If you are thinking of buying a footstool, there are some very good reasons for making it an ottoman. A footstool – any footstool – takes up a certain amount of space, and many people will have a footstool in the living room. So, if it is going to take up some space, why not make the best use of the space? That would seem to be logical.

When you have an ottoman, it is basically a footstool with a lid so that you can open it and store things in the space. It is rather similar to a large box in that respect. The point is that, while the main purpose of an ottoman may be to put your feet up and take things easy, we all also have lots of “stuff” about that can be tidied up simply by putting it in an ottoman.

For example, you might have a few books and magazines. If you are a gardener, there are several monthly gardening magazines such as Gardener’s World which have a lot of info in them, and most people don’t sit down with them and read them all in one go. They dip into them at various times during the month, read an article or two, and then put them down again. If you have an ottoman, you can use it to store such things so that they don’t clutter up the living room.

Some people have an ottoman in the bedroom, too, not so much for putting their feet up on as using it as a dressing table stool, and at the same time for storing blankets, sheets, pillowcases, and so on.

You can also use an ottoman in the living room as a coffee table, or if you prefer, as a wine table. All you need is a tray, and the ottoman makes a perfect place to put it. At Footstools & More we make a range of wooden serving trays, so you can use a large serving tray for an ottoman which we make in dark oak, light oak, wenge, black, or charcoal. When you have a couple of guests around for an evening drink, the serving tray will hold glasses and your choice of different spirits, and you can equally use it for beer glasses, or whatever tipple you prefer.

Another use for your ottoman is extra seating when you have a party (remember those?!) and you simply don’t have enough chairs for everyone. All our ottomans are quite strong enough to hold a couple of guests at a party.