- The top is board or springs, not card: press it hard with the heel of your hand
- The two halves line up and the clips or bolts bite
- Every drawer runs to the end of its travel and back, loaded with something
- The feet suit your floor: locking castors or glides on wood, castors on carpet only if you'll never move it
- The headboard fixings are where the listing says and the bolts turn
I find divans old-fashioned and awkward to shift, and a slatted wooden frame usually costs less for what you get. A Sealy on Glides owner says theirs is a "fabric covered pallet", and a pallet with a skirt on is exactly what to avoid. If you want a sprung top rather than lift-up storage, the Flaxby Sprung Divan is worth considering for its sturdy drawers, not a promise that it will transform your mattress.
The top of a cheap divan is where makers save money
A platform top is board beneath fabric; a sprung top has springs beneath it. Forget the velvet for a minute. Press firmly with the heel of your hand before the mattress goes on, working between the supporting struts as well as over them. For a budget divan, I'd put sound construction ahead of decorative fabric or an elaborate headboard.
A couple of Signature owners describe card bridging the slats despite its listing's wood description. A couple each of Slumberland on Legs and Simply by Bensons owners also describe card. While assembling the Simply base, one owner put a hand through it. On Staples and Co on Castors, an owner reports sagging card between struts. On Staples on Glides, an owner describes a knee going through fibreboard and another reports a hole appearing when they leaned on it. I expect more resistance from furniture I'm about to sleep on.
Flaxby Sprung is the only sprung-top base here, with 1,000 pocket springs and a firm edge. An owner who was promised a softer mattress felt no difference. Don't buy it for that promise: I think shops oversell how much a base changes the feel. Owners find its drawers smooth and sturdy, though one hears a creak near the edge over a drawer.
A poor join leaves two visible halves
Push the halves together and check that the clips grip or the bolts tighten without forcing them. Fabric won't conceal a bad fit.
A couple of Signature owners describe conspicuous or flimsy clips. Dreams lists hidden U clips on the Dream Team Divan. A Dream Team Ottoman owner found misaligned bolt holes on the original and replacement, and a TheraPur Shallow Ottoman owner reports the same problem. A Sealy on Glides owner could see the gap through the mattress.
Ask which way the halves split, and on a super king ask twice. A TheraPur Shallow Divan owner found it looked like separate singles at the front, with the metal join and four feet showing. A Sleepeezee Contemporary owner reports a lengthways join despite the pictures. Dreams describes the TheraPur Shallow Ottoman as splitting left to right, with the single supplied in one piece.
Storage justifies a divan only when you can get into it
Drawers suit things you want to reach without lifting the mattress, provided there is room to pull them out. An ottoman needs clearance for its raised lid instead. Pull every drawer fully out and close it with something inside, because empty drawers conceal faults.
Slumberland on Glides, Dream Team Divan, Staples on Castors and Sleepeezee Contemporary owners report broken, stiff or derailed drawers. A Dream Team owner reached a third replacement. Flaxby Sprung owners find the drawers shallower than their previous divan's. Sealy's four-drawer base has drawers just 12cm deep. Continental 2+2 storage uses shorter head-end drawers to clear bedside tables, with longer drawers towards the foot. The Signature listing describes this arrangement. Dream Team's two-drawer version lists drawers measuring 20 x 78 x 49cm. Compare internal measurements with the bedding you plan to store, rather than judging capacity by the outside of the base. Our storage beds guide covers the other layouts.
Dreams lists these mattress-and-bedding weight windows: 14 to 50kg for the Dream Team Ottoman, 14 to 65kg for the Sealy Ottoman, 27 to 65kg for the Flaxby Ottoman and 10 to 65kg for the TheraPur Shallow Ottoman. A few Dream Team Ottoman owners report difficulty closing a heavy mattress, and one reports a separating lifting strap. A Flaxby Ottoman owner also struggles with a heavy mattress. A couple of Staples and Co Power Electric Ottoman owners say it needs a heavy mattress to close, one because theirs was too light. Another owner reports that their base lifts but won't close.
The Staples and Co electric model has an emergency lowering function for a power cut, plus a manual button on the base as well as its wireless remote. Use the model's instructions instead of forcing the lid.
During a shop-floor check at Dreams, the Sealy Ottoman was lifted, its platform pressed and its StayTight fabric observed holding the mattress. There, the platform felt flat and sturdy, and the lift was manageable. The sticking point was value: the headboard isn't included and similar Sealy ottoman bases are sold elsewhere.
A Sleepeezee Contemporary Ottoman owner wanted a wider opening. Another found the headboard increased its footprint. Check the open position against your room dimensions. The ottoman beds guide covers access around a raised lid.
Feet and finished height change how you use the bed
Try sitting down and moving the assembled base, because the feet must suit both your floor and the finished bed height. A low-looking base can become surprisingly lofty beneath a deep mattress.
A couple of Simply by Bensons owners report unlocked castors rolling on wood. A Dream Team Ottoman owner wants stops. A Flaxby couple in their eighties couldn't move its castors on carpet and found the bed too high. A Slumberland on Glides owner and a Sealy on Glides owner found it hard to move on carpet. Another Sealy owner reports sideways sliding when sitting down.
A couple of Simply owners also report excessive height. Owners find the TheraPur Shallow Ottoman sits high on its metal legs and higher still with a deep mattress. For a lower combination, compare the slimline TheraPur Shallow Divan and Flaxby Shallow Divan. A Flaxby owner chose it for a tall pillow-top mattress. An owner who is disabled likes the height of the Slumberland Low Base.
For a let or guest annexe, Sleepeezee Hotel Classic 1000 and Hotel Supreme 1400 are mattress-and-base sets that Mattress Online lists as meeting the Source 5 fire specification for use in most commercial premises. Owners are delighted with theirs. Sophie Conran Celeste combines a base with a tall headboard and no storage. Whatever the upholstery, sit with your feet flat before accepting the finished height: you shouldn't need to climb into your own bed.
Check the size, mattress and headboard before ordering
Many double and king divans arrive in two sections, but check your exact model. Dreams describes the Dream Team Divan as joining across the bed, except for singles. The split affects carrying the sections through doorways as well as their appearance. Measure the access route and its tightest turn, then ask for each packaged section's dimensions.
A base-only listing does not include a mattress. For a set, check exactly which mattress is supplied and whether its feel suits you; a convenient bundle is no bargain if you dislike sleeping on it. If keeping your existing mattress, check its required base type and, for an ottoman, its weight with bedding against the lift's stated range.
An existing headboard needs matching bolt positions and enough adjustment in its struts. A Sealy Divan Bed Base owner found the fixings too low for a standard pine headboard. A couple of Dream Team owners report wrongly drilled holes or a bolt turning inside the base. Have the actual headboard available during assembly so the crew can check the fit before leaving.
For care, follow the upholstery label, vacuum fabric gently with a suitable attachment and avoid soaking it. Keep within the stated drawer and base load limits, check accessible fixings if the bed starts moving or creaking, and don't force a stiff drawer or lifting mechanism.
