Do you need an ottoman in the hallway or corridor, kitchen or bedroom? Then this article is for you. She not only talks about the types, properties and sizes of ottomans, but also, perhaps, will give an impetus to the flight of your imagination and will encourage independent creation of an ottoman by hand from improvised materials. After all, no designer will create a product that reflects not only the style of the room, but also your taste, imagination and skills.
What is a ottoman and why is it needed at all
The look, name, size of the ottoman and the style of performance take us to the era of oriental luxury, when long socks of the shoes bent upward and fluffy carpets spread throughout. Bliss, wealth, excess of all kinds of blessings and blessings. This is how the ottoman, which was part of the bedroom, was originally conceived. The pouf was then also large, for example, in half a bed (and not single beds, of course). It was soft as a pillow, as it was full of fluff, and had no back. And the ottoman, whose dimensions were relatively small, was used as a footrest when an important person was seated on an armchair, throne, or out of bed before she could get out.
In the future, softness and lightness, low height and the absence of traumatic angles allowed the ottomans to migrate to the children's room and establish themselves firmly there. And with the use of synthetic materials, they conquered both living rooms and large kitchens, and also appeared even in corridors and hallways.
What can I say! If now some furniture and everyone likes it, then these are ottomans!
Why ottomans are so popular
The main reason is that the legs and tailbone (the second - mainly for people with sedentary work) get tired in a day, and they do not really relax in transport from work to home. On arrival home, I want to immediately change clothes, change shoes and relax, sitting on a soft ottoman, made according to individual sizes. After a feast with friends, it is also very desirable to have a soft chair in the hallway, which will allow you to carefully put on and lace up each boot.
This is the reason why many of us prefer soft chairs, sofas and ottomans, rather than chairs of Soviet times. We got angry, spoiled ourselves to the extreme, we don’t want to sit on the hard.
And ottomans are the lightest, which means mobile from the whole huge family of upholstered furniture.
What sizes can have, what is it connected with
The sizes of a padded stool depend on many reasons. But the first, of course, is convenience. High ottomans, up to 45 cm from the floor, are convenient because they are easy to lift from after removing and putting on shoes. This is very important for those who have joint pain. If among your friends there are many, it is better not to find a high ottoman in the hallway. Also think about whether among the members of your family and those who will come to you and take off your shoes, there are quite long-legged people, for whom a low puff will prove to be just a torment.
And children, on the contrary, need lower ottomans. If possible, it is better to have in the hallway two (or three) ottomans of different heights than one long ottoman, especially if there are children and patients in the house. And not necessarily they will be square. No, ottomans, of course, can be round, oval, or even triangular. A triangular ottoman, for example, can easily fit into a corner of a room.
Standard and custom solutions
Usually the standard sizes of ottomans are as follows:
- height - from 30 to 45 cm from the floor to the bent upholstery, it is determined, first of all, by those who will sit on it;
- length and width (or diameter) - 30-45 cm.
But if the ottoman plays the role of a banquet or coffee table, then its height, length and width vary in a wider range. And for existing frameless ottomans, the concept of "size" is absolutely relative.
Various forms
The shape of ottomans determines the size of the room and its style. So, a product in a small kitchen is simply inappropriate: it will only interfere, often getting dirty and turning over (there is such a “cheburashhechnoe” property of all light ottomans), in this case it is better to give preference to multifunctional and reliable stools.
Since all types of stylistic solutions of a room can be divided into three large groups, each of them has its own form of ottomans:
- Classic and minimalism. The forms used here are a cylinder, a cube, a prism (triangular seat), a ball, and a flattened ball.
- Ethnic and boho styles. And here cylinders, ovals, flattened like pumpkins, tori, frameless ottomans or, on the contrary, rigid (uncomfortable, but very stylish rattan products, for example) are preferred, that is, everything that adds a lot of circles, curves and broken lines to the room .
- Hi-tech and loft. Using all the latest advances in materials (both in upholstery and in the frame), you can completely adjust the shape, size and color of poufs to the interior, giving the latter uniqueness and modernity. This is not only elegant - geometrical upholstered in leatherette, frameless, inflatable and bulk products of bright colors changing, transparent, iridescent or just conceptual black - but it also helps to achieve an unusual effect beyond the original interpretation of interior design, similar to the interiors of the future from movies (or caves).
What materials are used
As the sizes, shapes, and materials used to cover ottomans vary, the most diverse are used: genuine leather of various animals and reptiles, leather substitutes, different-colored fabrics laid in a row of ropes, twine, rattan branches, etc.
Everything is also used for the frame: from empty plastic bottles and wooden parts to metal and plastic.
When choosing upholstered furniture, it is always necessary to think not only about design, but also about how to clean, wash, or wash this furniture.
So that the ottomans do not get dirty
The size of the ottoman in the hallway is not as important as its cover. After all, he will often get dirty with outerwear, purchases brought and put on him, etc. So everything that is white and fluffy is not practical for the entrance.
Like all upholstered furniture, such products can be covered with covers, but in most cases it does not look so hot, so when buying ottomans in the hallway or children's room, cleaning and washing their surfaces will be of paramount importance. Frameless products have covers that can be removed and washed, but they are not suitable for the hallway, because they take up a lot of space and are inconvenient when putting on or removing shoes.
And if you put in the corridor?
The ottoman in the corridor will do a lot for the design and can even perform some functions. But the size of the ottoman in the corridor should be very strictly selected, it is better to be minimal, and the corridor should be wide enough so as not to stumble and catch on the product. After all, they usually go back and forth through the corridor many times during the day.
Latest Buyer Tips
Do not immediately buy the first ottoman you like, think about how your purchase will look next to wallpaper, flooring and other furniture. Check if the doors will close well if you put just such an ottoman and there. Measure again the place where you want to put it. You can preview photos of ottomans, the sizes, shape and color of which will help you choose a purchase that will please you then for more than a year.