How to Choose the Perfect Ottoman Coffee Table for Your Home

Start With How You Will Use It

An ottoman coffee table is a large upholstered piece that takes the place of a traditional hard table. To choose one well, work out its main job first. If it will mostly hold feet, prioritise comfort and a hardwearing fabric. If it will hold drinks and snacks, choose a firm, flat top and plan on a tray. If you need storage, look for a lift up lid or open shelf beneath. Then match the height to your sofa seat and pick a shape that suits the room.

Most homes need a mix of all three, which is exactly why the ottoman has become such a useful alternative to a standard table. It sits somewhere between a coffee table and one of our modern footstools UK, and the best designs borrow the strengths of both.

Why an Ottoman Suits So Many Living Rooms

Upholstered centrepieces solve several problems at once. There are no sharp corners, which matters in a room where toddlers are finding their feet or where space between the sofa and the television is tight. The soft surface absorbs sound, taking the echo out of rooms with wooden floors. And when friends visit, an ottoman quietly becomes an extra seat.

They also bring texture. A living room built around a sofa, a media unit and perhaps a sideboard can feel quite hard edged. An ottoman in boucle, velvet, wool or leather introduces softness right in the middle of the space, where the eye naturally lands. If you are refreshing the whole room, it helps to consider the ottoman alongside the rest of your living room furniture UK sale choices so colours and textures relate to one another.

Get the Height Right

Height is the measurement people most often overlook. An ottoman that is too tall makes resting your feet uncomfortable and looks bulky. One that is too low becomes awkward to reach for a drink.

• Measure the height of your sofa seat cushion from the floor. It is usually between 40 and 48cm.
• Choose an ottoman that sits level with the seat or up to about 5cm lower.
• If you have a low, deep lounge sofa, go lower still so legs can stretch out comfortably.

Remember that a soft top compresses when you rest your feet on it, and a tray adds a few centimetres when you place drinks on top. Allow for both.

Choose a Shape That Fits the Layout

Round

A round ottoman is easy to move around and works well in front of a corner sofa or between two armchairs. It suits square rooms and creates a sociable, gathered feel. Large round designs make a strong centrepiece, while smaller ones can be used in pairs.

Square

Square ottomans sit neatly in the middle of facing sofas or in a room with a strongly symmetrical layout. They offer plenty of usable surface for a tray and a few books.

Rectangular

Rectangular designs follow the line of a three seater and are the closest in feel to a conventional coffee table. As with any centre table, aim for roughly two thirds of the sofa length and leave around 40 to 50cm between the ottoman and the seat.

Whichever shape you choose, mark it out on the floor before you commit. In narrow Victorian and Edwardian terraces especially, a few centimetres of width can decide whether the route to the window feels open or cramped.

Firm or Soft: What Kind of Top Do You Need?

Ottoman tops range from plump and cushioned to almost as firm as a table. Soft tops are more comfortable for feet and for perching, but trays can tilt on them. Firm tops, often built with a timber frame and dense foam, keep drinks steadier and hold their shape for longer.

If you want your ottoman to act mainly as a table, choose a firm, flat surface, ideally with a slight upholstered edge rather than a domed top. If it is mostly for putting your feet up at the end of the day, a softer finish will feel more inviting. Buttoning and tufting add character but create dips that are less stable for cups, so they are better suited to footrest use.

Upholstery That Copes With Real Life

This is where the choice becomes very personal, because an ottoman is handled more than almost any other piece of furniture in the room.

• Performance fabrics: woven synthetics and blends are designed to resist staining and are easy to spot clean. They are a sensible choice for homes with children.
• Boucle: looped textures look soft and contemporary and disguise minor wear well, though pet claws can snag the loops.
• Velvet: rich and tactile, velvet shows pressure marks but often recovers with a light brush. Choose a durable, tightly woven version.
• Leather and faux leather: wipe clean and age with character. Real leather develops a patina and can be conditioned.
• Wool: naturally hardwearing and slightly water resistant, wool suits traditional and modern schemes alike.

Mid tones and gently patterned fabrics are the most forgiving in daily use. Very pale colours look fresh but show marks quickly, while very dark ones can show dust and pet hair.

Consider Storage

A storage ottoman can replace a separate chest or basket entirely. Lift up lids hide throws, board games, spare cushions and children’s toys. Check that the lid is supported by a hinge or stay rather than lifting off completely, and that it closes without trapping fingers. Some designs have an open shelf beneath the upholstered top instead, which keeps books and magazines to hand.

In small flats where every piece has to work hard, storage matters. It is also worth looking at dedicated storage furniture UK if your ottoman cannot absorb everything, so the living room stays calm rather than cluttered.

Making It Practical for Drinks

The single most useful accessory for an ottoman coffee table is a large tray. It creates a stable, wipeable surface for cups, remote controls and a candle, and it can be lifted away when you want to put your feet up. Choose a tray with a raised lip to contain spills, sized to leave a border of upholstery visible all round. Wood, rattan and lacquered trays all work; the key is a flat base.

If you often eat in front of the television or like a mug of tea within reach, you may prefer to combine a smaller ottoman with a hard surface nearby. Pairing an upholstered footstool with one of our modern coffee tables UK or a side table gives you the comfort of one and the practicality of the other.

Styling Your Ottoman So It Looks Intentional

Treat the ottoman as a feature rather than an extra. Choose a colour that picks up a tone from your cushions, rug or curtains so it feels connected to the scheme. Contrast works too: a caramel leather ottoman in front of a grey sofa, or a sage boucle design against cream upholstery.

Keep styling on the top simple: a tray with a small plant, a candle and a couple of books is enough. Place the ottoman on a rug large enough to sit under at least the front legs of the sofa, so the seating area reads as one group. For more ideas on how centre pieces sit alongside different seating, see our guides to matching sofa beds with coffee tables in UK homes and ways to style sofa sets with coffee tables in the UK.

Living With Children and Pets

In a busy family home, an ottoman can be safer and more forgiving than a hard table, but it needs the right specification. Removable, washable covers are worth looking for if you have very young children, as are fabrics with a tight weave that will not pull easily. Darker or flecked colours hide the everyday marks that come with snacks, muddy knees and school uniforms.

Pets bring their own considerations. Cats may treat loose loops and textured weaves as a scratching post, so a smooth leather, faux leather or flat woven fabric is usually a better choice. Dogs tend to shed, and hair clings more to velvet and chenille than to leather or tightly woven synthetics. A quick weekly brush or vacuum keeps any upholstered piece looking fresh, and rotating the tray position occasionally helps the top wear evenly over time.

Bringing It All Together

Choosing an ottoman coffee table comes down to a handful of decisions made in the right order: purpose, height, shape, firmness, fabric and storage. Get those right and you will have a piece that softens the room, adapts to guests and makes evenings on the sofa more comfortable. You will find upholstered footstools, storage pieces and coffee tables to suit every room size at Furniture in Fashion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an ottoman really replace a coffee table?

Yes, provided it has a reasonably firm top and you use a tray for drinks. Many households find it more comfortable and more flexible than a hard table.

What height should an ottoman coffee table be?

Level with your sofa seat or up to about 5cm lower. For most sofas that means somewhere between 38 and 46cm.

Which fabric is most durable for an ottoman?

Performance fabrics, wool and leather tend to cope best with daily use. Tightly woven velvet is also durable, though it can show pressure marks.

Are storage ottomans strong enough to sit on?

Well constructed storage ottomans with a solid frame and supported lid are designed to take occasional seating. Check the construction details and avoid standing on the lid.