# What's the name for that piece of furniture that sits at the foot of the bed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020 "2010-01-30T13:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/1 "2010-01-30T13:04:27Z")
You know the one, it’s like a bench to sit on, but the bench-top lifts up so it is also a box to store things in. I want to get one, but can’t remember the name, so I can’t search for them online. Any help, much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/2 "2010-01-30T13:09:51Z")
Hope chest? I have one from my m-i-l, maple, with a spinning wheel carved on it. Manufacturer was ‘Lane’ and they used to advertise in Seventeen Magazine. You’d store linens and things to use when you got married. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/3 "2010-01-30T13:12:17Z")
An Ottoman. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/4 "2010-01-30T13:26:25Z")
A couple other names are cedar chest and blanket chest. Oddly enough, mine was sold as a toy box, but it works great at holding extra comforters and I can sit on it to put on socks and shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/5 "2010-01-30T13:29:55Z")
Foot locker? Obviously, if it were at the head of the bed, it would be a head locker. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/6 "2010-01-30T15:53:46Z")
Definitely a hope chest. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/7 "2010-01-30T15:57:00Z")
I’d go with either cedar chest or foot locker. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/8 "2010-01-30T16:18:56Z")
I’m thinking you want a place to sit while getting on your socks and shoes. The bed is usually too high for this so many people have a bench or chair at the foot of their bed. I used to have a [padded bench](http://images03.olx.com/ui/2/07/28/37099928_1.jpg) there, but then I went for a [vanity chair](http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-70806688022376_2089_254431408) in the closet instead. So try searching for those. Or possibly “entryway benches” or “[hallway benches](http://2die4design.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/bench-and-baskets.jpg)”. I think any kind of upholstered bench would look nice at the foot of a bed. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/9 "2010-01-30T16:25:58Z")
Y’know, it never occurred to me to think about why a foot locker is called that. D’oh! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/10 "2010-01-30T16:28:38Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > An Ottoman. In my youthful experience, “ottoman” when not referring to the Turks (thn whom it’s nobody’s business) referenced a round upholstered footstool. I wonder if this is another “Transatlantic disjunction” where the same word holds divergent meanings in America and in the British Isles. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/11 "2010-01-30T16:57:39Z")
I see those things advertised as “[storage benches](http://www.homedecorators.com/Furniture/ENTRYWAY/Benches/),” and as **Patty O’Furniture** implied, often in the “hallway” or “[entryway](http://www.homedecorators.com/Furniture/Entryway/)” group of a given store’s offerings. “[Storage ottomans](http://www.homedecorators.com/Furniture/Living_Room/Ottomans/#paging=1&filters=Storage&pr=none)” are functionally the same things, though marketed in a different department (the Living Room group, as whether or not an ottoman is round, you’re intended to rest your feet on it while sitting on a couch or chair). Neither group are necessarily sized to fit a standard-sized bed, though, so you want to pay extra attention to measurements. In the groups more deliberately designed for foot-of-bed use, some were definitely marketed as “hope chests” (famously by Lane, as **salinqmind** mentions; all the girls in my high school graduating class got a sample toy-sized one along with our diplomas) in the past, but I don’t see that as often anymore, except for antiques. I do see new ones called “blanket chests” or if lined with or made of cedar for moth resistance, “cedar chests,” of course. “Foot lockers” tend to be cheaper and less decorative, like the metal one my dad brought home from his tour in the Army. You wouldn’t want to sit on that one. “Trunks” are similar; they may have straps and handles in imitation of antique luggage. Most bedroom pieces called just plain “chests” (rather than “blanket chests” or “cedar chests”) seem to be “chests of drawers,” but if you search for “chest + lid” you might avoid most of those. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/12 "2010-01-30T18:06:21Z")
A tuffet? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/13 "2010-01-30T22:41:41Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Definitely a hope chest. I don’t think so, > [@](#): > > A [hope chest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_chest), dowry chest, cedar chest, or glory box is a chest used to collect items of clothing or household linen, by unmarried young women in anticipation of married life. … > > … The typical hope chest is of lidded blanket chest form. In some traditions, there may also be one or two side-by-side drawers beneath. As with blanket chests, a small till may also be found inside for small items. … While many “the name for that piece of furniture that sits at the foot of the bed” started their lives as hope chests not all of them did. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/14 "2010-01-31T00:23:32Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > You know the one, it’s like a bench to sit on, but the bench-top lifts up so it is also a box to store things in. > > I want to get one, but can’t remember the name, so I can’t search for them online. > > Any help, much appreciated. In my travels, many hotels have a [luggage bench](http://www.primeseatingllc.com/Luggage%20Bench.htm). But if it’s a chest and the lid lifts up, then I guess I think it’s a bedroom storage chest or trunk, perhaps with a padded top to sit on. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/15 "2010-01-31T00:28:30Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > An Ottoman. I was just saying the other day that when someone says “Ottoman,” you can have no idea what piece of furniture they’re actually talking about. I recently had some potential tenants discussing where they would put the Ottoman, and it seemed to be a thing with drawers. To me an Ottoman is a hassock. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/16 "2010-01-31T00:30:45Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I wonder if this is another “Transatlantic disjunction” where the same word holds divergent meanings in America and in the British Isles. I think it is. Have a look at the UK’s [Google Shopping results](http://www.google.co.uk/products?rlz=1C1GGLS_en-GBGB340GB340&sourceid=chrome&q=ottoman&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=0c5kS_LAPKH20gTr7qTQBg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQrQQwAg) for “Ottoman”. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/17 "2010-01-31T00:38:16Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > I was just saying the other day that when someone says “Ottoman,” you can have no idea what piece of furniture they’re actually talking about. I recently had some potential tenants discussing where they would put the Ottoman, and it seemed to be a thing with drawers. To me an Ottoman is a hassock. Wikipedia says a [tuffet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuffet) with storage is an [ottoman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_(furniture)), and redirects “[hassock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassock)” to “tuffet,” so you and the potential tenants can both be right. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/18 "2010-01-31T03:46:25Z")
“Storage” perhaps, but not all storage implies drawers, which is what the tenants were talking about. And to complicate things, when many people hear “ottoman,” they think “couch.” What we need here is a real Ottoman to clear things up. Anyone here from the empire? (Though **Tamerlane** seems to know a lot about Ottomans – perhaps he’ll do.) ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/19 "2010-01-31T08:13:17Z")
Thanks for the answers everyone. Some disagreement or regional variations, but I have enough keywords to work with now. Thanks all! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020/20 "2010-01-31T09:26:13Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > In my youthful experience, “ottoman” when not referring to the Turks (thn whom it’s nobody’s business) referenced a round upholstered footstool. > > I wonder if this is another “Transatlantic disjunction” where the same word holds divergent meanings in America and in the British Isles. Yes, but in my experience a British Ottoman is a chest that is padded on the outside, so as to be a bit more comfortable to sit on. I do not think a mere wooden chest would really count as an Ottoman. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-name-for-that-piece-of-furniture-that-sits-at-the-foot-of-the-bed/527020.md?page=2)