We independently research everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more ›

Home›Storage Ottomans

The Best Storage Ottomans

By The Consumer's Guide Research Team·Updated September 9, 2026

A storage ottoman earns its spot by doing two jobs at once. It's a footrest when you're on the couch, a seat when a friend drops by, and a place to stuff the throw blankets that never fold neatly. In a small apartment, that's the difference between a living room and a living room plus a closet. The good ones open smoothly, hold your weight without creaking, and wipe clean when someone knocks over a drink.

Here's the honest part: almost nothing in this category is built like real furniture. Most models use MDF or particleboard panels wrapped in foam and fabric, and the folding ones are basically sturdy boxes. Lids that stay open on their own are rare. Interior space is always smaller than the outside dimensions suggest, because padding and hinges eat into it. And a piece rated to hold weight in storage isn't always rated for you to sit on it.

So you're picking based on shape, seating rating, and how easy the thing is to clean. Measure your space first, and leave clearance in front so the lid can swing open. The Spruce suggests about 18 inches. We think that the SONGMICS 43.3 Inches Folding Storage Ottoman Bench is the best storage ottoman for most people, and that the SIMPLIHOME Avalon is the one to buy if you want something that looks like real furniture at the end of a bed.

At a glance

Product	Width	Seating load	Price
Simplify Faux Leather Folding Storage Ottoman CubeAlso consider	15 in	—	$23.98
Adeco Classy Linen Blend Fabric Accents RectangularRunner-up	24 in	—	$99.99
SIMPLIHOME Avalon 54" Wide Linen Look FabricAlso great	53.9 in	—	$198.54
Christopher Knight Home Hastings Tufted Leather StorageAlso in lineup	52 in	—	$183.99On sale
Nnovaroom Storage Ottoman Foot Rest Bench withBudget pick	12.6 in	350 lb	$25.99
SONGMICS 43.3 Inches Folding Storage Ottoman BenchTop pick	43 in	660 lb	$35.98On sale

How we picked

Seating vs. storage rating. We read the manufacturer specs for a stated static load, because many budget ottomans are rated for storage only. Models that publish a real seating number, like 350 or 660 pounds, moved to the front.

Lid mechanism. Published furniture testing from the Good Housekeeping Institute found soft-close hinges reduce pinch-point risk compared with lift-off lids. We favored hinged and child-safe lids for households with kids or pets.

Frame material. Spec sheets tell you whether you're getting solid wood or MDF panels. Solid-wood frames survive moves better, so we treated wood construction as a meaningful advantage at any size.

Cleanability. Furniture Today's category trends report identifies faux leather as the top-selling upholstery finish for storage ottomans, largely because it wipes down. We weighed that against fabric's better resistance to fading and pilling.

Footprint and fit. We compared listed dimensions against common uses, including the foot of a queen bed and the space in front of a sofa. Better Homes & Gardens advises picking an ottoman at least two inches lower than your sofa seat.

Top pickOn sale

The most storage per dollar, and it folds away

SONGMICS 43.3 Inches Folding Storage Ottoman Bench

A 43-inch folding bench with a 35-gallon interior, a removable divider, and a rated load of 660 pounds. It assembles by dropping in the bottom panel, and it flattens for storage when you don't need it.

$35.98fromAmazonList price ~~$49.99~~ · Save $14.01 (28%)

This is the rare storage ottoman that's actually rated for people to sit on it. SONGMICS lists a 660-pound static load, backed by metal corner guards on the lid and MDF panels underneath. Most folding ottomans quietly rate themselves for storage only. If you want a piece that handles two adults perched on it during a party, this is the one in the lineup with the specs to say so.

The interior is 35 gallons, which is genuinely a lot. That's a comforter and two pillows, or a season's worth of kids' toys. A removable divider splits the space in half, so books stay on one side and blankets on the other. Pull it out and you've got one long cavity for bed sheets or bulky winter coats. At 43 inches wide, it also spans the foot of a queen bed without looking undersized.

