A footstool is the smallest piece of furniture in the room and, in most homes, the one that gets used the most. It is somewhere to put your feet up after work, a table for a cup of tea, a step for reaching the top shelf, and a spare seat when the family visits. Get the size and height right and it quietly earns its place. Get them wrong and it becomes something you trip over.
This guide covers the five things worth measuring and thinking about before you buy.
1. Measure the room before you measure the stool
Start with the space, not the product. Take these three measurements:
- The gap beside your sofa or armchair. Most footstools live here. Even 35 cm of clear floor is enough for a small stool.
- The height of your sofa seat. A footstool used as an occasional seat should be within 2–3 cm of it, so the room looks balanced.
- The clearance under your sofa. A flat, low stool that slides underneath is the single best trick for a small living room. Measure the gap from the floor to the underside of the frame — usually 8–12 cm on modern sofas.
Write these down. They will rule out most of the wrong options immediately.
2. Height: the most common mistake
People buy a footstool that is too tall. If you are using it to rest your feet while sitting, the top should be roughly level with, or slightly below, the seat cushion of your chair — usually 38–45 cm.
If it is doing double duty as a side table or a spare seat, go for the same height as your sofa seat, often 42–46 cm.
Anything much taller starts to feel like a chair without a back. Anything much shorter is uncomfortable to sit on but excellent for sliding under furniture.
3. Solid wood, upholstered, or flat-packed chipboard?
There are three broad options and they suit different rooms.
| Type | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Solid wood | Hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, children’s rooms. Takes knocks and wipes clean. | Heavier than you expect — which is usually a good sign. |
| Upholstered | Living rooms, bedrooms. Softer underfoot, more colour choice. | Fabric shows spills. In the UK, upholstered furniture must meet fire safety regulations, so buy from a seller who can confirm this. |
| Chipboard / MDF | Nothing much. Cheap to buy, cheap to replace. | Swelling if it gets wet, screws that loosen, and it cannot be repaired or sanded back. |
If you want one piece that survives a busy household, solid wood is the safe answer. Our solid wood footstools are made from oak and pine and finished with a water-based seal.
4. Storage, or no storage?
This is the decision that makes the biggest difference to how useful the stool turns out to be.
A plain footstool gives you a seat. A storage stool gives you a seat and somewhere to put things — shoes by the front door, blankets in the living room, toys in a child’s bedroom. In a small flat, that second job is worth far more than the extra few pounds it costs.
If you are short of space, start with a wooden storage stool rather than a plain footstool. You can always use it as a footstool anyway.
5. Five jobs a footstool does that people forget
- A step. A sturdy two-step wooden stool is far safer than a dining chair for reaching a kitchen cupboard — and it can live in a corner.
- A side table. With a tray on top, a stool does everything a side table does at a fraction of the footprint.
- A bathroom perch. Useful for small children at the sink, and somewhere to sit while you dry your hair.
- A plant stand. Raising a plant 45 cm off the floor makes a dark corner look intentional.
- A spare seat. Two stools stored under a console table turn a four-person room into a six-person one.
6. Flat-packed or assembled?
Flat-packed furniture is not what it used to be. A well-designed stool arrives in a slim box, includes the hex key, and takes about five minutes to put together — no other tools needed. The advantage is that it costs less to deliver, which usually means it costs you less to buy, and it is far less likely to arrive damaged.
Our stools are sent flat-packed with an illustrated guide. If you would rather not assemble anything at all, our PU leather footstool arrives ready to use.
Quick checklist
- Measure the floor gap beside the sofa and under the sofa.
- Match the height to your sofa seat, or slightly lower for a footrest.
- Choose solid wood if the room is busy, damp, or full of children.
- Choose storage if your home is short of it — almost all small UK homes are.
- Measure once more before you order. Returns are easy, but getting it right the first time is easier.
Still deciding? Get in touch and tell us your sofa height and the space you have — we will tell you which of our pieces will fit.