The main feature that makes Ottoman beds unique is their discreet storage space. It is normally very spacious and well designed so that it is not easy to tell the bed has some secret space at the base.
The storage compartment of an Ottoman bed is made of high quality wood that has a great finish. Hence that part of the bed is normally very appealing to the eye. On the whole, the nice look the bottom of an Ottoman bed has is a welcome addition to the ambience of the room.
The Appeal of the Storage Compartment
As far as functionality is concerned, the Ottoman bed storage space is unique in many ways, some of which are explained in this guide.
Good Substitute for Wardrobes
Having a bed with significant inbuilt storage space reduces the need to have certain pieces of furniture like closets or wardrobes, which are normally used to store clothes. The reason is that the storage area of Ottoman beds is designed to hold lots of clothes, pieces of bedding, and any other items that need a home without taking up a lot of space.
Once you have stored clothing and other items in that discreet storage of your bed, you are left with lots of free space to work with when organizing your room.
For example, if you do not have an Ottoman bed but an ordinary one, you might not find sufficient space in the room to place a reading table. This is because you would most likely give preference to a wardrobe. Everyone, certainly, wants some secure space to keep their clothing; a place where they can easily retrieve them as they wish.
Meanwhile, another person with an Ottoman bed is able to add into the room a reading table and its accompanying chair, and probably other items of sheer luxury – like a personalized coat hanger. After storing numerous items in the ‘secret’ storage of the Ottoman bed, there is no more need for a wardrobe or a closet.
Makes Room Cleaning Convenient
If there is one thing that makes cleaning the bedroom convenient, it is having a bed with some inbuilt storage space; and that is the Ottoman bed.
If you are hands-on with cleaning, you know the frustration of cleaning a room that is littered with pieces of clothing. When you do not have a designated area to put your clothes, like the storage compartment an Ottoman bed has, you end up throwing them all over the place. Or at the very least it can become cluttered and untidy very quickly.
First of all, the room becomes untidy, and that can only sabotage your chances of enjoying a good night’s sleep. The mess then, obviously, makes it very difficult for anyone to clean the floor and other surfaces in the room. Such inconvenience can be avoided by simply acquiring a bed with some embedded storage, like the one that comes with Ottoman beds.
In fact, when everything is well organized, it takes relatively little time to clean the room. As the person with a disorganized room is busy picking out items from beneath the bed and elsewhere on the floor, you will have completed cleaning your room and moved on to other tasks. And this is simply because when you have an Ottoman bed, you hardly have loose items lying untidily anywhere in the room.
Time Saving
Another benefit of having an Ottoman bed is that you can retrieve the item you want fast. This is because storage compartments of Ottoman beds are spacious, and so you can categorize items as you pack them in. You could, for example, put the items you are not going to require in the year at a far corner, and those you are likely to use often at the front for easy access and convenience.
Also, storage compartments of Ottoman beds are big enough to accommodate different kinds of items. You can organize your things the same way you would in different drawers or shelves, and then arrange them neatly in the order you prefer.
It is good to remember that when there is no good criterion for storing clothes, sorting out outfits to wear can be a nightmare. A task that is meant to take a few minutes can take eternity and cause a lot of frustration. Luckily, many people have now realized how handy beds with in-built storage are; and that is the main reason Ottoman beds have become so popular.
Minimizes Challenges of Small Space
Life in urban and suburban areas is not cheap by any standards, and one expense that contributes greatly to the living costs is housing. Hence many people live in smaller houses than they would like. Those who manage to live comfortable lives even with the limitation of space are those who have been able to identify multi-purpose items; like the Ottomans.
From the wide variety of Ottoman bed designs available, for example, you can choose a bed that also holds your television. That is space saved where a TV stand would have occupied. Obviously, Ottoman beds come with massive space at the base for storage, and so they all help to save space that would have been occupied by closets, wardrobes, drawers and shelves.
Enhancing Stability
The fact that the storage space of an Ottoman bed is made out of strong wood and is designed to withstand great pressure means it has capacity to keep the bed stable. Manufacturers of Ottoman beds do not use just any wood for the bed frames. When they are not using beech or such other high quality hardwood, they go for hardy softwood like the Pine, known for its capacity to withstand shock.
In fact, the issue of bed stability goes beyond convenience; it touches on safety as well. If the beds you have in the house are not Ottomans and someone lies on a bed that cannot withstand his/her weight, you could find yourself with a domestic emergency. To avoid such risks and for the sake of comfort and convenience, many people in the UK and the US have taken to buying what the Europeans discovered ages ago – Ottoman beds.
