Having the right bench is like having a nice belt – it’s not something you want to spend money on, but you need it. Every day when you get dressed, you grab for it, feel it missing, and wish you had one. The amount of times I say “you need a bench at the end of your bed” is insane. If you don’t have room, that’s one thing, but otherwise it’s the most perfect way to put a finish on the room, add seating, and create that ideal plop and drop spot for the 9 different outfits you try on a day before you settle on the same striped boxy sweatshirt and skinny jeans that you wear every day.
What we have found to be the biggest challenge is making sure that the scale is right. Having a dinky little short dude at the end of the bed throws the whole room off (as does a bad belt). So you need to make sure it’s in scale, mostly in length. We rounded up these benches based on size and all different prices points. While there are many more out there, these are some pretty great options.
You officially have no excuse.
I love that bedroom (hell, I have that rug and those pillows, practically). That bench at the end perfectly punctuates the bedroom.
I like giving them a little bit of breathing room on either side – 6 – 8″ is enough. And the seating can be lower (like this one) if the top of the bench (the arms) is high enough. The back of a bench can be higher if you wanted to go that route, but otherwise the seat of the bench should definitely not be much higher than the mattress.
It doesn’t have to be an upholstered bench, certainly. Just something sturdy enough to sit on. I realized after we rounded these up that we didn’t include any storage benches (typically they are a lot less wide) but if you can find a long enough one that is both storage and seating, good on you.
My friend Amber is the “end of bench” queen (the first photo was hers, too). Nice job, friend.
This bench is more like a sofa and if you have the space and budget for it, please snag it. The level of comfort it can bring into your room is just so valuable.
The key to all of these is the length. If you have a king bed (80″ wide), make sure the bench is at at least 60″ (but 65-70″ is even better). If you have a queen bed (60″ wide) make sure that your bench is at least 45″ wide. The key here is having the bench be around 3/4ths the length of the bed. Feel free to combine two short benches as well or I’ve even done a bench and a stool or basket – it just needs to equal that 3/4ths rule.
Without further ado, here are a lot of benches sized for your beds. Get to shopping. Your bedrooms are desperate for it.
1. Navy Burmingham Bench | 2. Wayfair | 3. Pennie Bench | 4. Healy Teal Leather Bench | 5. Orange Block Party Bench | 6. West Elm | 7. Leather Director’s Bench | 8. Matilda Upholstered Bench | 9. Shelby Rubber Wood Bench | 10. Henderson Upholstered Bench | 11. Offi Momo Bench | 12. Larson Bench | 13. Bank Bench | 14. Whitaker Bench | 15. Coral Lexington Bench | 16. Moller Model 63A Bench | 17. Chinese Chippendale Bench | 18. Jaques Bench | 19. AllModern | 20. Luxe Fur Bench | 21. Alexa Brass Modern Bench
1. Conan Bench | 2. Jasper Studio Sofas | 3. Emerson Reclaimed Wood Bench | 4. Velvet Edlyn Bench | 5. Torrance Bench | 6. Lucia Bench | 7. Tufted Linen Bench | 8. Knox Upholstered Bench | 9. Cruz Bench | 10. Safavieh Talita Bench | 11. Response Fabric Bench | 12. Safari Bench | 13. Rosco Bench | 14. Eliot Bench | 15. Angled Iron Base Bench | 16. Henri Leather Bench | 17. Segis U.S. Lambda Bench | 18. Carrie Oyster Leather Bench | 19. Welles Bench | 20. Dixon Bench | 21. Heathcoat Brass-Tipped Bench | 22. Bentwood Upholstered Settee | 23. Fleur de Glee Bench | 24. Bonhill Bench
Want more roundups? Check out these: Where to Buy Cement Tiles, Why Matte Brass May Be The New King Of Metallics, Shag Rugs, 48 Budget Friendly Hardware, How To Zen Out Your Kitchen, Favorite Pastel Paint Colors (for grown-ups), How To Mix Multiple Rugs In The Same Room, 63 Favorite Temporary Wallpaper Patterns, 32 Beds I Almost Bought For My Bedroom, Best Online Fabric Stores, Best Online Art Sources, Best Online Wallpaper Roundup.
I remember the bedroom you did last year for a client, where you had theater seats at the end of the bed. You should post that one too. It was spectacular!
Oh right! I forgot about that one …. thanks! xx
Great round up & pretty inspiration! I made an beautiful end of bed bench from an old wood toboggan found at the flea market. I like the rustic touch and uniqueness it provides to the room!
How beautiful! I always wanted to have one: they are so elegant and are just beautiful in the room! Being very untidy, they might be hidden by a pile of clothes and books, but that´s a risk I would gladly take
Aria
https://pandaonavespa.wordpress.com/welcome/
ha! The whole time I thought that this post was going to suggest that people are no longer putting benches at the end of their beds. I read it as *THE END* of Bed Benches. Glad to know they aren’t on the way out, and I love the selection!
