Drawers on the Side You Need: The Dorchester Kids Divan

The question that decides whether a storage bed earns its keep in a child's room is not how many drawers it has. It is which side they open. The Dorchester kids divan bed lets you choose: no storage at all, two drawers on the left side, two on the right, two at the foot end, or four.

Pick the layout from the room, not the list

Stand in the bedroom and look at what the bed will be next to. If one long side goes against a wall, drawers on that side are a wasted option, so take the two on the other. If the bed sits in an alcove with both sides enclosed, two at the foot end are the only ones that will ever open. Four drawers suit a bed standing clear of the walls with floor on both sides. And if there is already a chest of drawers doing the job, no storage keeps the bed lower and simpler.

Whichever you choose, remember a drawer needs its own depth of clear floor in front of it. That is the one place drawer beds lose out to lifting bases, and if the floor is always covered in toys it is worth looking at the ottoman divan beds instead, where the whole top lifts.

A quiet headboard

The headboard is one unbroken panel of cloth. No seams, channels or buttons anywhere on it, upholstered in the same fabric as the base and the sides, so the bed arrives as a single object rather than a board that nearly matches a base. Two heights are listed: the standard 26 inch board and a 54 inch floor-standing board that runs down to the carpet and covers the wall behind the bed.

Four sizes

• Small Single 2FT6: 75 cm wide, 191.5 cm long
• Single 3FT: 90 cm wide, 191.5 cm long
• Small Double 4FT: 120 cm wide, 191.5 cm long
• Double 4FT6: 135 cm wide, 191.5 cm long

All four are 191.5 cm long, so only the width changes and planning comes down to one measurement plus the drawer clearance. The 2FT6 at 75 cm wide is the one that rescues a genuinely small room. The product page has a size guide with the bed drawn from the side and from above, every size to the same scale, which is the fastest way to compare them honestly.

Measure the way in as well as the space. A narrow doorway, a turn at the top of the stairs or a radiator in the wrong place has stopped plenty of beds that fitted the room perfectly.

How it is built

The mattress sits down inside an upholstered surround, with the side rails and foot end finished in the same cloth as the headboard. Choose no storage and the base stays sealed, which keeps the lines low. Choose drawers and they are built into that same upholstered base rather than added on.

Twenty-six colourways

Upholstered to order in any of 26 colourways, with every cloth-covered part in the fabric you choose. Pink and Blue come in both the Coniston weave and Plush Velvet; Almond, Cream, Mink, Silver and Charcoal are the ones that will still look deliberate when the room changes. Flat weaves and chenilles cope with daily handling better than a velvet pile, which is worth knowing on a bed with drawer fronts that get pushed and pulled. Ask us for a swatch if you are torn.

Delivery, and what to add

Mattresses are sold separately so you can choose the tension rather than inherit it. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond it, so if you are comparing kids divan beds in Glasgow there is nothing to add to the total, and anyone further out knows the charge before ordering.

The bed is handmade to order in your size, cloth, headboard and drawer layout, which means the layout you pick is built in rather than retrofitted. Work through the options on the Dorchester kids divan page and get the drawer side right first.