Are Ottoman Beds Worth It? Honest Pros and Cons

For most people short on bedroom storage, yes — an ottoman bed is worth it: it adds roughly a wardrobe's worth of hidden storage for a price premium of £100–£200 over a comparable non-storage frame. But it's not the right bed for everyone. As a manufacturer we obviously sell them — so here's the genuinely balanced version, including the reasons not to buy one.

Table of contents

• The real advantages
• The honest drawbacks
• Who should skip an ottoman bed
• The verdict
• Frequently asked questions

The real advantages

Storage without floor space. The full base opens to a compartment spanning the bed's entire footprint — typically three to four times the capacity of a two-drawer divan. In a small bedroom, that can replace a chest of drawers entirely.

Works against walls. Nothing slides out sideways, so ottomans suit narrow rooms and awkward layouts where drawer beds can't open.

Dust-protected storage. The closed platform keeps bedding and clothes cleaner than open under-bed boxes.

The honest drawbacks

You lift to access. Getting something out means raising the platform — fine weekly, tedious daily. If you need constant access, drawers suit you better.

Making the bed is different. You can't tuck sheets with the platform closed as easily as on an open frame; most owners adapt within a week.

Weight matters. A very heavy mattress makes lifting harder. Medium-weight mattresses are the sweet spot — see our ottoman mattress guide.

Mechanism quality varies. The gas pistons are the hardest-working part; cheap mechanisms fail. Check the warranty covers the lift — ours is included in the 5-year frame warranty.

Who should skip an ottoman bed

You have ample built-in storage already; you need daily grab-access to what's underneath (choose a drawer divan); or your ceiling slopes low over the bed, limiting the opening arc.

The verdict

If storage is a problem in your bedroom, an ottoman bed is one of the few purchases that solves it without consuming space — the premium usually costs less than the chest of drawers it replaces. Compare designs across our handcrafted ottoman range, or start with how the mechanism works.

Frequently asked questions