Divan bed, terrible or practical

[thirtyplusone]

Having smashed out all the awful 90s built in furniture in the bedroom we finally have room to move up to a king size bed. My design head says choose a nice frame bed but practical me wonders if we should get a divan for the extra storage?

We live in a modernised 1890s cottage so storage is not a luxury we have at the moment!

Are they really awful or a good choice for a smaller home? Do they make rooms look smaller? Is it possible to buy a design conscious divan?!

Baby on the way and our space is about to be monopolised even more.

We have a lovely wooden bed with drawers built in - would that be an option? It's great & looks good - we love it! This is what we have, but am sure other options are available www.featherandblack.com/beds/storage-beds/marblehead-storage-bed

What about an ottoman bed like this one ? We've just got one for my son and the storage is amazing.

I personally would go for something wooden with built in drawers instead.

We had a beautifup JL wooden bed frame a few years back the slats eventually gave up.
We changed to a KS bed when we updated and got an M&S light grey divan, it's actually wonderful!
It's great for putting quilts and bedding in, and it looks really nice in the room but we do have a large bedroom to fill so maybe in a smaller space it'd looked cramped?

I was just coming on to recommend an ottoman but ScarlettDarling got there before me! It's personal preference but I think not only do they look nicer but the storage is more usable, rather than things getting squashed into drawers you have a nice big empty space that you can see right the way into when the bed is up. They are generally a bit more price-y than divans though...

What about an ottoman sleigh bed?

I had a divan for years. It was ok, the storage was pretty poor and the drawers really aren't particularly big. It was a huge clunky looking bed and really dominated the space. It was also hard to make it look nice!

We now have an ottoman bed, so much better. The storage is brilliant (superking bed so it's a vast space where we store spare bedding, duvets, towels and seasonal clothing.)
It looks so much nicer and doesn't impose on the room as much and it's so much easier to dress it nicely.

Ottomans sound like a great idea, thanks one and all!! I feel very educated in my bed decisions now ;)

Anyone who would like to advise on where to best buy wardrobes from, feel free to suggest away! I'm considering Cotswold Co but they are suspiciously cheap...

Another vote for an Ottoman bed. I wouldn’t be without one now.

Another vote for an ottoman bed, the storage is great and you can get some attractive ones with nice headboards.