Main purpose is to sit on it while putting your shoes on. Placing decorative pillows on when bed is in use.

The bench has many uses. A place to keep a folded bedspread or coverlet when the bed is being use. A place to hold a robe. A seat at chair height to use when putting on shoes or clothing if your mattress height is too high or too soft.

Could be a bench OR a storage box or bench too or even a bookcase OR perhaps could hold a TV (some even have mechanisms for raising/lowering a TV) ....

.... A cedar-lined long chest is Always handy for stashing out-of-season bedding or clothing (like a large duvet -- just an example)

...And handy (check for a height that works for you) to sit down and put on/take off shoes etc.

Our MB isn't deep enough to allow for a bench at the end our our bed, but we did put one under a window along the adjacent wall. One, I thought a bench would look good there. Two, I wanted a bench as a place to sit to put on shoes and socks. This is especially for DH who will sit pretty much on the bed pillows (on the freshly made--by me, bed) while putting on his shoes, and then will walk out of the room, without straightening up the smushed pillows, and rumpled comforter, etc. Bed stays neatly made, cat_mom is much happier!

If I thought a bench would stop DH from messing up the freshly made bed, I'd consider it, but you can only lead a horse to water...

"Is it in case you get too tired on the way to bed and need a place to rest before completing the journey?"

Too funny!

Well, I don't have a bench at the foot of the bed, but I do have a dog crate not too far away. Sometimes my pup takes refuge there when I'm trying to kiss or cuddle her too much, but the top of the crate makes a handy spot for that day's clothes -- either just taken off, or ones for the next day. A bench would also be a convenient spot for the booty you scored during a shopping spree (a stop on the bench before you actually hang those things up), the blanket you want to kick off the bed when you realize you're too warm or a launching-on spot for the pup who decides she/he DOES want to cuddle up there on the bed with you!

I don't have a linen closet close to the bedroom, so I use a trunk for the MB linens.

For all the reasons above.....this is ours, I just like the way it looks. We have a seating area with couch and club chair at the other end of the room so we don't actually need it, it is just nice. Also the room is quite long so something at the foot of the bed helps to prevent it from feeling like a basketball court.

The only reason I have one is to keep the peace. We didn't have one until recently basically because they use valuable space. But, my MIL was doing a major downsize and was carrying on and on about what she should do with this beautiful cedar chest (in her mind) that her long deceased husband (I never met him) had given to her when they got engaged in 1950. I, in a major moment of weakness, (my MIL doesn't like me and doesn't hide that fact) said we would take it and put it at the end of our bed.

So, now we have this cedar chest at the end of our bed that I don't like and have to make sure that I don't stub my toes on when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

The only reason I have a bench (2 footstools side by side) is so the dog has a way to get on the bed at night.

I think it punctuates the end of the bed well. I wish I had room for one in my br. I do have a bench in my closet though -- serves the purpose

So my dog doesnt have such a far jump!

Several years ago, we put one at the end of our bed for two reasons.

#1 - The room needed something, and we needed someplace to sit while pulling on and off shoes.

#2 - Our elderly dog could no longer jump on the bed. She loved to lay in the sunshine on our comfy bed.

Now that we have a new puppy, we no longer want a dog on the bed. We recently moved the bench to be under a French door so that the new puppy would not jump up on the bed. She has just about mastered jumping up without the bench, however.

Prior to moving the bench, the pup loved to use the bench to look at herself in the adjacent Cheval mirror.

"I think it punctuates the end of the bed well"

Ditto for me. I prefer it to a footboard. And I put clothes on it. Like what I am going to wear to work the next day (the door stays closed at night, so no kitties on it).

I put them in the guest room as it's the first place guests will plunk luggage.

I would love to have a bench at the end of the bed so the covers don't land on the floor when we push them off at night.

I don't have enough room for one, but I think they look great. I have a chair with small ottoman that I use for putting on shoes.

I love the idea of a rest stop on the way to bed, sometimes an arduous journey. :p

My father folds his bedspread down onto it and the decorative pillows are put there as well. He puts on and takes off his shoes there.

It keeps from having to take the spread completely off or knocking it onto the floor as the two most likely options.

For all of the above reasons, my seat/chest is used several times a day.

Newhomebuilder -- what a cute photo!
She knows she's got it going on!

I think it's for people with large bedrooms -- i've never lived in a home that had bedrooms big enough for a bed + bench ;-)

we have a cedar chest at the end of bed for storage-- we don't sit on it tho! I don't think I would put a bench at the end of our bed, but I am used to the chest there since we've had it for so long! the bed would look odd without it! don't put pillows there, tho it does have the tendency to collect stuff like piles of clean laundry if we don't put it right away!

we have a chair in the bathroom for putting on shoes since my husb likes to sit down when doing that!

We have a trunk that was my grandmothers ... holds out of season linens and gives the cats some place to lurk.

I have a small antique bench that goes with a beautiful antique dressing table at the foot of my bed. I love the dressing table but I don't have room for it in my br but the bench is a perfect spot for decorative pillows at night.

Hi - 1 more reason I don't see listed above is that I understand it wears down the mattress to sit on the edge of a bed too much.

That & we have a higher style bed that's uncomfortable to sit on anyway. I opted for a storage bench - very helpful!

I like the way it looks. It provides storage. I do sit on it to put socks on or do some exercises when I feel the urge, etc. We do have 1 chair in the room but it is on DH's side so the bench (which is actually a chest) is closer for me. We also have a higher bed that is impossible to sit on the edge of.

Our bench is strictly so our cats can get on the bed since our bed is very high and our cats are very senior.

These are the funniest comments I've ever read on Houzz. I have a carved C'se table at the end of my bed. I had nowhere else to put it, so I tried it there, because it's the same size a bench would be, and I thought it would look pretty. I can't sit on it, because it has a glass top, but I've learned here that I can place folded bedding on it when I need to. I just realized I could also put art books or magazines on it.