Amberley Kids Ottoman Bed: taking the whole floor back in a small room

Children's rooms run out of floor before they run out of anything else. The Amberley Kids Upholstered Ottoman Bed answers that by turning everything under the mattress into storage: the platform lifts on gas struts and opens the full area beneath as one lined compartment. Because this is an upholstered frame rather than a divan box, the sides stay shaped and covered, so nothing about the bed announces that it opens.

One compartment beats four drawers

A single lined space under the whole bed holds things drawers cannot: a spare duvet, a sleeping bag, the box the train set lives in, the costume that only comes out once a year. Drawers are limited by their own depth and by whatever stands beside the bed, and they need clear floor in front of them to pull out. A lifting platform does not, which is why ottoman beds tend to earn their keep in exactly the rooms that are too tight for anything else.

Two practical points. First, the lid carries the mattress, so whatever is on top of the bed comes up with it; clear the duvet and the pillows off before you open it. Second, decide whether a child will be opening it alone or whether this is a parent's job, and if the opening height matters in a room with a sloped ceiling or a high shelf above the bed, ask us before you order rather than guessing.

The headboard

Above the storage, the Amberley headboard is a set of vertical channels held inside a shaped outer frame whose top edge steps in at the shoulders. It is upholstered in the same cloth as the base and the sides, so the bed arrives as one object rather than a base and a board that nearly match. That consistency is more noticeable on a storage bed than on a frame, because the eye follows an unbroken line of fabric from the floor to the top of the board.

Three sizes

• Single 3FT – 109 cm wide by 212 cm long
• Small Double 4FT – 139 cm wide by 212 cm long
• Double 4FT6 – 155 cm wide by 212 cm long

Those are the finished dimensions at the widest point, and the length is 212 cm whichever width you take. Measure the room with the bed in its intended position and then check the swing of the door and the wardrobe against it. There is a size guide on the product page drawing the bed from the side and from above, with every size at the same scale, which is quicker to read than a list.

Fabric, delivery and the mattress

The bed is upholstered to order in any of 26 colourways, from Pink Coniston and Blue Plush Velvet through to Silver Chenille and Slate Grey Naples, and every part finished in cloth is done in your choice. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond it. Mattresses are sold separately, so you can choose the tension that suits a growing child rather than inheriting one.

If you want to compare this against the plain frame first, both sit side by side in the kids beds range; if the storage has already decided it for you, the sizes and cloths are waiting on the Amberley Kids Upholstered Ottoman Bed page.