Whether you love or hate it, when it comes to tackling laundry day, an ironing board is more than just a practical tool – it’s a home essential that can make or break your pressing experience. And while streamlining the process can make ironing quicker and more enjoyable, you’ll need one of the best ironing boards to help you out.
After all, there’s no point in buying one of the best steam irons if you don’t have a brilliant ironing board to go with it. But with so many different brands, styles, sizes, and price points out there, it can be hard to choose the right ironing board for you and your home. As a result, you may waste your hard-earned money on something that just doesn’t fit the bill.
Whether you’re smoothing out crisp shirts for the office or ensuring your favorite linen dress looks flawless, the right ironing board offers stability, convenience, and just the right features to suit your needs. That's where we come in. As Senior Digital Editor for Ideal Home, I test loads of household products for a living, making sure I only recommend the best of the best.
Along with other members of the Ideal Home team, I have tested ironing boards from major brands and retailers like Brabantia (whose Ironing Board B takes the top spot on our list), Lakeland, Joseph, Joseph, Beldray, and Vileda to deep-dive into the specs and determine whether their top-class reviews are justified.
We’ve considered everything from size and sturdiness to ease of use and innovative extras that make ironing less of a chore. Based on that hands-on experience, these are the best ironing boards out there right now.
Quick list
Short on time, but still want to make sure you're buying the best ironing board for you? This quick list has everything you need to know, but you can still read a more detailed description of each product further down this guide.
Best overall
Ideal for most iron types, the Brabantia ironing board B is a great size for medium tasks and is available with a stylish range of covers. Its super sturdy design and slimline size give it an edge over others on our list. However, it only features enough space for a steam iron so those who own a steam generator iron will need to look at our best ironing board for steam generators.
Best for steaming
Featuring smart tech, in the form of a metallised foil layer, to improve steaming clothes, the Vileda total reflect ironing board works well with steam generators and is one of the sturdiest we've tested. With multiple height positions, it's super comfortable to use whether you're tall or short but it's the tallest of the models in the list so it might not suit those who have limited space.
Best for small spaces
Stylish and compact, this pocket ironing board is genius for small space living but it doesn't scrimp on surface area when ready to use. An iron holder is included but we found it was best placed for a corded iron over a cordless one with a big base to contend with. It's great for smaller items but not the best for pressing pillowcases or t-shirts.
Best for shirts
One of the largest ironing boards on our list, Brabantia's ironing board C has an extra wide surface making it great for ironing a shirt without moving it. Super sturdy, you can rest a steam iron on the left or right-hand side for ease of use for lefties. The range of stylish covers also gets our vote. However, it's not designed for a steam generator and its XL size means it's challenging to store if space is at a premium.
Best tabletop ironing board
Ideal for most iron types, the Beldray tabletop is a great compact size for small spaces and it's convenient for travel too. Featuring a foldable yet sturdy base, it can iron lots of different types of clothing effectively. There's no space for a steam generator but we think one could perch neatly beside it on the tabletop.
Best for steam generators
Designed specifically to hold a steam generator, Brabantia's ironing board C gets another mention for this version featuring a generously sized non-slip base for a steam generator and a large board to iron large items easily. Its XL size means it's not the most storage-friendly but if you can make it fit, it's well worth the effort.
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Best with cord holder
Lakeland's ironing board, with its bright and colourful cover, features a handy cord holder if you ever find it seriously annoying when your ironing cord gets jammed between the holder and the board. It doesn't work with a steam generator and is a tad on the wobbly side but it's got a very affordable price tag.
Best for sleeves
Perfect for small tasks like ironing sleeves, we think this Brabantia sleeve ironing board is a game changer. It folds entirely flat so it's easy to store and the hinge is to one side, giving you lots of room to put the entire sleeve over the board. It won't replace your main ironing board but it's a great add-on.
Best ironing mat
Handy if space is very limited or for travel, Joseph Joseph's table-top ironing mat is a great choice. It features a non-slip silicone rest for your iron and folds flat for easy storage. The added bonus is it has a nifty hanging loop so you can also steam items on a door or wall.
Best ironing boards tried and tested by the IH team
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Best ironing board overall
This is the first of three Brabantia mentions in this guide, but what can we say, we think the brand makes a brilliant ironing board. We liked this one thanks to its sturdy design, which made it feel safe throughout use.
