Ashbury Ottoman Divan Bed: a plain banded board over a base that lifts

Not every bedroom wants a statement headboard. The Ashbury takes the opposite line: a flat panel whose only detail is three fine horizontal seams, dividing it into four wide bands under a straight square top. Underneath it is a full lifting base. If you have been comparing divan beds for the storage and finding the boards too busy, this is the quiet one.

The base is the storage, and all of it

The whole base lifts. Gas struts take the weight of the mattress and the top swings up from the side, opening the full footprint of the bed as one lined compartment. There are no drawers, no runners and nothing that has to clear a wall or a wardrobe door before it will open. That last point is the practical one: a drawer divan pushed against a wall loses the drawers on that side, while a side-opening ottoman keeps everything it has even in a corner. It is the single reason ottoman beds have quietly taken over from drawer divans in small bedrooms.

It is also the most storage you can get under a bed of this size, because nothing is lost to drawer carcasses and the space between them. A side-opening lid does mean the clear space you need is beside the bed rather than at the end of it, so take a moment to picture which way it will open in your room before you order.

Six sizes, and the base is the footprint

• Small Single 2FT6 – 75 cm wide by 191.5 cm long
• Single 3FT – 90 cm wide by 191.5 cm long
• Small Double 4FT – 120 cm wide by 191.5 cm long
• Double 4FT6 – 135 cm wide by 191.5 cm long
• King 5FT – 150 cm wide by 200 cm long
• Super King 6FT – 184 cm wide by 200 cm long

This is where a divan earns its place in a tight room. There is no upholstered surround adding width on each side, so the figures above are both the base and the footprint. A small single at 75 cm wide will go where nothing else will, which is why 2FT6 keeps turning up in box rooms, attic conversions and the half of a child's room that has to stay walkable.

Two headboards to choose between

A 26 inch headboard comes with the bed at no extra cost. The alternative is a 54 inch floor standing headboard, which runs down behind the base to the floor rather than bolting to it, and gives you a much taller banded panel. The taller board changes the bed completely: with four bands spread over 54 inches the seams are a feature, where on the 26 inch board they are a detail. Check what is on the wall behind the bed first, because a floor standing board wants clear skirting and no socket where it lands.

Fabric, delivery and the mattress

The Ashbury is upholstered to order in any of 26 colourways, and the headboard, the base and the sides are all done in the cloth you pick. On a plain banded board the fabric carries the whole design, so it is worth asking us for a sample: Plush Velvet gives the bands a sheen that catches the seams, while Coniston, Chenille and Naples keep it matt and understated.

Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond it. Mattresses are sold separately, which on an ottoman is an advantage, since the weight of the mattress is the thing the struts are lifting and a sensible choice makes the bed nicer to open.

Pick a size, a headboard and a cloth on the Ashbury Ottoman Divan Bed page, or compare it against the rest of the ottoman divan beds first if you are still deciding between the lifting designs.