Bed Frames by Type - Ottoman, Standard, Children's and Sofa Beds
Four types of bed frame, and the choice between them comes down to one question: what else do you need the bed to do?
If it needs to hold things, an ottoman. If it only needs to hold a mattress, a standard frame. If it has to fit a child, or two children, into one room, a children's bed. If it has to be a sofa most of the time and a bed occasionally, a sofa bed.
Ottoman and storage beds
An ottoman bed turns the whole area beneath the mattress into one large storage compartment. The base lifts on gas struts and holds itself open, so what goes in is a single space the size of the bed rather than a set of drawers.
That shape suits bulky things: spare duvets, suitcases, out-of-season clothes, the items that will not go in a chest and have nowhere else to live. It is the type to choose when the bedroom has no wardrobe space left and no room for another cupboard.
The one thing to check before ordering is the clearance. The base swings up and needs room to do it, so the wall behind, a low sloping ceiling or a shelf above the bed can all get in the way. Frames open from the side or from the foot, and which one suits depends on how the bed sits in the room.
Standard bed frames
A standard frame does one job: it holds the mattress at a comfortable height and looks like a bed. No mechanism, no compartment, nothing to maintain.
That is a real advantage rather than an absence. It is the least expensive way to get a given size, the easiest to move, and there is nothing in it that can fail. The space underneath is still usable with your own boxes or bags, which for many people is all the under-bed storage they actually need.
This is also where the choice of headboard and frame style does most of the work, since the frame is visible rather than hidden by a lifting base.
Children's beds
Children's beds are raised beds, built so the space underneath does something useful. They divide into three:
Bunk beds sleep two, or three on a triple sleeper, and answer the problem of more children than bedrooms. Cabin beds and mid sleepers sleep one and fill the space below with drawers, a wardrobe or a low desk. High sleeper beds sit higher again, clearing a seated adult, so a full desk and chair fit underneath.
All of them take a single mattress, and all of them trade a bit of headroom for floor space. Which one suits depends on whether the room is short of beds, short of storage or short of somewhere to work.
Sofa beds
A sofa bed belongs in a room that is not a bedroom. A home office that has to take guests at Christmas, a studio flat, a spare room that spends most of the year as something else.
The thing to be honest about is how often it will be slept on. For a few nights a year, almost any sofa bed works and the sofa comes first. For regular use, the mattress and the mechanism matter more than the upholstery, and the decision starts looking like buying a bed rather than buying a sofa.
Choosing between the four
| Ottoman and storage | Standard frames | Children's beds | Sofa beds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in storage | The whole base | None | Drawers or a wardrobe on many | None |
| Sleeps | One or two | One or two | One, two or three | One or two |
| Every night | Yes | Yes | Yes | Better suited to occasional use |
| Needs clearance to open | Yes, above and behind | No | Ceiling height matters | Yes, floor space in front |
| Solves | Nowhere to put things | Nothing else needed | Too little room for the children | A room with two jobs |
If more than one fits, size is usually the next thing to settle rather than type, and that is a separate question with its own answers.
Bed frame FAQs
What is an ottoman bed?
A bed whose base lifts on gas struts to reveal a single storage compartment the size of the bed. It holds bulky items that will not fit in drawers, and it stays open on its own while you load it.
What is the difference between an ottoman bed and a standard bed frame?
Storage and mechanism. An ottoman uses the whole space under the mattress and needs clearance to lift; a standard frame has no mechanism and leaves the space under the bed open for you to use as you like.
Which type of bed frame is best for a small room?
An ottoman, if the problem is that there is nowhere to put things. A children's bed, if the problem is fitting more than one child in. A standard frame is the right answer surprisingly often, since a small room can feel more open with a low, simple bed in it.
Can a sofa bed be slept on every night?
Some can, but it is not what most are built for. If the bed will be in use most nights, a bed frame with a proper mattress is the better buy, and the sofa bed is better kept for rooms where guests are occasional.
Do bed frames come with a mattress?
Frames and mattresses are bought separately, so the mattress is chosen to suit the frame and the sleeper. On raised beds in particular, mattress depth matters as well as size, since a deep mattress reduces how much guard rail sits above the sleeping surface.