Bed Frames with Storage in Dubai: Drawers or Lift-Up Bases?

Choose drawers if you reach for spare sheets, clothes or towels every week and have room to pull them out. Choose a lift-up base if one long side of the bed has to sit against a wall, or if you need to store something too bulky for a shallow drawer. With a lift-up bed, check the weight of the mattress you plan to use and make sure you can stand where the opening strap sits.

A useful way to compare the two is to hold the mattress size constant. Three white IKEA UAE frames take a 160 × 200 cm mattress. The BRIMNES has four drawers and the narrowest frame here. The high MALM has two wheeled storage boxes that can be placed on the accessible side. The MALM ottoman opens at the foot and puts most of the space under the mattress into a single compartment. Which one gives you more storage you can actually reach depends on where the bed sits.

Three ways to store things under the same mattress size

These are UAE frame prices, inclusive of VAT. The mattress and bedding are sold separately. The retailer’s size collection listed all three as available for delivery when checked. Use the individual product pages for price and check stock and service for your Dubai address, especially for the ottoman, whose dated sale price appeared on the product page. IKEA UAE 160 × 200 cm storage bed range MALM ottoman product page

BRIMNES with four drawers for bedding you use often

The white BRIMNES with LURÖY slats is the least expensive and narrowest of the three. Its four drawers give you a way to divide the storage by what you need to find. Two people can take a side each, or use the foot-end drawers for regularly changed bedding and the head-end ones for spare covers. Each drawer measures 94 cm wide, 54 cm deep and 20 cm high inside. IKEA specifies a maximum load of 20 kg per drawer. Check the dimensions of your usual bedding bundle before assuming a bulky folded duvet will fit under the 20 cm opening. BRIMNES white/LURÖY, 160 × 200 cm

The 166 cm frame width buys you 10 cm across the room compared with the high MALM. That can matter if a wardrobe or bathroom door opens beside the bed. The four drawers still need usable space on both sides. Put one long side against a wall and you give up regular access to two of them. A bedside cabinet may also block the nearest drawer even where the central aisle seems wide. A narrower bedside shelf or a wall shelf above the drawer’s path can give you back that access.

The AED 1,095 variant includes the SKORVA midbeam and LURÖY slats. The separate BRIMNES headboard is an optional addition, so measure the bed again if you choose it. The frame uses particleboard with a foil finish and fibreboard in the drawer bottoms. IKEA calls for a damp cloth with mild cleaner followed by a dry cloth. If you need to collect it yourself, look at the cartons as well as the assembled frame. The longest listed carton is 209 cm and weighs 39 kg. BRIMNES components, care and package dimensions

High MALM with two boxes when one side is easy to reach

The AED 1,195 white high MALM with LURÖY uses boxes on castors. Each box has 97 × 59 cm of internal floor space and 15 cm of internal height. That makes it an option for wide, low stacks such as spare sheets and pillowcases. It also gives you a way to make use of one clear side without paying for four storage boxes. If a thick rug sits beside the bed, check how the wheels transition onto it and where the edge of the rug lands. A corner caught under a wheel can turn a quick grab into a two-handed job. MALM high with two boxes, white/LURÖY

This version measures 176 × 209 cm and includes a 100 cm headboard. The slats and SKORVA midbeam are included and packaged separately. The painted frame uses particleboard and fibreboard. The boxes have particleboard sides and a laminated bottom. Use IKEA’s mild-cleaner and dry-cloth method on the frame, and check the wheels and floor path before loading the boxes. The 59 cm figure is internal depth. Ask for or measure the external pull-out envelope if you only have a little more than that between the bed and the wardrobe. Leave room for your hands and feet as well.

The two-box bundle makes sense if you value an included headboard and your bedside aisle is generous on one side. Where you can use both sides, compare it against the BRIMNES before paying more. The BRIMNES gives you more separate compartments and five extra centimetres of depth vertically. If you prefer the MALM shape and expect to need more boxes later, identify the matching high-frame box and measure the remaining openings first.

