How to Use an Ottoman: Purpose and Ideas for Your Home

An ottoman is a low upholstered piece that works as a footrest, an extra seat, or a small surface beside your sofa, and some models hide storage inside.

Push one next to a low armchair and it does three jobs at once. An ottoman is the rare furniture piece that earns its floor space in a small living room: it holds your feet up, seats a guest when the couch runs out of room, and — on the models built with a lift-up lid — swallows the blankets and magazines that were cluttering the floor. What follows is what each type actually does, which size fits your space, and the mistakes that make people regret the purchase.

What An Ottoman Is Actually For

An ottoman’s main job is to rest your feet at a comfortable height, though most models pull double duty as seating or a spot to set a tray. IKEA describes its SALTSJÖBADEN line as a place to “rest your feet on it or use it as a comfortable and practical extra seat,” and that pairing of jobs is typical across the category.

The three real uses break down cleanly:

• Footrest. The classic use. It puts your legs at a height that takes pressure off your lower back during long sitting stretches.
• Extra seat. Small ottomans slide across a room when guests arrive. GRUNDSJÖ is sold as “an extra seat, a comfortable footrest, or as a practical place to put things you want close at hand.”
• Hidden storage. Not every ottoman has it. GAMLEHULT and FINNALA are the models explicitly built with “hidden storage under the seat” for blankets, pillows, and magazines.

Compact versions also work as a coffee-table substitute in tight rooms, since GRUNDSJÖ takes up little floor space relative to the surface it provides.

Sizes, Storage, And What Decides The Fit

The number that decides whether an ottoman works in your room is “height under furniture” — the clearance beneath the frame — because it controls whether the piece slides over a sofa base or sits awkwardly against it.

That clearance varies more than people expect. ESSEBODA leaves 4 3/4 inches underneath, GAMLEHULT leaves 5 1/2, and SALTSJÖBADEN leaves 6 3/4. A wide, deep ottoman like ESSEBODA measures 30 3/8 inches square, while POÄNG runs 26 3/4 by 21 1/4 inches — a meaningful difference if you’re matching an existing chair.

Prices shift, and several of these models carry “last chance to buy” labels right now, so treat the figures as a snapshot rather than a fixed list. If you want current pricing and tested picks in one place, our roundup of the best at home ottoman options compares what’s actually worth buying.

Where It Goes And What To Avoid

An ottoman earns its keep fastest beside a chair or sofa you already sit in daily, in a bedroom as portable seating, or in an entry area where you need a spot to set a bag down.

Pairing matters more than most buyers realize. IKEA markets SALTSJÖBADEN as “a companion to SALTSJÖBADEN armchair” — that’s a matching-line suggestion, not a rule that applies across brands, so measure before you assume two pieces belong together.

Two mistakes show up repeatedly:

• Assuming storage is standard. GAMMALBYN, GRUNDSJÖ, POÄNG, and both SALTSJÖBADEN finishes are plain footstools. Only GAMLEHULT and FINNALA include it, so check the label before you buy for clutter control.
• Using an indoor model outdoors. GAMLEHULT is listed “for indoor use,” and upholstered frames generally don’t survive rain and sun. An ottoman for a porch needs different materials entirely.

Materials tell you how a piece holds up. GAMLEHULT is rattan, which is why it’s the lighter, airier pick. FINNALA combines a high-resilience foam seat cushion with a polyester and cotton cover over a plywood and particleboard frame — a heavier build built to take daily use and hold 28 gallons of stored items.