Blanket Boxes, Storage Benches and End of Bed Benches
Blanket box, storage bench, ottoman, storage trunk. Across the trade these words are used more or less interchangeably, and the same piece will be called two or three of them depending on who made it. The name on the label is not a reliable guide to what you are buying.
Two things actually vary, and they are worth checking on the individual product:
Does it open? Most do, some are solid seating with nothing inside. Is it built to be sat on? Some are, some are made to store and nothing else. Those two questions give you the piece; the name does not.
Blanket boxes
Where a piece is sold as a blanket box, storing is usually the point of it. It takes the bulk that will not go in a wardrobe: spare duvets, winter blankets, the bedding for the spare room, the throws that come out in October.
The advantage over a drawer is shape. A single open box takes a folded duvet whole, where a drawer needs it squashed. And unlike storage under a bed, you get at it without moving anything.
The lid is worth a thought. Some here have a slow-close mechanism that holds the lid and lowers it rather than letting it drop, which matters in a room a child goes into.
Storage benches and ottomans
Sold as a bench or an ottoman, a piece is more often built with sitting in mind: a padded top on a frame made to take weight, rather than a lid that closes over the contents.
That changes where it earns its place. It becomes somewhere to put your shoes on, somewhere to sit while you decide what to wear, and somewhere the folded clothes land at the end of the day. The storage inside is the second reason to buy one.
Some come as a pair, which suits a wide bed better than one long bench and leaves you the option of splitting them later, one at the foot of the bed and one under a window.
Bedroom benches without storage
Not everything here lifts. Some are seating and nothing else, and for a lot of bedrooms that is the better buy.
A solid bench is lower and lighter than one built around a box, so it sits more comfortably against a bed and is easier to move when you are hoovering. There is no hinge, nothing to catch fingers, and the seat is one continuous surface rather than a hinged panel, which usually means it looks better and stays looking better.
Choose one where the storage would go unused. A box you never open is just a taller bench.
End of bed benches
The foot of the bed is where most of these end up, whether they open or not, and it is worth measuring rather than guessing.
Aim for something close to the width of the bed or a little under. Wider than the mattress looks like a mistake; much narrower looks stranded. Height reads correctly at roughly level with the top of the mattress or slightly below.
Leave enough floor behind you to walk past comfortably, and remember that anything with a lifting top needs clearance in front to open, while a solid bench does not.
Upholstered and wooden blanket boxes and benches
Most of these are upholstered, which on a piece you sit on is the practical choice as much as the aesthetic one.
Velvet catches the light and shifts colour as you move past it, which lifts an otherwise plain shape. Flat weaves are quieter and show marks less. A buttoned top holds its shape over years where a plain padded one softens, though the dimples collect dust and want the vacuum nozzle occasionally. Pale fabrics take visible wear at the foot of a bed, where legs go past; mid tones are the forgiving choice in a busy room.
Wooden and painted blanket boxes
The wooden pieces suit something that has to last decades and may move rooms or houses more than once. Oak shows its grain and marks less than softer timbers. Painted finishes sit quieter in a room and are easier to touch up than a stain, since matching a colour is simpler than matching a grain.
Wooden lids are the ones least likely to be built for sitting on, whatever the piece is called, so it is worth checking on the product if that matters to you.
Blanket box and bench FAQs
What is the difference between a blanket box and a storage bench?
Less than the names suggest. Suppliers use both words, and ottoman and storage trunk, for very similar pieces. What actually differs is whether the top lifts and whether it is built to take a person's weight, and that is stated on the individual product rather than implied by what it is called.
Do all your benches have storage inside?
No. Some lift to reveal a compartment, others are seating only. Each product says which it is.
Can you sit on a blanket box?
On some, yes. Upholstered pieces on a frame are generally made for it; a wooden lid on hinges often is not. Check the individual product rather than going by the name.
What size bench fits the end of a bed?
Roughly the width of the bed or a little narrower, sitting level with the top of the mattress or just below.
What can you store in a blanket box?
Spare duvets, blankets, pillows and out-of-season bedding, which are the things that take most room in a wardrobe and are needed least often.
What is an ottoman?
Here, a padded box you can usually sit on. The word is also used for a bed with a lifting base, which is a different piece entirely.