What Is a Divan Bed? Sizes, Drawers, Pros and Cons

A divan bed is a bed built as an upholstered box: the mattress sits directly on a fabric covered base, with no frame, rails or slats around it. The base is the same width and length as the mattress, and it often has storage drawers built into its sides.

That construction decides everything else: the floor space, the height, the storage and whether the bed can get up your stairs. This guide explains what a divan is, the sizes, the pros and cons, how it compares with a bed frame and an ottoman, and what one costs.

What a divan bed actually is

• The base: a timber box covered in fabric, usually in two halves joined in the middle on king and super king sizes.
• The top: either a firm platform top or a sprung top. The divans we sell have a platform top.
• The feet: castors, glides or short legs. Ours stand on chrome glides.
• The headboard: optional, fixed to the head end of the base.
• The mattress: a separate purchase that sits loose on top.
• Storage: none, or drawers built into the sides of the base.

A bed frame is the opposite construction: side rails, a head and foot end, and a slatted or mesh base spanning between them. It arrives flat packed and is assembled in the room.

Divan bed sizes in the UK

A divan base takes the size of its mattress, so the UK divan sizes are the UK mattress sizes:

Swipe sideways to see the whole table

We sell divans in king and super king. For the smaller sizes, see the single and double bed size guides, and check your room with will a king size bed fit my room. The full size chart, with the room each size needs, is on the king size bed dimensions and super king bed size pages.

Divan bed vs bed frame

Swipe sideways to see the whole table

On a king size, a divan occupies 150 x 200 cm while a bed frame takes more floor, because the rails sit outside the mattress. Each of our king size beds lists its outside size, so you can compare it with a divan before you order.

Divan vs ottoman bed

• Divan: storage in drawers along the sides. Easy to reach, but the drawers need clear floor beside the bed, usually around 45 cm, and you lose them on any side that is against a wall.
• Ottoman: the whole base lifts on gas struts, with storage across the full footprint. It stores far more, needs about 40 cm clear at the foot or along one side to open, and you lift the mattress with it.

Compare both in king size ottoman beds and super king ottoman beds.

Getting a divan into the room

This is where a divan and a frame genuinely differ, and where most guides say nothing at all.

A divan base section is a single rigid object as wide as the bed. It cannot be made smaller. It has to go through every doorway, up every stair and round every turn in one piece. A standard UK internal door is 762 mm wide, so a king size base section at 150 cm goes through on its edge or not at all, and a turn at the top of a staircase is where divans get stuck.

A bed frame arrives flat. If your stairs have a tight turn, a landing under about 90 cm, or a loft conversion with a low bulkhead, the frame is the safer choice. Before you order either, measure the narrowest point of the route, not the doorway of the bedroom.

Pros and cons of a divan bed

Pros

• The smallest footprint for its size: the base is the mattress size.
• Built-in drawer storage without lifting anything.
• Quiet: few joints to loosen.
• Usually cheaper than a bed frame of the same size with storage.

Cons

• Harder to get upstairs: the base sections do not come apart.
• Drawers need clear floor beside the bed.
• Less storage than an ottoman, and none of it under the middle of the bed.
• The look is plainer than a frame; the headboard carries all the style.

What a divan costs here

• King size divan base: from £329 without drawers or headboard, up to £509 with 4 drawers and a curved headboard. See king size divan beds.
• Super king divan base: from £349, up to £549 with 4 drawers and a curved headboard. See super king divan beds.
• Drawers: each pair of drawers adds £40.
• Headboard: a curved headboard in the same fabric adds £80 to £90.
• Fabrics: suede, velvet, hopsack, faux leather and linoso.

Prices are for the divan base, delivered free to the UK mainland; the mattress is sold separately. Current prices are always on each product page.

Mistakes to avoid

• Measuring the bedroom door only. The tightest point is usually the stairs or the landing.
• Choosing 4 drawers with one side against a wall. Two drawers on the open side do the same job.
• Buying a mattress in a different size system. A European 160 x 200 cm mattress does not fit a UK king divan. See UK vs US and EU bed sizes.
• Expecting ottoman-sized storage. If you need to store bulky things, an ottoman holds more.

Which one suits which room

• Tight room, wide access: divan. The smaller footprint wins.
• Tight stairs or a turn: frame. It goes in flat. Start with all bed frames.
• Maximum storage: ottoman frame, then divan drawers, then open frame.
• You want a headboard that makes the room: a frame, or a divan with a tall headboard.
• You want to keep your mattress: either, both take a standard UK mattress.

Divan beds: questions people ask

What is the difference between a divan bed and a normal bed?

A divan has a solid fabric covered base the size of the mattress, with no frame around it. A normal bed frame has rails, a head and foot end and a slatted base, and takes more floor space.

What's the difference between a bed and a divan?

A divan is one type of bed: the base is an upholstered box that the mattress sits on, often with drawers. Other beds use a frame with slats, or an ottoman base that lifts.

What are the disadvantages of a divan bed?

The base sections cannot be taken apart, so they can be hard to get up tight stairs; the drawers need clear floor beside the bed; and it stores less than an ottoman.

What is the point of a divan bed?

It gives you a bed that takes up no more floor than its mattress, with storage drawers built in and no frame to assemble.