Where the toys go: the Rushmere Kids Upholstered Ottoman Bed

Children accumulate. The Rushmere Kids Upholstered Ottoman Bed is our answer to that, and the thing worth knowing first is that you cannot tell from the outside. The sides stay upholstered and shaped, because this is a frame rather than a divan box, so the storage is hidden entirely when the bed is closed.

The headboard, which is the family likeness

Broad vertical channels run between two gently forward wings, and the side rail is fluted to match. It is the same headboard as the plain Rushmere kids frame and the two adult Rushmeres, so if you are furnishing more than one bedroom you can keep a single design across the house and choose storage room by room. Everything finished in cloth is done in the same fabric, so the bed reads as one object rather than a board bought to go with a base.

How the storage opens

The mattress platform lifts on gas struts and opens the full area beneath it as one lined compartment. Not drawers: one space, the size of the bed. For a child's room that is the right shape of storage, because the things that defeat a chest of drawers are the bulky ones, the duvet, the sleeping bag, the box of construction toys, the suitcase that only comes out twice a year.

Two practical notes. First, the struts take the weight of the mattress, which is what makes the lid manageable, but this is still an adult's job rather than a child's, so plan it as the place things are put away properly rather than the place things are put away at bedtime. Second, the lid rises, so measure the height above the bed. Sloping ceilings, dormers and shelves over the bed are common in children's rooms and are the usual reason an ottoman does not work. Our published figures describe the bed closed, so send us the ceiling height and we will tell you.

Sizes, and the floor you need

• Single 3FT: 104 cm wide by 208 cm long
• Small Double 4FT: 127 cm wide by 208 cm long
• Double 4FT6: 149 cm wide by 212 cm long

Measured across the finished bed at its widest point, including the upholstered sides. There is a full size guide on the product page with the bed drawn from the side and from above, all three sizes to one scale. Since the bed opens from above rather than from the front, the only floor you need to keep clear is enough to stand at the side of it.

Frame ottoman or divan ottoman?

Both exist in our children's range and they are genuinely different buys. A divan-based ottoman has a square box out to the edges of the bed, so it holds a little more; a frame ottoman like this one trades some of that volume for shaped, upholstered sides and a better-looking bed. If the room is small enough that every litre counts, look at the kids ottoman divan beds. If the bed is going to be the main thing in the room, stay here. Across both, ottoman beds are the version to choose over drawer bases wherever floor space in front of the bed is short.

Choosing the cloth

Upholstered to order in any of 26 colourways: eight plush velvets, seven Coniston shades, six Naples, four chenilles and a silver Linoso. A tall headboard is included. In a child's room the practical choice is a mid-tone chenille or Coniston, which forgives a great deal more than a pale velvet; the channels on the headboard give the cloth something to do either way, so you are not relying on shine to make it look good. Order samples and look at them in the room, not on a screen.

Range, delivery and the mattress

It sits in our kids upholstered ottoman bed range and is made to order in the size and cloth you pick. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond it. Mattresses are sold separately so you can choose a tension that suits a child rather than inheriting whatever came with the base. Everything, including the size guide and the full colourway list, is on the Rushmere kids ottoman page, and if the ceiling above the bed is the sticking point, ask us there. It is the question we answer most often for anyone buying beds in Glasgow with an attic room to furnish.