Silentnight Divan Base Review 2024

Silentnight is the largest manufacturer of mattresses and beds in the UK and it's known for producing some of the best mattresses for those looking for a traditional pocket sprung feel. Silentnight makes a range of bed bases, of which the Divan Base is one. We think it’s a good option for those looking for a choice of integrated storage and colours to match existing décor. But is the Silentnight Divan Base worth its price tag?

In our Silentnight Divan Base review, we’ve tested the bed in all the areas you’ll want to know about – from ease of set-up and the quality of the materials, through comfort and support levels to who the bed will and won’t suit. However, if you’re in a rush we’ve put together a review in brief below, which should give you a good general overview.

Silentnight Divan Base Review in brief

• Solid divan provides a firm and supportive base
• Excellent storage options
• Headboards cost extra

Silentnight’s Divan Base is one of two divan options the company offer, alongside a small range of slatted bed bases. It’s got some great plus points – it’s easy to put together, has excellent storage options, is available in a wide range of colours and comes in single, double, king and super king sizes (many companies don’t offer a single size divan).

Our divan arrived from Silentnight in two pieces, which were wrapped in plastic. As this was a test unit, we didn’t have a headboard, but we would presume this would arrive packaged separately. We chose to test a divan with four drawers (two each side), which took around 20 minutes to build (this was because there were a few fiddly bits, such as removing staples). If you’ve chosen one of the ottoman options, expect this to take longer to build as you need to screw some parts together. We still thought it was simple to put together though, with relatively little hassle.

You can use the Silentnight Divan base with all types of mattress, including memory foam and hybrid (read up on memory foam vs hybrid mattresses to learn about the differences), although this is the case with all divan bases. However, this divan does come in a single size, which isn’t the case for all divans (Emma’s Divan Bed starts at a double size for instance). The size range isn’t particularly expansive, with just the traditional UK sizes covered, but again this is fairly standard for bed bases of all kinds.

The biggest selling point of the Silentnight Divan Base is its choice of storage options, meaning you can pretty much configure the drawers to your liking. The drawers are roomy and spacious, with a nice smooth sliding action and we were impressed with their smooth action.

We also felt that the base was comfortable to sleep on. It’s firmer than a slatted bed base (as you might expect) and offers decent, firm support. There is a little bit of flex in the base that allows it to work well with your mattress of choice. Overall we slept well on the base. 

There were a few niggles with the base. The clamps that hold the two sections of the divan together are plastic and don’t feel particularly stable. There are also no designated holes for them to slot into (which we felt would have made the base more stable). We noticed that when we tried to shift the base a little the sections weren’t moving together. For the options with drawers that use these clamps, we’d like a little more stability.

And, whilst the base is reasonably priced, a headboard isn’t included and you can expect to pay between £119 and £219 to add one onto your bed. Of course, you can use the divan without a headboard, but most of us prefer one to lean against at times.

Apart from this, we do think that the Silentnight is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a classic divan. It’s hard to beat its large range of storage options and colour choices and the 5-year warranty means you’ll be protected should any problems arise. And perhaps most helpfully of all, Silentnight offers a 60-night trial period so that you can be sure the divan is the right choice for you.

Silentnight Divan Base review: Prices and deals

• A double costs from £409 (with no storage)
• Reasonably priced for a good quality divan
• Look out for occasional sales around Black Friday

Silentnight’s beds and mattresses are made in the UK and offer well-made and reliable products for reasonable prices. The Silentnight Divan Base is particularly competitively priced in the bed base market, with customers getting particularly good storage options.

The RRP of the Silentnight Divan Base starts at £209 for a single, but that’s with no storage at all. Prices start at £279 for a single with two drawer storage. Even the most expensive option is reasonably priced when compared to some other manufacturers – an ottoman base in a super king size is £829. Here are the prices for each size with the smallest amount of storage (two drawers) – expect to pay more as you add more storage:

• Single: £279
• Double: £419
• King: £469
• Super king: £579

We think that the prices are competitive, but don’t forget to factor in the additional cost for a headboard. Silentnight doesn’t have as many sales as some of the newer mattress in a box companies but you can expect to see discounts around Black Friday. And, if you’re not as fussy on colour options, you will find other websites and shops selling Silentnight divans. Keep an eye on our mattress sales page for the latest offers.

If we compare the Silentnight to other divans, we can see that its prices are pretty low. The Emma Divan Bed is £1,090 for a double (the brand doesn’t make a single), although you’ll often find it for £545 (but you only get the choice of two drawers. Luxury brand Brook + Wilde’s Signature Divan costs £1,799 for a double with two drawers and no headboard, but there’s almost always a sale on which can take the price down as low as £809.55.

Silentnight Divan Base review: Design

• Huge range of colours
• Textured and hardwearing fabric
• Headboard isn’t included but there is a choice of designs to purchase

The Silentnight Divan Base isn’t a design innovation, but it is a sturdy and supportive divan that does its job well. It’s split into two different parts for delivery and fitting them together isn’t complicated (see setup below). The big selling point is the number of options when it comes to storage. You can have two or four drawers, two plus two continental drawers, a mini drawer plus ottoman, a half ottoman plus two drawers or a full ottoman. You can also choose to have the divan with no storage (although this seems a little pointless to us).