MALM ottoman for bulky items and a clear foot end

The white MALM ottoman measures 175 × 210 cm, nearly the same closed footprint as the high MALM. The important change is where you stand to get at the storage. Pull the strap from the foot and the slatted platform rises with the mattress. The listed interior is 161 cm wide, 202 cm deep and 28 cm high. Base boards separate the stored items from the floor. That broad cavity makes more sense for a long ironing board or low bags of seasonal bedding than four divided drawers, provided the item fits around the frame hardware and below the closing platform. MALM ottoman measurements and operation

IKEA sets a 50 kg maximum mattress weight for this exact frame and warns that a heavier mattress can cause the platform to drop suddenly. Ask the mattress maker or seller for the actual weight of your 160 × 200 cm model, especially if you are moving a heavy mattress from another bed. Check the manual or ask IKEA about your setup if you use a topper or another layer. Keep the movement path clear and follow the model instructions for assembly and use. IKEA UAE safety guidance and assembly documents

The frame has particleboard and fibreboard panels, a steel bed base and layered wood veneer slats. The slatted base and midbeam come with it. Use a cloth dampened with mild cleaner and wipe dry. IKEA also says to retighten connectors as needed. Before you choose it for regular use, try the lifting and closing motion on a correctly set-up display if you can. The way the handle feels when you are standing square at the foot is more informative than how smoothly the mechanism looks in a product video.

Measure the room with the storage open

Mark the outer corners of the frame on the floor with removable tape. Then open the wardrobe, bedroom and balcony doors as you usually would. For drawers, sketch the path of each one you expect to use. If there is a nightstand, mark its legs and the overhang of its top. A drawer can clear the legs and still run into the cabinet body. Lay the rug where it will sit and take the measurements at floor level, where skirting and furniture feet can reduce the clear span.

Say you have a 300 cm wide room and centre the bed. The 166 cm BRIMNES leaves 67 cm on each side before skirting, furniture and door swing. The 176 cm high MALM leaves 62 cm on each side. Compare those figures with the drawer interiors of 54 cm and 59 cm respectively. The remaining space is only an indication of how tight the fit may be, because the outer box depth and your own standing room still count. If a wardrobe runs along one wall, shift the taped outline to see whether you can make one side comfortably usable.

For a lift-up frame, tape the standing space at the foot too. Make sure you can reach the strap without leaning over a bench or walking around a door. Check overhead clearance in the open position if the bed sits under shelves, a sloped ceiling or a low pendant. If the longest item you want to store is a suitcase, measure the wheels and handle as part of its height, then check that you can lower it in through the opening. The maximum internal length alone does not tell you how easily a rigid object goes in.

Price the frame, delivery and assembly separately

IKEA UAE publishes standard online furniture delivery at AED 45 and delivery with assembly at AED 144. At the standard combined rate, the BRIMNES would be AED 1,239, the two-box MALM AED 1,339 and the ottoman AED 2,139 at its previous frame price, before a mattress or other extras. IKEA also advertised a temporary free online delivery and assembly offer for qualifying orders of AED 1,111 and above from 31 October to 11 November 2026. On the listed frame prices alone, the two MALMs meet that threshold and the BRIMNES sits AED 16 below. Check the offer dates and the service price for your address before using those figures to decide. IKEA UAE standard delivery rates IKEA UAE offer terms

For an apartment delivery, check the dimensions at the lift door and at the turn from the corridor into the bedroom. The ottoman comes in four packages, with the longest listed at 205 cm. Ask your building about furniture delivery slots before choosing a date and clear the old bed out of the assembly area. IKEA says its delivery and assembly service does not include taking apart or removing existing furniture. If you have to keep both frames for a night, decide where the new cartons can sit flat without blocking the exit. IKEA UAE delivery and assembly terms

Before assembly, check the variant on the carton labels and keep the invoice. IKEA’s ordinary return policy calls for the original packaging and proof of purchase and lists assembled or disassembled items as excluded. For an ordinary online return after home delivery, paid delivery and assembly are excluded from the refund. If a part arrives damaged or the lift stops working, contact IKEA UAE with the article number and ask what cover applies to the frame or mechanism. IKEA’s UAE guarantees page does not identify a separate term for these exact frames. IKEA UAE return policy IKEA UAE guarantees

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If both sides are open and you use the storage weekly, start with the four-drawer BRIMNES. If you only have one clear side and want sheets close at hand, the two-box MALM is the better fit. If a wall blocks the side access or you need to store long, bulky items, measure the space at the foot and check your mattress weight before choosing the ottoman. Those two measurements can settle the decision before you pay.