A bedroom ottoman is worth buying when you need storage and seating from the same footprint. The three things that decide whether you choose well are size relative to the bed, the type of lid mechanism, and whether the fabric suits how the piece will actually be used. Get those right and an ottoman quietly absorbs the bedding, spare pillows and off season clothing that usually end up in a wardrobe you cannot close.
The word covers several different pieces, which is part of the confusion. It can mean a storage box at the foot of a bed, a small upholstered footstool, a long bench with a lift up lid, or an ottoman storage bed where the whole mattress platform raises. This guide separates them and explains which suits which room.
A storage ottoman box is a rectangular upholstered unit with a hinged lid, usually placed at the foot of the bed or against a wall. It holds the most and doubles as seating for putting shoes on.
An ottoman footstool is smaller and square or round, often used beside a chair or as a movable seat. Many have a removable lid and a hollow interior for light storage.
An ottoman bench is longer and narrower, designed to sit at the end of a bed. Some have storage, some do not, and the ones that do tend to be shallower than a box.
An ottoman bed lifts the entire mattress base on gas struts to reveal a full length storage cavity underneath. It is the biggest storage gain available in a bedroom, and it changes what furniture you need elsewhere in the room.
A foot of bed ottoman should be narrower than the bed, not wider. As a guide, aim for around seventy five to ninety percent of the bed width. A double bed at one hundred and thirty five centimetres suits an ottoman of roughly one hundred to one hundred and twenty centimetres.
Height matters just as much. The top of the ottoman should sit at or slightly below the top of the mattress. If it rises above, it blocks the line of the bed and makes the room feel crowded from the doorway.
Leave at least forty five centimetres between the ottoman and the wall or wardrobe opposite so the walkway stays usable. If your room is tight, an ottoman that sits under a window or against a side wall is often the better position.
This is the detail that separates an ottoman you use daily from one you stop opening. Gas strut lids rise slowly and stay open, which means you can use both hands to load and unload. Friction stay hinges hold the lid open but require more effort. Simple butt hinges let the lid fall, which is unsafe if children use the room and irritating for everyone else.
On larger boxes and ottoman beds, check the strut rating against the weight of the lid or mattress. Struts that are underpowered for a heavy mattress will feel stiff from the start and worse over time.
Velvet gives the most luxurious appearance and suits a room where the ottoman is mainly decorative seating. It shows pressure marks, which some people like and others do not. Linen and cotton weaves are softer in character and suit calmer, more neutral schemes. Boucle adds texture and hides marks well. Faux leather is the most wipeable and makes sense in a busy household or a child’s room.
If the ottoman will sit near a radiator or in direct sun, a stable woven fabric will hold colour better than a dark dyed velvet. For a coordinated result, look at the modern ottomans UK sale range alongside your existing headboard fabric rather than trying to match from memory.
Bulky, infrequently used, soft items. Spare duvets, winter bedding, blankets, pillows and out of season clothing all suit an ottoman because they compress and do not mind being stacked.
What it is less good at is anything you need daily, anything heavy, and anything that should stay flat. Shoes work in a shallow bench but not in a deep box, because everything below the top layer becomes unreachable. Store small items in fabric boxes inside the ottoman so you are lifting out a container rather than rummaging.
Ventilation is worth a thought. Bedding stored for months in a fully sealed unit can hold moisture, so air the contents occasionally and avoid storing anything damp.
If you are short of space rather than short of seating, an ottoman bed is the more significant purchase. It uses volume that would otherwise be dead space and can replace an entire chest of drawers in a small room.
Two practical points. First, check which way the base lifts: end lifting is better in narrow rooms, side lifting is better where the bed sits against a wall on one side. Second, check the headroom above the bed. A side lifting base needs clearance if there is a shelf or sloping ceiling above.
Access is the trade off. You cannot open the base with the bed made and loaded with cushions, so it suits storage you reach for weekly at most. Those comparing options often start with our modern beds UK collection, where storage bases are listed alongside standard frames.
Look for a hardwood or engineered timber frame rather than a purely board built box, particularly on anything you will sit on. Check that the base has feet rather than sitting flat on the floor, because feet keep the fabric off carpet and allow airflow.
Seams should be straight and the piping, if present, should be even along its length. Stitching that wanders is usually a sign of rushed assembly elsewhere. If the ottoman arrives flat packed, the legs usually screw in and the lid is pre attached, so assembly is quick.
Keep the top surface simple: a folded throw laid across one third of the width, or a single tray, is enough. Piling cushions on an ottoman defeats its purpose because they have to move every time you open it.
Tonally, an ottoman can either match the bed or contrast with it. Matching creates a calm, upholstered block at the end of the room. Contrasting, for example a deep green ottoman with a cream bed, gives the room a focal point. A textured modern rugs UK choice underneath ties the two together and stops the ottoman looking as though it has been placed at random.
A blanket box is usually timber, has a rigid lid and is not designed for comfortable seating. An ottoman is upholstered and can be sat on properly. If you want a surface to perch on while dressing, choose the ottoman. If you want a wipeable, structured box that matches wooden furniture, the blanket box is the better fit.
Both can be shopped as modern furniture UK wide at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.
Vacuum the fabric with a brush attachment every few weeks to stop dust settling into the weave. Blot spills rather than rubbing them. Check the fabric care code before using any cleaning product, since some upholstery fabrics should only be cleaned with solvent based products rather than water.
Tighten the leg fixings once or twice a year. Upholstered pieces that are sat on regularly loosen slightly, and a quick check prevents wobble becoming damage.
Around one hundred to one hundred and twenty centimetres wide works well with a one hundred and thirty five centimetre double bed. Keep the height at or just below mattress level and leave at least forty five centimetres of walkway in front of it.
In a small bedroom, yes. It converts unused volume under the mattress into full length storage and can remove the need for a separate chest of drawers. It suits items you access weekly or less, since the bed must be cleared to open the base.
Upholstered storage ottomans with a padded lid and a timber frame are designed for occasional seating. Lightweight folding boxes are not, so check the stated weight capacity if seating matters to you.
The terms overlap. A footstool is generally smaller and intended for resting your feet, while an ottoman is larger and more likely to include storage and act as seating. In practice, size and whether it opens are the useful distinctions.
Yes, provided the items are clean and dry and you air the contents from time to time. Use breathable fabric boxes inside rather than sealed plastic, and avoid storing anything in a unit that sits directly against a cold external wall.
A headboard rarely looks finished on its own, and most of the difference comes down…
Small bedrooms respond to layout far more than to decoration, and most of that layout…
Most problems with a new bedroom dresser trace back to one missed measurement, and it…
A bedroom chest earns its cost when it is built properly, sized correctly and used…
Putting a television in a bedroom works when the unit beneath it is chosen for…
Measuring a room for a bed frame takes about fifteen minutes and prevents the most…
This website uses cookies.