There’s a choice of two base designs as well – the standard Platform Base on gliders, or the Slimline Base on legs. Matching the divan to your existing décor shouldn’t be a huge problem either with 24 different colours to choose from. We particularly liked the gliding feet on the Platform Base, which make the bed easy to move about.

Silentnight Divan Base review: Performance

We tested a double size Silentnight Divan Base for around four weeks, pairing it with an existing hybrid mattress, as well as briefly testing it with an innerspring mattress. Here’s what we uncovered during our review process.

Set-up

• Quick to assemble
• You’ll need pliers to remove staples
• Start with the two halves of the divan on their sides

Score: 4/5

There’s absolutely nothing complicated about putting the Silentnight Divan Base together, but there are a few niggles along the way. As well as the two halves of the divan, you’ll also find eight feet (gliders), four bolts for the headboard and two clamps. These are vacuum-packed and stapled to the underside of the bed.

Here’s how to put the Silentnight Divan Base together:

Start by clearing space around the bed so that you can move the halves of the divan around easily.

Unpack the two halves of the divan from their packaging and leave them on their sides.

On the underside of the divan you’ll find the vacuum-packed parts attached onto card, which is attached to the divan with staples. You will need pliers to pull these out as they are fairly heavy duty. Remove the parts and take them out of their packaging.

Remove cardboard stapled onto the corners of the divan.

Push feet into the pre-made holes on the underside of the mattress. The feet have small bolts at the top of them which will click when pushed into place. We did this by hand, but you could use a rubber mallet to knock them in if you prefer.

While the divan is still on its side, use the clamps to join the two halves together. Place the clamps near the outside edges of each side of the divan and clip over the edges.

Put the divan down on the ground the correct way up.

Release the drawers by cutting the temporary restraining strap and trimming any excess. Do not rip these off as it could damage the fabric.

If you’re attaching a headboard, use the bolts to fasten the headboard to the divan via the pre-made hole and adjust the height of the headboard to your specifications before tightening.

Position the divan to your liking in your bedroom.

As you can see, this isn’t difficult but taking out the staples unfortunately adds time to the build and makes this a slightly fiddlier job than it ought to be.

Build quality

Score: 4/5

The Silentnight isn’t a premium bed frame, but it feels sturdy once it’s been put together. The build was easy (apart from the aforementioned staples) and the feet slotted in easily (as we imagine the headboard would if we’d tested one).

Our main gripe with the divan though is the plastic clamps that secure the two halves together. They don’t feel particularly sturdy and, when you try to move the bed once they’re on, the two halves still tend to move slightly independently. We think it would help enormously if the clamps had pre-made slots to be clipped into and the whole thing would feel more secure if they were made from something slightly more resilient.

However, the bed feels extremely durable and should be able to take the combined weight of a couple easily (and for many years to come). Plus the drawers are incredibly smooth on their runners and open and shut silently.

Materials

Score: 3.5/5

The Silentnight Divan Base comes in 24 different colour options, which makes it a doddle to match the divan with your existing décor. That gets brownie points from us, as so many bed bases and divans come in a tiny range of uninspiring options.

But whilst the options are great, the texture fabric of the divan doesn’t look particularly glamorous. It is, however, eminently functional and will sit unobtrusively in your bedroom. Drawers are made from sustainable timber, which is a great touch. Keep the divan clean by vacuuming it regularly and spot cleaning any marks with a damp cloth.

Comfort and support

Score: 4.5/5

If you’re looking for a firm base that will keep your mattress supported and stable, the Silentnight Divan Base is a great choice. It’s sturdy and firm, with just a little bit of flex in it to allow the mattress to settle accordingly. It will definitely make your mattress feel firmer than if you’re using it on a slatted bed though.

A divan base can also temporarily add a little more support to an older mattress, although the mattress will obviously need to be replaced eventually.

Because divan bases are solid, hot sleepers may find that they limit airflow a little around the mattress. If your heart is set on a divan and you sleep hot, make sure you’ve invested in a mattress with good cooling properties so that you don’t overheat through the night.

Silentnight Divan Base review: User Reviews

There's a smattering of reviews for the divan on TrustPilot; at the time of writing (January 2023) the divan is a relatively new product. The divan has an average rating of 4.5/5, with customers praising the bed for its sturdy build especially. Reviews also commented on how comfortable the divan was to sleep on.

There were only a couple of negative reviews, one of which was a slightly unfair one-star review for a mix-up on delivery. But, as we’d already mentioned, the other negative review mentioned the staples and how difficult they were to remove, along with the slightly flimsy feel of the clips that hold the divan together.

Should you buy the Silentnight Divan Base?

Silentnight is a highly respected brand in the UK and customers have been buying their products for many years. Backed up by a 60-night trial and 5-year warranty, the Silentnight Divan Base is a safe and sensible option for many sleepers.

If you’re looking for a classic divan or have specific storage needs, this is a great choice. In-bed storage is such a useful thing, particularly if you live in a smaller house or just have a lot of stuff. The wide selection of options also means that you can pick the right style of storage for your requirements.

We really like the wide selection of colours as well and the fact that there are some brighter options to choose from alongside the more standard greys. The divan itself is sturdy and comfortable to sleep on and offers a good, firm base for your mattress.

The only niggles really are the clamps that hold the two halves together – we are slightly concerned that they won’t last as long as the divan itself. But apart from this, the Silentnight Divan Base is an excellent classic divan and its storage options are mightily impressive.