Floor standing vs strutted headboards: which is better?

Buy a divan bed in the UK and somewhere in the checkout you'll hit a question that sounds trivial: strutted or floor standing headboard? Most people pick whichever photo looks nicer and move on. Then the bed arrives the mattress turns out to be deeper than expected, and the headboard sits half-buried behind the pillows. Or it knocks against the wall every time someone leans back with a book.

The fitting type is not a small detail. It decides how tall the headboard actually looks once the mattress is on, and how solid it feels when you lean back against it. It also has a lot to say about the price.

The difference in plain terms

Both types attach to the bed rather than the wall, which is why they dominate the UK divan market. The difference is where the weight goes and how high the board sits.

How a strutted headboard fits

A strutted headboard comes with two legs, usually wooden battens or metal struts, that bolt into fixing points on the back of the divan base. The board hangs above the mattress line, and because the struts have a row of holes or a sliding channel you can adjust the height by a few inches either way.

The board sits behind the mattress, not above it in full. So a headboard listed as 60cm tall might only show 30cm once a modern mattress is in front of it. That single fact catches more buyers out than anything else.

How a floor standing headboard fits

A floor standing headboard runs from the floor to its full height, so the floor takes the weight. Most designs still bolt to the divan base, but those bolts hold it upright and snug rather than carry it. Because the board starts at floor level, none of its height is lost behind the mattress, and there's no gap for pillows to slide into.

They're bigger, heavier and usually taller, often somewhere between 115cm and 140cm, which is why they're the ones you see in hotel rooms and showroom photography.

Why strutted headboards are still the default

Price is the obvious reason. The same design in the same fabric often costs half as much with struts as it does floor standing, simply because there's less frame, less padding and less fabric involved. When a divan set comes with a "free" or discounted headboard, it's almost always strutted.

They're also more forgiving. The adjustable struts let you set the height to suit your mattress, and if you swap a 25cm mattress for a 33cm one later, you raise the board instead of replacing it. A floor standing headboard is a fixed object; what you buy is what you get.

And they move house well. A strutted headboard unbolts in minutes, weighs little and slides flat into a van. Anyone renting, or expecting to change bedrooms in the next couple of years, will appreciate that more than they think.

For a guest room or a child's bed, where the headboard is background rather than furniture you lean on nightly, a strutted board does the job and the saving is better spent on the mattress.

What you're actually paying for with floor standing

Stability, mostly. Because the weight sits on the floor and the board is braced against the base, a floor standing headboard doesn't rock or knock against the wall. If you or your partner sit up in bed to read or work on a laptop, you feel the difference every night. Strutted boards flex on their legs; it's the nature of the fitting, not a fault.

The second thing is the gap, or rather the absence of one. With struts, there's always a slot between mattress and board where pillows slip down and dust gathers. A floor standing board sits flush, so the mattress pushes against a solid surface and pillows stay put.

The third is proportion. Mattresses have grown. Hybrids and pillow tops of 30cm or more are now normal, and they swallow strutted headboards. A floor standing board keeps its full height regardless of what's in front of it, which is why deep mattresses and floor standing boards have quietly become the standard pairing in main bedrooms.

There's an honest downside beyond price: bulk. A king size floor standing headboard is an awkward, heavy thing on a staircase, and once it's in the room it hides a large stretch of wall.

Practical checks before you order

A few minutes with a tape measure prevents most headboard regrets:

• Measure your mattress depth, then subtract it from a strutted headboard's listed height. What's left is roughly what you'll actually see. If it's under 25cm or so, the board will look lost.

• Check what's on the wall behind the bed. A floor standing headboard can block sockets, switches and radiator valves, and moving it later isn't a two minute job.

• Look at your skirting boards. Floor standing legs sit against the skirting, so the board may stand a couple of centimetres proud of the wall. Normal, but worth knowing before you order something bespoke.

• Confirm your divan has fixing points. Nearly all UK divans have pre-drilled bolt holes for struts; older or continental style bases sometimes don't, and bed frames usually need a headboard made for that specific frame.

• If you have an ottoman bed, check the headboard fixing doesn't interfere with the lifting mechanism. Most are fine, end-lift designs especially, but it's a five minute email to the retailer.

• Think about your next move. If the headboard needs to survive a house move or two, light and detachable beats grand and heavy.

Which one for your situation

If it were my money: floor standing for the main bedroom, strutted everywhere else. The longer version:

• You rent, or move often: strutted. It comes off the base in minutes and packs flat.

• You have a deep hybrid or pillow top mattress: floor standing, or the mattress will hide half the board.

• You read or work sitting up in bed: floor standing. The solidity is the whole point.

• The budget is tight and the mattress matters more: strutted, and spend the difference where you sleep.

• A light sleeper shares the bed with a restless one: floor standing. No knocking, no creaking from the fixing.

Neither type needs to be screwed to the wall, so both suit rented homes better than a wall mounted board ever will.

The verdict

Strutted headboards are the better deal; floor standing headboards are the better product. That's really the whole argument. Struts win on price and on being easy to live with when circumstances change. Floor standing wins everywhere you can see or feel, and loses at the till and on moving day.

The direction of travel favours floor standing. Mattresses keep getting deeper, beds keep getting taller, and a headboard that loses 30cm behind the mattress makes less sense each year. But the strutted board isn't going anywhere, because it does most of the job for a fraction of the price, and for a spare room that's exactly the right trade.

Buy the fitting for the room's job, not for the photograph.

FAQs

Will a strutted headboard fit any divan bed?

Almost any UK divan, yes. Look for two pre-drilled bolt holes at the head end of the base. Bed frames are a different story and usually need a headboard designed for that specific frame.

Do floor standing headboards need fixing to the wall?

No. They stand on the floor and bolt to the divan base to stay upright. Wall mounting is a separate, third type of headboard altogether.

Which type works best with a deep mattress?

Floor standing. A 30cm mattress can hide half of a strutted board, while a floor standing board keeps its full height no matter what sits in front of it.

How do I stop a strutted headboard banging against the wall?

Tighten the fixing bolts first, since most movement comes from loose struts. Felt pads on the back corners and pulling the divan a few centimetres off the wall deal with the rest. Some flex is built into the design, so don't expect total silence.

Are floor standing headboards worth the extra cost?

For a main bedroom where you sit up against it most nights, or with a deep mattress, yes. For a guest room used a dozen nights a year, the strutted version is the sensible buy.