Assembly takes seconds. You insert the bottom panel, fold up the sides, and you're done. No screws, no legs to twist on, no allen key. When you move apartments or need the floor space back, it folds flat and slides under the bed. That matters more than it sounds if you're in a studio and your furniture needs to disappear occasionally.

The linen-look surface with tufting reads as more expensive than it is. It won't fool anyone up close, but from across the room it fits with a gray sofa or a neutral bedroom. Double-layer fabric over high-resilience foam gives the lid enough give to be comfortable as a footrest, which is where most of you will actually use it.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It's a box, and it looks like one. There are no legs, so it sits flat on the floor, and the silhouette is more storage bin than furniture. In a formal living room it'll read as functional rather than decorative.

The lid lifts off rather than staying propped on its own. You'll set it aside or hold it while you dig around, which gets old if you're pulling things out one at a time. Fabric over MDF also means spills need blotting fast, not a quick wipe.

Also great

Looks like furniture, with child-safe hinges

SIMPLIHOME Avalon 54" Wide Linen Look Fabric

A nearly 54-inch bench on a solid wood frame with slate grey linen upholstery. The lift-up lid uses child-safe hinges that close slowly, and it ships mostly assembled so you only attach the legs.

$198.54fromAmazon

Solid wood frames matter more than the marketing suggests. Most ottomans in this price range are MDF panels held together with cam locks, and after a couple of moves they start to wobble. SIMPLIHOME builds the Avalon on a wood frame, and at nearly 42 pounds you can feel where that weight goes. If you're buying a piece you expect to keep through two apartments, that's the spec to look at.

The child-safe hinges are the reason to pick this over a lift-off lid. The lid eases down instead of dropping, so no small fingers get pinched. Good Housekeeping Institute testers found that soft-close mechanisms cut pinch-point risk compared with lift-off designs. If there's a toddler in the house who likes opening things, this is worth paying for.

At 53.9 inches wide and 16.5 inches tall, it works at the foot of a queen or king bed, along an entryway wall, or in front of a sofa. Better Homes & Gardens suggests picking an ottoman at least two inches lower than your sofa seat so it works as a footrest. At 16.5 inches, this clears most standard sofas comfortably.

Setup is close to nothing. It arrives mostly assembled, and you attach four legs with the included hardware. Compared to flat-pack benches that need an hour and a diagram, this is a ten-minute job before you're filling it with blankets.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Linen fabric isn't the easy-clean choice. A muddy paw print or a spilled glass of red needs actual cleaning, not a damp cloth. If you have a dog who climbs on furniture, faux leather is the more forgiving surface.

It's heavy. Nearly 42 pounds means you're not scooting it across the room casually, and it doesn't fold away for storage. This is a piece you place once and leave.

Budget pick

A small, wipeable footrest that folds flat in seconds

Nnovaroom Storage Ottoman Foot Rest Bench with

A compact faux leather cube with a 350-pound rating, a side pocket for remotes, and a carry handle. It folds flat without tools, which makes it a good fit for a dorm room or a corner that needs a footrest.

$25.99fromAmazon

For a footrest that also swallows clutter, this is the smart small buy. It's 17 inches tall and about 12.6 inches square, so it tucks beside a chair without taking over the room. The thick foam lid is comfortable under your feet, and the faux leather wipes clean with a damp cloth. If you rent and want one piece that does three things, it earns its footprint.

The side pocket is the detail we'd miss on other models. Remotes, a phone, a pair of reading glasses, a magazine. They live in the pocket instead of on the floor, which is exactly the problem a small living room has. There's also a reinforced side handle, so moving it between the couch and the bedroom is a one-hand job.

It folds without tools. Collapse it in seconds and slide it under a bed when guests need floor space, or when you're moving. At under five pounds it's the lightest thing in this lineup by a wide margin. That's the trade for size, and for a dorm or a studio it's the right trade.

Nnovaroom rates it for 350 pounds of static load, built on reinforced high-density boards. That's a real seating rating, not a storage-only number. For a piece this small and light, being able to sit on it without worrying is the whole point.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The interior is small. This holds a throw blanket and a few remotes, not a comforter set. If you're buying storage first and a footrest second, look at the bench styles instead.