And they buy these not only for the adults but also for the children. There is so much convenience with the Ottoman brand because when it comes to bed sizes, they come in small, medium and big sizes. If you have school going children, for example, 3 by 6 feet Ottoman beds will do.
If you have a teenager and do not have too much space, a small double will be handy; the size being 4ft by 6ft. And if you want your children to share a bed, or you have a child who is heavily built, you could choose an Ottoman bed that is a little wider; a real double that is 4ft and 6inch in width.
Of course there is the king size Ottoman bed that measures 5 feet in width, and the super king size that is 6 feet square. The worth of these two sizes goes beyond the beds’ utility value – they are a mark of class, elegance and status, and they tend to make a statement whether you realize it or not. They are actually the Ottoman bed sizes almost everyone would go for if they had sufficient room.
They are also the bed sizes owners of luxury hotels like for their rooms. This is because beyond the enhanced comfort and elegance of these Ottoman beds, there is their massive storage space that has capacity to hold several pieces of linen. Someone can distribute clean linen at his/her own time and the junior staff can make the beds much later as need be. In short, members of the boarding staff do not need to queue at the laundry store all at the same time to pick linen. This storage feature that Ottoman beds have, therefore, makes housekeeping relatively easy.
Factors for Consideration
All Ottoman beds have well designed storage compartments, and so selecting one bed over another might be a challenge. To minimize that challenge you need to consider a few factors, among them the location you want to put the bed.
Room Size
If the room you are going to put the Ottoman bed is tiny, your best option would be the single bed that measures 3ft in width. If you have a hall of a room, then you may wish to go for the biggest bed size, because that would inject some homeliness into the room. If you need help picking the right size Ottoman bed have a read of this blog post…
Where the Storage Compartment Opens From
Since some Ottoman beds have storage compartments that open from one side and others that open from the foot of the bed, it is important that you first of all determine exactly where the bed is going to be. That location should guide you on whether to buy a bed whose storage space opens from the side or from the end of the bed. Remember there should be sufficient space for you to stand when operating the storage compartment.
Anticipated Load Size
Whenever you are shopping for a seat, a bed, or anything else that is meant to bear some weight, it is imperative that you consider the size of the intended weight. The base of an Ottoman bed is ordinarily expected to carry a minimum weight of 40kg. Nevertheless, it is always advisable to look at the weight limit of the base as indicated by the manufacturer, and then comparing it with the load you intend to put on that bed.
If you are shopping for a bed to be shared by children, estimate the total weight of those children and then give allowance for any toys they are likely to bring to bed with them. It would be a good idea also to give some allowance for the pressure the bed is likely to bear if these children are to jump up and down the bed; as children are wont to. Of course you have to factor in the weight of the Ottoman bed’s mattress.
Sturdy as the Ottoman bed frames are, every bed size and design has its weight limit. As such, there is need to match the weight limit of the bed base as given by the manufacturer with the anticipated bed load.
Manufacturers of Ottoman beds always advise that you take into account the weight of the mattress intended for the bed, and then add the weight of the person or people meant to use that bed. This ensures you only put on the bed the level of weight the base of the bed can withstand. If well used, Ottoman beds can last several decades.
Depth of the Storage Compartment
It is important for potential buyers to know there is no restriction as to what can be accommodated in the storage space of an Ottoman bed. Whereas a good number of people use the compartment as a holding place for clothes and related material, they could use it for other items as well if they so wished.
Some people actually make a mini-library of some section of the storage area, leaving the rest of the space for clothing items and linen. It is even possible to divide the storage compartment into numerous sections as per your needs, because the space available in Ottoman beds is vast.
However, if you wish to store something of significant height, say some safe-boxes, mementos of sorts, or anything else whose height stands out, you have to prioritize the depth of the storage area. Choose a bed whose storage compartment is deep. This will ensure your items fit properly within the storage area; and more so that they are not damaged when you bring down the Ottoman bed’s mattress.
All in all, the question is not whether or not to buy an Ottoman bed; it is how big the bed’s storage space should be. This is because an Ottoman bed, irrespective of the size, is comfortable and durable, and it is also versatile in terms of utility. In fact, if your room is so tiny it cannot take a seat, you can sit on the bed and enjoy your snacks as you watch your embedded TV!
The important thing is to be equipped with the information highlighted in this guide as you choose your Ottoman bed and then you can be sure to get one with the storage space you need. Besides, such information makes it easy for the sales assistants to help you identify Ottoman beds most suitable for your needs.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL RANGE OF OTTOMAN BEDS AT HUGO & SONS…
