Versatile ottomans & foot stools as extra seats

Most living rooms can only fit a limited amount of furniture, so each furniture piece should be stylish, comfortable and versatile to justify the space that it takes up.

An ottoman or upholstered footstool is a wonderful alternative to a coffee table or flexible additional seating solution. Ottomans are smaller than other seating and light enough to be easily repositioned as needed. Use a storge ottoman or toy box to tidy up your living space.

Fun and stylish ottomans

''A room can be given a greater sense of style and uniqueness by the addition of an ottoman covered in an interesting fabric or leather.''

They are a low risk way to inject pattern, colour and texture into the room without the worry of “going too far”. Be brave and have fun with the ottoman covering. The cover can easily be changed in a few years when fashion or your décor style changes.

Quality ottomans last the distance

The best thing to do is to invest in a good quality ottoman to start with; this will last for many years.

A strong well made frame and quality legs are very important. An ottoman needs to stand up to the weight of adults sitting on it and children jumping on it. The soft rounded corner of an upholstered ottoman means that children won't hurt themselves when running and falling over.

When used as a central coffee table an ottoman or foot stool excels in adaptability. Firm enough to rest a cup of tea or dinner plate, coffee table books, board games or a tray, an ottoman is a welcoming centre piece that doesn’t create a hard barrier between you and your family or guests. After dinner everyone can put their feet up. Ottomans and foot stools are also low profile and will not obscure a view out a window or make a room feel blocked in and cluttered.

View this fabulous web video about ottomans made by VideoMadeSimple.

The ottomand or foot stool design process

The best height to make an ottoman is between 35cm and 40cm from the ground to the top of the cushion. Anything taller than this will feel awkward to sit on and look unbalanced. A popular height is 38cm tall but it depends on the height of your sofas.

We generally start the design process by choosing the legs and then work out the finished height and depth of the upholstered ottoman body from the leg measurements. So if we choose a leg that is 15cm high and our desired finished height is 38cm, the body will be 23cm deep by default.

If a cowhide is going to be used to cover an ottoman, a hide the right size is important. We will look at all the options in your chosen colour range and make a suggestion for the best cowhide to use. We have a nice range of New Zealand leathers and upholstery fabrics in the showroom and can source something special for you if needed.

Photograph above by Anil Dumasia from xybrands

Pricing, freight and quotes

Because each ottoman is custom made and unique we can not give an instant quote.

But an average sized ottoman covered in cowhide or leather usually falls around the NZ$1600 - NZ$2000 price range. If a fabric is selected then it could be a lot less. This is all dependent on a lot of individual factors like the covering and legs selected and the above price range is an indication only.

Quotes: If you would like a quote for an ottoman or footstool please let us know what size, finished height, length and width you would like. Also what type of covering your prefer and what kind of leg option e.g. wood legs, aluminium or chrom plated metal legs, straight wood or metal legs, curved metal legs . We can help you to work this out if you give us a call ph 09 522 1050 or send us an email or visit us in the Auckland showroom.

Freight: Ottomans can be couriered to many countries and is based on weight. Shipping or delivery will be quoted on a case by case basis. The last time we sent an ottoman from Auckland to the South Island of New Zealand it was only about $115.

Please tell us if you will need the ottoman freighted out of Auckland. Quotes are time consuming so please only ask for a quote if you are seriously considering an ottoman in the near future.