Faux leather over folding board is a durable-enough surface but not a luxurious one. The corners can soften with heavy use, and the material will show creasing at the fold lines over time.

Runner-up

A tailored small bench for a window or a hallway

Adeco Classy Linen Blend Fabric Accents Rectangular

A 24-inch upholstered bench with nailhead trim, wood legs, and a safety lift-top hinge. The interior measures about 21 by 14.5 by 12.5 inches, which is enough for a stack of throws or a bin of shoes.

$99.99fromAmazon

This is the one that looks intentional. Nailhead trim around the body, a tufted linen-blend top, and turned wood legs give it a traditional look that suits an older apartment or a bedroom with wood furniture. The folding boxes in this guide are practical. This one is decorative first and still does the job.

At 24 inches wide it fits where the big benches don't. Under a window, at the end of a twin bed, beside a front door for shoes. The listing gives you the interior dimensions outright, roughly 21 by 14.5 by 12.5 inches, which is unusually honest and makes it easy to check whether your storage bins will fit.

A safety lift-top hinge does the important work here. The lid is held on a hinge rather than lifting off entirely, so you're not juggling a loose panel while you dig for a blanket. Combined with thick upholstery padding and wood legs, it's built more like a small bench than a storage cube.

Assembly is four legs, twist-on, with the hardware in the box. The legs ship inside the storage compartment, so nothing goes missing. Expect a few minutes, not an afternoon.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It's the smallest bench here, and the interior height of about 12.5 inches limits what fits. Bulky comforters won't go in without a fight.

The listing doesn't state a seating weight rating. It's built with wood legs and a padded top, so light seating is reasonable, but we'd treat it as a footrest and occasional perch rather than a spot for a full-grown guest to settle in.

The research

Who this is for

Buy a storage ottoman if your living room or bedroom is short on closet space and you're tired of blankets piled on a chair. It's the right pick for apartment dwellers, dorm residents, parents hiding toys, and anyone who wants a footrest that pulls double duty. Consumer Reports notes that multi-functional furniture is one of the fastest-growing categories among small-space shoppers, and it's easy to see why. One piece replaces a footstool, a bin, and sometimes a coffee table.

Skip it if you need real seating for guests on a regular basis, or if you're looking for a coffee table that holds drinks without a tray. This guide covers upholstered storage ottomans and benches you'd put in a living room, bedroom, or entryway. It doesn't cover hard-top storage chests, upholstered beds with drawers, or the round tufted coffee-table style, since none of those showed up in this lineup.

How we picked

Seating rating: we looked for a published static load, because plenty of ottomans are rated to hold your blankets and nothing heavier. Lid mechanism: hinged and soft-close lids beat lift-off panels, especially with kids around, and published furniture testing backs that up. Frame: solid wood outlasts MDF through moves and years, so we noted which models say which. Cleanability: faux leather wipes down in a second, while fabric resists fading and pilling better over time. Footprint: we checked listed dimensions against the spots people actually use these, like the foot of a bed or the gap in front of a sofa, and left room for the lid to open.

Other storage ottomans worth considering

If you want a small cube that folds flat and wipes clean: The Simplify Faux Leather Folding Storage Ottoman Cube ($23.98) — The Simplify folding cube is a 15-inch faux leather box with about two cubic feet inside and a padded, single-button-tufted top. It assembles in seconds and folds flat when you don't need it, and the PU surface is water resistant, so a knocked-over sippy cup is a non-event. Denim piping around the bottom edge helps the leather hold up where it meets the floor. What you give up is a stated seating rating, so treat it as a footrest and a toy bin rather than a chair. The gold colorway is also a stronger design statement than the neutrals elsewhere in this guide.

The competition

This is what our research surfaced on Amazon, not a survey of everything sold. Several well-regarded models from furniture retailers didn't appear in the lineup, so a piece missing here isn't a piece we're ruling out.

