Purchasing a home with a bar can be very exciting! It provides a new surface at which you can interact, learn, play, and eat with friends and family. If you already have a bar, maybe it is time to update it by purchasing new bar stools? Once you start visiting stores or browsing online, you’ll find a plethora of bar stool options with enough variables and dimensions to surely confuse you. Bar stools come in quite a few shapes, sizes, heights, and styles. You could find the “perfect” bar stool style, but it could be in the wrong height for your counter.
Maybe you don’t even know what stool height is right for you?
Before you purchase bar stools for your home, there are a few important factors that you need to consider. In order for the bar stools to function properly at your raised counter or bar, they need to be at a height that fits beneath the bar. There are also several styles of bar stools, so you need to choose one that has a design to fit your existing decor and preference.
Last, you want comfortable stools! We’ll break all of this down for you here.
Bar Stool Height
Bar stools are created in several different heights to use with bars of differing heights. They can also be used throughout the home for many different purposes. Vanity stools, such as the Asta dressing low stool, fill an entirely different need than a typical bar stool. It would be a beautiful addition in your dressing room at a low desk, but it would not serve you well at a tall bar in your kitchen. If reading the dimensions of the stool you like the most leaves you befuddled, use this rule of thumb to buy the correct height stool:
Rule: There should be approximately 25-31 centimeters (10-12 inches) of space between the top of the bar stool’s seat surface and the underside of the bar/counter. This rule is also applicable to standard height tables and chairs.
If you apply this rule, then a bar that is 102-107 centimeters (40-42 inches) high should be accompanied by a bar stool with a seat height of 76 centimeters (30 inches). That leaves the perfect amount of room for one’s legs to fit comfortably beneath the bar/counter, making your bar stool choice a functional and comfortable one.
Bar Stool Styles
Bar stools have differing heights, come in many materials and colours, and can be made from wood, metal, or plastic. A major characteristic to take into consideration is the bar stool’s back style.
Here are the three most popular styles of bar stool backs:
Backless
The Kass Kan modern bar stool is a perfect example of a modern, backless bar stool. It has a sleek and simple design using lines and curves to create the seat and supporting legs. The combination of natural wood and metal make this stool suitable for many different decor styles. The backless style coupled with the minimalist design make this bar stool perfect for a
modern bar and kitchen.
Low Back
The Brenna bar stool is another with a contrasting black seat against its lightly toned natural all-wood base, seat and back. The black seat pad is removable. It can also be kept in place for extra cushioning when the stools are used to seat people for extended periods of time. This bar stool would be perfect in a modern kitchen where the family will use the bar often.
Bar Stool Comfort
How will you be using your bar stools? You will want to determine this before you purchase them. If they will be used a lot for your children to work on their homework, you want them to be plush and comfortable enough to sit in for a few hours. If the stools will only be used at a breakfast bar, you can buy stools that are less plush since you won’t be sitting in them for an extended amount of time. Take the use of the stools into consideration before buying them so that you can properly select the best bar stools to fit your family’s needs.
Don’t let the many styles and measurements of bar stools leave you perplexed about how to find the perfect ones for your space. If you follow these three categories and rules to choose the best style for you, you are sure to have a great set of bar stools for your home!
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