All four feet are non-slip and there is also a trustworthy iron holder on the far end of the board. This worked well for both our right-handed and left-handed testers which kept the whole team happy.
Assembly was easy thanks to a lever on the underside of the board, and this locks which kept us confident that this is a great board for the safety-conscious.
Height adjusts from 69 to 96cm and there's a 10-year guarantee.
Best ironing board for steaming
This ironing board is one of the sturdiest we tested, featuring extra-wide feet and multiple height positions to ensure it’s comfortable to use however tall or short you might be, too.
The ironing surface itself is plenty big enough to cope with sheets and duvets, and the iron support is shaped to accommodate both a steam iron and a steam generator.
The underside of the cotton cover has a metalized foil layer that reflects steam and heat back into the clothes making it more efficient when steam ironing. This did seem to make a difference, with items such as cotton t-shirts sometimes only needing a quick press on one side rather than both to remove light creases.
It also has a safety locking system that prevents the board from collapsing if accidentally knocked over. It is the tallest of the models we tested when folded though so you’ll need a little more space to store it than most.
Best ironing board for small spaces
While it’s the most storage-friendly of the boards we tested, the Joseph Joseph Pocket Ironing Board still has an impressive surface area of 90 x 33cm. It also has the option to be mounted on the back of utility room doors or inside wardrobes so you don't need to worry about how best to store this ironing board.
Another plus is the fact that it has a space that will hold a regular-sized iron for easy storage. We found that it worked better with a corded iron than a cordless one which often has a base that will need storing, too.
This one is great for ironing smaller items of clothing and perfect if you’re short on both space and time, you can simply fold down the mini legs and then pop it onto a work surface or table and start pressing. The main issue is that we couldn't wrap things around the underside of the board as we would when we used a regular ironing board, meaning it's not the best for doing pillowcases or t-shirts one side at a time.
The cover is nicely padded and although we wouldn’t recommend it for larger families with heaps of ironing or if you’re wedded to ironing your duvets, it’s perfectly acceptable for t-shirts and jeans. Make sure you pick a surface to sit it on that’s the right height, though, or you could end up with back strain if you’re ironing for a while.
Best ironing board for shirts
Our senior digital editor Jenny put Brabantia's ironing board through its paces on a load of shirts and found it a lot easier to manage than her usual board. Offering a whopping 124 x 45cm space to work on, there's no need to move the shirt around which is a faff at the best of times but especially so when you have a load to get through.
Suitable for left and right-handed use, it's super stable with its four-legged frame so you can rest your ironing its holder knowing it won't wobble the board. It's also height-adjustable so no more back pain for those of taller statures.
The cover is nicely padded and ironing is smooth on the surface, while the perfect fit cover means it kills creases. We also loved how easy it was to move from a cramped utility room to the kitchen as the transport lock keeps it folded down so no nipping incidents occur.
Best tabletop ironing board
Compact and lightweight, the Beldray tabletop ironing board measures just 73cm x 31cm, making it a great choice for those with limited space or even to take on family trips in a caravan.
Its small footprint means it can easily be stored away in a cupboard or under a bed, yet it's sturdy enough to handle everyday ironing tasks. It also comes with a handy hanging hook that our senior digital editor thinks is genius as it's easy to hang from the backs of doors or on a wall hook in a utility room.
We really like its non-slip base which gives it extra stability on any surface you put it on. The board's surface area is super durable too: its machine-washable cotton cover and felt underlay give a smooth press and is thoughtfully designed to accommodate different clothing types, from shirts to trousers with little or no steam needed.
Best ironing board for steam generators
We know that there’s much more to an ironing board than its cover but we also realise that often people buy them because of the way they look as much as how big – or not – they are. There’s something about the range of covers available for this board that makes us feel a little more stylish when ironing.
If you’re looking for a compact, easy-to-store board, then this one probably won’t be for you as its sturdy construction, XL size – 124 x 45cm – and solid steam generator holder means it’ll take up a fair bit of space whether up, or folded down. It has seven height adjustments from 75 to 98cm, great for even the loftiest of ironers and our testers felt it was one of the most stable and sturdy boards they tried.
There’s plenty of surface to take on sheets, duvets and flowing dresses, meaning ironing big items is much quicker and easier than on a small board. If this cover isn’t for you, then this board's covers are available in seven other colours/patterns.
Best ironing board with cord holder