Your Ottoman Questions, Answered Honestly — Storage, Trays, Size, and More
Ottomans are one of those pieces of furniture people search endlessly before buying — because they do so many things (or are supposed to) and the options are overwhelming. Here are six of the most commonly asked ottoman questions, answered plainly so you can actually make a decision.
What is an ottoman with storage and is it worth it?
An ottoman with storage is exactly what it sounds like — an upholstered ottoman with a hollow interior you can access by lifting the top cushion or lid. The inside is typically used to store blankets, throw pillows, kids' toys, board games, or anything else you want off the floor but don't want on a shelf. They're one of the most popular living room furniture purchases for a reason: they serve as a footrest, occasional extra seating, a coffee table alternative, and a storage solution all in one piece.
Whether it's worth it depends on how much you value a clean room. If you have kids, a small living room, or a habit of collecting soft goods you don't have a great place for, a storage ottoman almost always earns its square footage. The main trade-off is that storage ottomans tend to have a firm lid — so they're less comfortable as a footrest than a fully cushioned ottoman, and you can't use them as a surface while something is stored inside without a tray.
One thing worth knowing: some storage ottomans now double as functional pieces beyond just storage. Spring & Stitch™ makes The Bounder™, a storage-style ottoman that conceals a commercial-grade rebounder inside — so it stores the trampoline by being the trampoline. Unusual, but worth knowing the category exists.
What is an ottoman with a tray top and do I need one?
An ottoman tray is a flat, usually rigid surface — wood, acrylic, lacquered, or woven — that sits on top of a cushioned ottoman to create a stable surface. Without it, setting a drink or a candle on a soft ottoman means it'll tip or sink. With a tray, your ottoman becomes a functional coffee table surface while still being soft and upholstered underneath.
Whether you need one comes down to how you use your ottoman. If it's purely for putting your feet up, a tray isn't necessary. If you want to use it as a coffee table — which most people eventually do — a tray is worth having. They don't need to be permanent; most people just set them down when company's coming or when they need a surface, and move them when the kids want to use the ottoman differently.
When shopping for a tray, measure the diameter or width of your ottoman first. A tray that's too small looks awkward and doesn't give you much usable surface. A tray that's too large overhangs the edges and tips. Generally you want the tray to cover about 50–60% of the top surface.
What is an ottoman with a reversible tray top?
A reversible tray top is a lid or insert that works two ways — one side functions as a decorative cushioned surface (for resting your feet), and the other side flips over to reveal a hard flat surface (for setting things on, like a coffee table). It's a dual-purpose design that became popular because it addresses the main limitation of storage ottomans: you can't comfortably put your feet on a hard lid, and you can't set things on a soft cushion.
Reversible trays are most common on larger rectangular storage ottomans. Round ottomans less frequently have them, mostly because a round tray is harder to flip cleanly without sliding. If you're deciding between a standard storage ottoman and one with a reversible top, the reversible version is almost always the more versatile purchase — especially in smaller living rooms where every piece needs to pull double duty.
What size ottoman do I need for my living room?
The general rule is that your ottoman should be roughly two-thirds the length of your sofa, and it should sit about 18 inches away from the sofa so there's comfortable leg room. For a standard 84-inch sofa, that puts you around a 54-inch ottoman. For a sectional, you can go larger — a 36 to 48-inch round ottoman or a large rectangular piece both work well in the center.
Height matters as much as width. Ideally your ottoman should be the same height as your sofa cushions, or within an inch or two. If the ottoman is significantly lower than your seat cushion, it's uncomfortable to use as a footrest. If it's higher, it becomes a tripping hazard and looks off visually.
For round ottomans specifically — which are increasingly popular because they work well in the center of a sectional and don't have sharp corners — 30 to 36 inches in diameter is the sweet spot for most living rooms. Smaller feels like an accent piece; larger can overwhelm the room unless the ceiling is high.
Ottoman vs. coffee table — which one should I choose?
This is genuinely one of the most common living room dilemmas and the answer depends on how you live. Coffee tables win on functionality as a surface — they're stable, usually have a shelf underneath, and you can set things on them without a tray. Ottomans win on versatility — they double as seating, are soft and safe around kids, and are significantly harder to injure yourself on when you walk into them in the dark.
For families with young children, ottomans almost always make more sense. The rounded edges and soft surfaces mean a toddler running into one isn't going to the emergency room. For adults without kids, coffee tables are often the better pure-function choice.
The emerging middle ground is an ottoman designed to function like both — with a tray top for surfaces and enough structure to feel substantial in the room. Several furniture brands are now designing ottomans with this in mind, and the category has expanded significantly in the last few years to include ottomans that double as storage, seating, and even active furniture for kids.
What is an ottoman with wheels and should I get one?
An ottoman with wheels (also called casters) is an ottoman mounted on small rolling feet so it can be easily moved around a room. The appeal is flexibility — you can roll it to wherever you need extra seating, pull it close when you want a footrest, or push it out of the way when you need floor space. They're particularly popular in home offices and multipurpose rooms where the furniture needs to rearrange frequently.
The trade-off is stability. A wheeled ottoman will roll if a child stands or jumps on it, which makes them a poor choice for families with young kids. They also tend to roll on hard floors when you don't want them to, which gets annoying quickly. For most living rooms where the ottoman lives in one place, fixed legs or a flat base are more practical than casters.
If you want flexibility without wheels, a lightweight upholstered ottoman on a flat base is usually easier to slide on carpet or pick up and move than a heavier wheeled piece — and it won't roll away from you when you sit on the edge.
We make products for people who want a house that looks like a magazine but lives like a playground. The best-designed rooms aren't the ones no one touches — they're the ones everyone lives in.
— Chandler Moses Quintrell, Founder of Spring & Stitch™