The Christopher Knight Home Hastings Tufted Leather Storage ($183.99) — The Christopher Knight Home Hastings is a 52-inch tufted bench in ivory bonded leather with espresso-stained legs, and it's the most traditional-looking option in the lineup. The interior is roomy enough for pillows and blankets, and the wipeable surface suits homes with pets. Two things kept it out of the picks. Bonded leather is a laminate, and it's the material most prone to peeling and flaking after a few years of daily use. The listing also doesn't state a seating rating or a lid mechanism, which leaves a gap where the SIMPLIHOME and SONGMICS both give you numbers. Choose it if you want the tufted, nailhead-adjacent look at a bench size and you'll mostly use it for storage.

Care and placement

Give the lid room to breathe. The Spruce recommends about 18 inches of clearance in front of a storage ottoman so the top opens fully without banging into a sofa or a coffee table. Measure before you buy, not after. For faux leather, a damp cloth handles most messes, and you should skip the all-purpose sprays since alcohol and solvents dry the surface and cause cracking. Fabric tops need faster attention: blot spills instead of rubbing, and vacuum the seams every few weeks so crumbs don't grind into the weave. Don't overstuff the interior. Packing it past the rim puts steady pressure on the lid and the hinges, and on MDF-panel models that's how a bulging seam starts. If yours has legs, check the twist-on hardware once or twice a year and snug anything that's worked loose.

Questions we get

Are storage ottomans good for small apartments?

They're one of the better small-space buys, since a single piece works as a footrest, a seat, and a hidden bin. Consumer Reports notes multi-functional furniture is among the fastest-growing categories with apartment shoppers. Folding models are especially handy because they flatten and slide under a bed when you need the floor back.

How much weight can a storage ottoman hold if I sit on it?

It varies wildly, and you need to check the seating rating separately from the storage capacity. Many budget models are only rated to hold what's inside them, not a person on top. The SONGMICS bench lists a 660-pound static load and the Nnovaroom cube lists 350 pounds, which are real numbers you can plan around. When no rating is published, treat the piece as a footrest.

Is faux leather or fabric easier to clean?

Faux leather, without much contest. A damp cloth handles juice, muddy paws, and most everyday spills, which is why Furniture Today identifies it as the top-selling upholstery finish in this category. Fabric holds up better against fading and pilling over the years, but it needs blotting and occasional deeper cleaning. If you have a dog or a toddler, go faux leather.

Do storage ottoman lids stay open on their own?

Some do and some don't, and the listing usually tells you. Hinged lids with child-safe or soft-close hardware, like the SIMPLIHOME Avalon uses, ease down slowly instead of slamming. Lift-off lids, common on folding models including our top pick, come away entirely and need somewhere to rest while you dig. Good Housekeeping Institute testers found soft-close mechanisms reduce pinch risk, which matters if kids open things unsupervised.

Can a storage ottoman be used as a coffee table?

Yes, with a tray. Upholstered tops are soft and slightly uneven, so drinks and plates need a flat surface on top of them. A wide bench style works better for this than a small cube, since you get more usable area. Just remember you'll have to clear the tray every time you want to open the lid.

Do storage ottomans require assembly?

Usually very little. Folding models like the SONGMICS bench and the Nnovaroom cube set up in seconds with no tools at all. Bench styles with legs, including the SIMPLIHOME Avalon and the Adeco, ship mostly assembled and just need four legs twisted on with the included hardware. Budget about ten minutes for the ones with legs.

Why you should trust us

For this guide:

We read the manufacturer spec sheets for every model here, paying close attention to stated seating loads, frame materials, and interior dimensions.
We compared published guidance from the Good Housekeeping Institute, The Spruce, Better Homes & Gardens, Furniture Today, and Consumer Reports on lid safety, clearance, upholstery, and small-space use.
We reviewed recurring themes in owner feedback across the lineup, especially around assembly time, lid behavior, and how the upholstery holds up.
We read owner reviews on every listing, weighted toward the critical ones, because that is where the recurring failures show up.
We have a systematic way of automatically fetching the latest prices, so the numbers on this page stay current.
This is a research-focused guide, so the team may not own every product listed — though we often do own the top winners, which gives us extra context for the recommendations.
We don't accept free products, and the retailer commission never changes which product we recommend.