A footstool is one of those pieces you don't think you need until you've got one, and then you can't imagine the room without it. Feet up after work, extra seating when family land unannounced, a spot to sit while you do your shoes up. At Bonanza Sleep we handcraft ours in the UK in over 40 fabric colours, made to order, with free delivery nationwide and because we make the beds and headboards too, we can match yours exactly.
This collection covers plain and buttoned designs, cube and rectangular shapes, and pieces sized for the end of a bed as well as the front of a sofa. Prices start around £69.
People use the words interchangeably, and shops don't help by mixing them up. Here's how they're generally understood in the UK:
Footstool — a firm, upholstered piece on legs or a solid base, built mainly to rest your feet on. Usually rectangular or square.
Pouffe stool — softer and often lower, sometimes round, and lighter to move about. More of a casual seat than a footrest.
Ottoman — larger, and the term usually implies storage inside, with a lid that lifts.
In practice the lines blur, and a good upholstered footstool does all three jobs. What matters far more is height, size and how it's built.
This is the one people get wrong. A footstool should sit level with your sofa or armchair seat, or a couple of centimetres below it. Most UK sofa seats land between 40cm and 45cm from the floor, so a stool in that range works with the majority of them. Too tall and your knees end up higher than your hips, which gets uncomfortable within about ten minutes.
For a dressing table or the end of a bed, lower is usually better something you can slide underneath and pull out when you need it.
A footstool should look deliberate, not marooned. In front of a two-seater, a compact cube sits nicely. In front of a large corner sofa, a small stool looks lost — go for a longer rectangular design instead. At the foot of a double or king bed, a wide bench-style piece fills the space far better than a square one.
Leave at least 40cm between the stool and your sofa so you can still walk past comfortably.
Plush velvet gives depth and warmth and suits living rooms and bedrooms alike. Crushed velvet catches the light for a glossier look. Linen-look weaves sit quieter and hide everyday marks better, which is worth thinking about if you've children or a dog who considers everything a bed.
Order free swatches before you decide. Velvet reads completely differently under daylight and lamplight, and ten seconds with a sample on your own sofa settles what half an hour of scrolling won't.
A footstool with storage does two jobs in the same footprint — throws, magazines, controllers, children's bits and pieces. If storage is your main reason for buying, have a look at our ottoman boxes as well: they're built at roughly 102cm wide, 42cm high and 46cm deep with a gas-lift lid, which holds a full winter duvet.
Your sofa has no chaise. Straight-backed sofas are comfortable to sit on and hopeless to stretch out on. A stool fixes that for a fraction of the cost of a new sofa.
You need extra seating occasionally, not permanently. Two pouffes tucked beside the sofa handle guests without giving up floor space to another chair all year round.
Your bedroom needs somewhere to sit. Perching on a made bed to put shoes on creases the duvet every single morning. A bench at the foot of the bed solves it.
You want a coffee table that's safer around small children. No hard corners, no glass. More on that below.
There's an awkward empty corner. A pouffe fills the gap without crowding the room the way an armchair would.
You're after warmth in a room that feels flat. A deep-coloured upholstered footstool adds texture and colour where a rug or cushions alone won't.
A footstool coffee table has become one of the most popular ways to furnish a smaller living room, and for good reason: it works as a footrest most of the time and a surface when you need one. Two things make it practical.
Use a tray. A firm tray sits flat across an upholstered top and gives you somewhere solid for mugs and plates. It's the whole trick, and it costs very little.
Pick a firmer, flatter design. Deeply buttoned and very soft tops look lovely but wobble under a tray. If you plan to use yours as a table, choose a flat-topped design and tell us — we'll build it that way.
Parents tend to like this arrangement in particular. There's no sharp edge at toddler head height, which removes a running worry from the room.
Everything here is built after you order it, in West Yorkshire. You pick the design, the fabric and the colour, and we make that piece. Nothing's mass-produced in a set shade and stored until someone takes it.
This is the part most retailers can't offer. We make our beds, headboards, ottoman boxes and footstools in the same workshop from the same fabric range, so your pieces match precisely rather than nearly. Order together and it all arrives on one delivery.
A solid internal frame, dense foam, and upholstery pulled and finished by hand. On something that takes a person's weight several times a day, that construction is the difference between five good years and a saggy top by next spring.
Delivery is free across the UK mainland, and we ring 24–48 hours ahead so you know when to expect us. Every piece carries our three-year warranty against manufacturing faults.
Handmade in Britain doesn't have to mean hundreds of pounds. Ours start around £69, with regular sale pricing across the range.
Plenty of the footstools sold online in the UK arrive in a container, in three colours, from a supplier the seller has never met. We work differently.
We manufacture here. Our workshop and showroom sit on High Street in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire. Every piece is made there.
We'll build to your specification. Customers regularly ask us for a particular height, a longer bench for the end of a bed, or a specific fabric combination — and we make it. Our reviews say so more convincingly than we can.
We're easy to get hold of. Ring, email or message us on WhatsApp. People comment on how quickly we reply more than almost anything else.
Rated 4.6 out of 5 across 93 reviews, with build quality and delivery speed coming up again and again.
Come and sit on them. You're welcome at our showroom at Unit 1, High Street Mills, Heckmondwike, WF16 0DL. Compare velvets side by side and try the heights before you commit.
Browse the collection above, choose your design and your fabric, and we'll start making it. If you're ordering a bed or headboard as well, mention it and we'll match the fabrics and put everything on a single delivery.
Not sure about the colour? Order free swatches first — they cost nothing and they're the surest way to get it right first time. Not sure about the size? Send us the measurements of your sofa or bed and we'll tell you honestly which design suits.
Pick your shape, pick your fabric, and we'll handcraft your footstool here in Britain — free UK delivery and a three-year warranty as standard.
Ottoman storage boxes - gas-lift blanket boxes in matching fabrics
Divan beds - supportive bases with two or four drawers
Ottoman beds - full gas-lift storage under the whole bed
Mattresses - pocket sprung, memory foam and orthopaedic
Bedroom accessories - the full range in one place
Level with your sofa seat or slightly below it. Most UK sofas sit between 40cm and 45cm from the floor, so a stool in that range suits the majority. If it's going at the foot of a bed or under a dressing table, lower generally works better.
A footstool is firmer and built primarily as a footrest, usually on legs or a solid base. A pouffe stool tends to be softer, lower and lighter to move, and works as casual seating. Both are upholstered, and plenty of designs do both jobs well.
Our ottoman boxes are built for storage, with a gas-lift lid and space inside for a full winter duvet. If you want a smaller footstool with storage rather than a full-size box, get in touch — we make to order and can usually accommodate it.
Yes, and many customers do. Choose a flat, firm-topped design rather than a deeply buttoned one, and use a tray for drinks. It's a popular choice in homes with young children, since there are no hard edges or glass.
Yes. We make our beds, headboards and footstools in the same workshop from the same fabric range, so they match exactly. Mention your bed when you order and we'll take care of it.
Over 40, including plush velvet, crushed velvet and linen-look weaves. Order free swatches through the site to see them in your own light before deciding.
Yes. Every piece is handcrafted to order in our West Yorkshire workshop.
Delivery is free across the UK mainland. We'll ring 24–48 hours beforehand to confirm the day, and orders can be combined with a bed or mattress on one delivery.
Vacuum with a soft brush attachment every few weeks and blot spills straight away with a slightly damp cloth — always blot, never rub. Keep harsh chemical cleaners away from velvet.
Three years against manufacturing faults, the same as our beds. If something isn't right, get in touch and our team will sort it — the full terms are on our Delivery & Returns page.
