distributed evenly across the cavity.