A footstool is one of those pieces that looks like an afterthought until you actually own one, then it becomes the spot you reach for every evening without thinking about it. Our footstool collection covers contemporary fabric designs, including a lift top footstool that doubles as hidden storage, so the piece earns its space beyond just resting your feet.
Not every footstool needs to work hard beyond looking good and feeling comfortable underfoot, but a lift top footstool changes that equation. Lifting the padded top reveals space underneath for blankets, remote controls, or anything else you'd rather not have cluttering a living room surface. It's a genuinely practical option for a smaller flat or a room where every piece of furniture needs to earn its floor space twice over.
Since a footstool sits low and close to eye level when you're seated nearby, the fabric and colour tend to register more than they would on a taller piece like a sofa. A softer pink or pastel fabric brings warmth into a neutral room, while a more contemporary weave suits a scheme already built around clean, simple lines. Given how much daily contact a footstool gets, from feet resting on it to the occasional guest perching on the edge, it's worth choosing a fabric that can handle regular use rather than picking purely on colour.
The obvious spot is in front of a sofa or armchair, but a footstool works just as well pulled up to a fireplace, tucked beside a bed as an extra perch, or used as impromptu seating when a room needs a bit more capacity for guests. Because footstools are lighter and easier to move than most seating, they're one of the few pieces of furniture that can genuinely migrate around a home depending on what a room needs on a given day.
A footstool that's too large for the room it's in can end up as an obstacle rather than a convenience, particularly if it sits in a walkway between a sofa and the rest of the room. Measure the gap in front of your main seating before choosing a size, and think about whether the footstool needs to tuck fully under a coffee table when not in active use, since that affects how much clearance you actually need.
Even a smaller item like a footstool goes through the same upholstery process as MG Designs Interiors' larger furniture, which means the padding and fabric tensioning are handled with the same attention as a full-sized sofa. A footstool might seem like an easy add-on to a larger order, but it's built to the same standard as the seating it's paired with, not treated as a lesser accessory.
Yes, the padded top is built to support regular sitting or resting feet, in addition to lifting open for storage access underneath.
This varies by design, so check the internal dimensions on the specific product listing if you're planning to store bulkier items like blankets or throws.
Some visible wear is normal over time with any fabric used this way, so a slightly darker or patterned fabric tends to show marks less readily than a plain pale colour.
Yes, most footstools can handle occasional seating, though they're designed primarily for resting feet rather than as a long-term substitute for a proper chair.
A footstool is generally smaller and designed primarily to rest feet on, while an ottoman tends to be larger and more often doubles as extra seating or a coffee table substitute, so the choice comes down to the exact role you need the piece to play.
