What to Store in an Ottoman Bench: Bedding, Shoes, Toys

An ottoman storage bench can hold far more than spare blankets but each type of belonging suits a different spot in the home and carries a different precaution. The single deep cavity rewards bulky, soft, dry items and punishes anything that needs airflow or security.

Here is what genuinely belongs inside one, organised by category, with the mistakes to avoid.

What can you actually store inside an ottoman storage bench?

An ottoman bench is built around one large, lidded cavity rather than divided drawers. That makes it ideal for items that are bulky and soft but awkward to store elsewhere.

Because the lid lifts up rather than sliding out, the bench works as a “deep store” brilliant for things you reach for occasionally, less suited to belongings you grab every day.

Because the frame is upholstered and effectively sealed when closed, the cavity holds whatever climate is inside it. Dry items stay protected from dust and light, but damp items have nowhere to breathe.

That single principle — deep, soft, dry, occasional — tells you what fits and where it belongs. The table below maps the most common items to the room where the bench earns its place, and flags the one precaution that matters most for each.

Suitability of an ottoman storage bench by item type, best room, and key precaution.

Item type	Best-suited location	Good fit?	Key precaution
Spare duvets & bedding	End of bed or bedroom	Excellent	Compress winter-weight duvets; store clean and fully dry
Folded blankets, throws, spare pillows	Living room or bedroom	Excellent	None — ideal soft, bulky load
Occasional / seasonal shoes	Hallway or end of bed	Good	Store dry; line the base; not daily muddy outdoor shoes
Children’s toys	Playroom or child’s bedroom	Good, with care	Use a lid-stay or soft-close lid; never let a child climb in
Out-of-season clothing (wool, cashmere)	Spare room or bedroom	Good, with care	Clean first; add cedar or lavender; check monthly
Books, games, hobby supplies	Living room	Good	Heavy loads need a sturdy, supported base panel
Documents, valuables, electronics	—	Poor	Not secure or fireproof; humidity risk
Damp or perishable items	—	Never	Causes mould, odour and attracts pests

New to the category? Start with what an ottoman storage bench is and how the lift-up lid works, then come back to plan what goes inside.

Is an ottoman bench good for storing spare bedding?

Spare bedding is the single best thing to keep in an ottoman bench. A folded duvet is bulky, light, and only needed seasonally — exactly the profile the deep cavity is designed for.

Storing it at the foot of the bed keeps it to hand without surrendering wardrobe space.

The one rule is to work from the bench’s usable volume, not the external height on the listing — the lid foam and hinge clearance quietly reduce the internal depth.

A small-frame bench comfortably takes a single duvet set. A double duvet — or a winter-weight 13.5 tog — usually needs a vacuum bag to fit alongside pillowcases.

The exact litre capacities, UK duvet sizes, and tog-by-tog figures are worked through in the dedicated guide: how many litres a small ottoman holds and whether your duvet fits.

Can you store shoes in an ottoman bench?

Yes — and a hinged-top bench is one of the few storage pieces that lets you sit down to put shoes on while storing them inside.

That dual function is exactly why a shoe-storage ottoman works best in a hallway or at the foot of the bed: you perch on the lid, lift it, and the footwear is right there.

The caveat is moisture. Because the cavity seals when closed, it holds humidity, and leather or suede stored damp can develop mould or mildew over time.

An ottoman suits occasional and seasonal footwear — smart shoes, boots out of season, guest slippers — rather than daily muddy trainers that come in wet from a walk.

Let outdoor shoes dry and air fully before they go in. Consider a wipe-clean liner or shallow tray to protect the base, and keep daily wet footwear on an open rack instead.

For getting the bench dimensions and door clearance right in a narrow entrance, see how to place an ottoman bench in a UK hallway.

Are ottoman storage benches safe for children’s toys?

An ottoman can absolutely corral toys, and plenty of families use one to reclaim the floor of a playroom or child’s bedroom. But an ottoman bench is not a certified toy box, and two specific hazards are the reason that distinction matters.

The first is the lid — a heavy lift-up lid can drop onto a child’s head, neck, or fingers. The second is entrapment: a small child climbing into an enclosed, unventilated cavity and the lid closing behind them.

This is not an abstract worry; it is exactly what the UK toy-safety standard legislates against. BS EN 71-1, which underpins the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, requires a purpose-built toy chest to have a lid-support mechanism tested to 7,000 opening and closing cycles.

For any container a child could climb inside, the same standard requires ventilation (at least 1,300 mm² across at least two holes 150 mm apart) and the ability to open the lid from inside with no more than 50 newtons of force. A standard upholstered ottoman meets none of these by default.

For a child’s room, choose an ottoman with a lid-stay or a soft-close hinge so the lid lowers gently rather than slamming. Never let a young child climb inside or treat the bench as a hiding place.

For very young children, a dedicated toy box carrying BS EN 71 certification is the safer home for the toys themselves, while the ottoman handles bulkier items. To compare lid mechanisms, see gas-lift versus hinged ottoman lids.

How do you store seasonal items in an ottoman without damage?

Rotating belongings by season is one of the smartest uses of an ottoman. Winter bedding and woollens go in over summer, summer items and spare guest linens go in over winter, and the wardrobe stops overflowing.

The cavity protects what’s inside from dust and daylight — but the very features that make it a good store (dark, enclosed, undisturbed) are also the conditions clothes moths prefer, and a sealed cavity can trap humidity.

Clothes-moth larvae feed on keratin — the protein in animal fibres such as wool, cashmere, and silk — and they are drawn to items soiled with sweat, body oils, or food traces. In centrally heated UK homes the moth life cycle no longer pauses for winter, so seasonal woollens left untreated for months are a genuine target.

Before anything goes away: wash or dry-clean it, and make sure it is completely dry — residual moisture invites both mould and moths. Add cedar blocks or lavender sachets as a deterrent, kept beside rather than directly on the fabric, and refresh their scent periodically.

For bulky winter duvets a vacuum bag does double duty: it compresses the volume and seals moths out, though knitted wool is best not left vacuum-flattened for a year on end, as it crushes the loft.

Whatever the contents, lift the lid and check every month or two — disturbing the store is itself a deterrent. Used this way, an ottoman is a quietly excellent answer to the perennial problem of where to put seasonal kit in a small UK flat.

What should you never store inside an ottoman bench?

Knowing what to keep out matters as much as knowing what to keep in. The cavity is enclosed, largely airtight, unventilated, and neither secure nor fireproof. That rules a few things firmly out.

Never store anything damp or not fully dry — wet shoes, just-worn gym kit, towels that haven’t aired — because trapped moisture turns to mould, mildew, and a musty odour that transfers to everything else inside.

Keep perishable food out entirely; it attracts pests and taints fabric. Avoid valuables, cash, passports, and important documents: there is no lock, and paper is vulnerable to the same humidity. Electronics and batteries fare badly in a humid sealed space too.

Anything that needs airflow to stay fresh — or anything you need quick daily access to — is better on an open shelf. A lift-up lid makes the ottoman a deep store, not a grab-and-go drawer.

Match the contents to those limits and an ottoman bench will keep its load clean, dry, and out of sight for years. If spills are a worry, our guide to choosing and caring for an ottoman bench covers fabric protection, and the full velvet and textured range is at our storage footstool ottoman collection.