I read it the same way!
Same here!
same LOL
I happily snagged up bench #8 a few months ago when it was $99 on Amazon and recovered it with African mudcloth I found on Etsy. Sadly, the end of our bed is just too close to the wall to accommodate it and so the bench now lives in our entryway, but I love that it’s the first thing I see when I walk in the door.
what to do if there is no room at the end of the bed. ?
Same problem here… I settle for eye candy on the internet. There’s no way I can have a bed bench if I want to circulate around my bed… hurrah for very small rooms…
Emily – any here listed that you would recommend for a low profile king bed? I would think the rule of thumb would be for the seat of the bench to not be higher than the top of the mattress or am I overthinking this? Any advice would be appreciated. BTW love #17 : )
Yep! I would just make sure the seat of the bench is shorter than the mattress – however, if the bench has a back to it, it can come up a bit higher than the mattress. That’s the general rule of thumb 🙂 Hope that helps!!
I have a great bench with a tufted cushion at the end of my bed. It has a little bit of storage and helps my elderly cat get up on my high bed. However, I’m about to replace it with my late aunt’s hope chest. I don’t have anywhere else to put it, and sentimentality always wins with me. Plus, it will be nice having a piece of her in my room with me.
OK seriously this post was meant for me! Yay! I have been looking for one. But my question to you is can you put a bench at the end of the bed that has a footboard??
Definitely! Typically benches without backs look better with a bed that has a footboard 🙂
Thank you!! I LOVE that anthropology one!!
I’d love to do this – but we have an iron bed with a footboard and I have yet to see an (attractive) example of a bench paired with a metal footboard. Most of these have no footboards!
Help?
I was going to ask the very same question…what about if you have a footboard? We have a king size wooden bed with a very large headboard and footboard. I have thought about adding a bench at the end, we have the room for it, but didn’t know if it would just be too much. I hope Emily sees this!
Benches totally still work with footboards – I would just recommend one without a back to it though!
I think the key is to keep the bench simple so it’s not competing with the footboard. We have a metal footboard and a storage ottoman/bench with very clean lines upholstered in a tweedy fabric. The variation in the fabric gives it a little visual interest without being too busy (imho anyway).
I love a bench at the end of a bed but sometimes we just don’t have space for a good sized bench. I have some skinny vintage benches which may not be right in scale but still serve the purpose of keeping the duvet from falling on the floor or can hold some pillows. Sometimes ya just got to make it work! 🙂
and if you have an upholstered bench, you can convince your toddlers who crawl in at 3 in the morning to sleep there and not with you.
This post is so timely. I have been looking for the perfect bench! Number 8 is sold out already though, shoot. Thank you for the help on the width, I was anxious about ordering a too small bench online.
what’s the rule of thumb for how much room is needed between the bench and wall? How do I know it won’t look/be crowded?
There’s no real rule of thumb, but I would say as long as you can walk comfortably through the space (not squeezing past) then a bench should be fine
thank you!!
I love the idea of this, but I don’t think I have room between the bed and our dresser. Any suggestions?
LOVE all of these. I wish I could fit a bench in my bedroom!
Is this an acceptable copy of yours Emily ? Or do the legs ruin it?
http://www.overstock.com/#5594689/product.html?detailsMoreExpanded=true
Man, you guys absolutely KILLED it this week with content!
I feel like that scene in Wayne’s Works when they meet Alice Cooper, ” We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!…”
Keep up the amazing work Emily & EHD team!
I love this post! I really wanted a bench in my bedroom but it’s just too small. My parents always had a chest at the end of theirs that was the perfect height for putting on shoes and socks. Details like this make a home that you want to live in, really (that and sparkling water in my fridge at all times; it’s the small things).
(PS your headline should be “End-of-Bed Benches” not “End of Bed Benches” since it sounds like you’re calling for people to stop putting benches at the end of their beds rather than telling people they need to embrace it. haha You can delete this comment if you’d like!)
Hi Emily,
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I love all of the pictures!
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What about when you have a platform bed? (We have this one from west elm http://www.westelm.com/products/wrh-mod-upholstered-bed-frame-h917/?pkey=cbeds).
Is this the one exception?
That final room inspiration though! All that light.. gorgeous.
Wow! Amazing round up! I love the seating a bench adds to a bedroom, and the options you found are fantastic!
This posting is great…
https://www.hostingcentre.in/
I’ll use dining benches sometimes at the end of a bed. Lots of good options and the lengths are good for king sized beds.
Its like you read minds! On the market currently for a bench for the foot of our bedroom and I had my eye on that Anthropology Edlyn bench already. Thank you so much for the tips and links, this is so helpful!