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Advice for HomeownersDecorating My Home

The Counter Stools in my Kitchen

By 10/20/2013July 25th, 201817 Comments

Have you noticed that you can’t stick any old bar stool at your kitchen island? They really do have to be customized to coordinate with your kitchen. I have received a few emails asking if your counter/bar stools or kitchen table and chairs should coordinate with your kitchen and the answer is, yes they absolutely should.

Here’s the ones I bought for my kitchen. I have seen this bar stool from IKEA in lots of kitchens in magazines. What I loved about it is that it’s comfortable, sturdy and has a low back. Depending on where your island is visually in your kitchen, maybe you don’t want to constantly be looking at the backs of your bar stools.

10 Best Bar Stools

They also come in black.

The Bar Stools in my Kitchen

They are great for making pizza with my nephews!

The Bar Stools in my Kitchen

Or craft projects!

Killy Scheer wrote a great article for Houzz on How to Choose the Perfect Bar Stool here.

Adjustable bar stools

Via Pinterest

Here’s another tip that would never have occurred to me until I had a client who told me about it. She has adjustable counter stools with an island similar to this one (above) where you look at the stools every time you walk into the kitchen.

Well, if they have been adjusted by anyone sitting on them, they end up not looking perfectly straight, so she’s constantly adjusting them so they look the same height all the way across.

It all depends on where your focal point is. The first thing you see when you walk into any room becomes very important and something as innocent as an adjustable bar stool can drive you nuts if that’s what you’re always looking at.

I’m off to pack for my Toronto Specify Colour with Confidence™ training next week!

Which bar stool is at your kitchen island? Do you love them or hate them?

Related posts:

10 Ways to Save Money Now by Creating a Focal Point

Round or Rectangle Dining Table: Yay or Nay

Ask Maria: Would you put White Appliances in a White Kitchen?

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17 Comments

  • Helen says:

    My special kitchen stool tip is to make sure you’re buying the correct height! There are two common heights of bar stool, one for regular height counter tops and one for “bar” height counter tops. If you choose the wrong one you’ll be very sad and cramped.

  • Kathy says:

    Sadly, we don’t have any bar stools right now, as our island has no overhang for them, but in a previous house, they were oak to match the oak cabinetry of the island. This way, they “blended in” and did not stand out.

    If we ever re-do the island countertop in our current home, we intend to add an overhang for stools, as my husband enjoys chatting while I’m cooking. Your white bar stools look nice with your white island.

    Your nephews are adorable!

  • debbie says:

    I love the Ikea barstools! Good choice

  • brenda says:

    I searched for over a year to find comfy, transitional style stools with low backs and purchased these 4 years ago with hesitation but am so glad I did. I think some of Overstock’s stuff is commercial grade. I wipe these down once in a while with a slightly damp cloth o/w they are used and abused, look new and are oh so comfy. 2 sell for $249! One of our best finds ever!

    http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Cosmopolitan-Black-Leather-Counter-Stools-Set-of-2/2502522/product.html?refccid=R2CJE47225JYJL2HWBIRQNDOEA&searchidx=0

  • franki says:

    We got our bar stools from Overstock, too! These were for a boathouse so I ended up spray painting them to coordinate. I luv spray paint…almost as much as Windex…almost…franki

  • Cynthia says:

    Maria, Canadel furniture and Trica offer a feature that gives the chair seats “memory”–they go back to the front position as soon as you step off them. Probably other manufacturers do this as well. It’s a nice little upgrade for our clients.

  • Dany says:

    I’m a bit obsessed with the CB2 Vapor stools. Ikea used to have a similar acrylic ghost stool but they are discontinued (the chairs are still being sold). Our house should be built by January and because I couldn’t choose the colour of the kitchen cabinets as it was a spec house (colour was too dark for my taste) and the floor I chose is fairly busy (acacia) I want bar stools that “disappear” a bit.

  • Barbara says:

    This post made me think back to the winter of 1986/87 when I was putting an all white kitchen into our first home. It was so exciting. White kitchens were not common in Canada then, but I had found the perfect stools for the small eating counter area I was planning on. They were Italian, a very modern design.

    Well I waited to get them until the kitchen was being put in and when I went back to the store their price had tripled, due to exchange rate changes…..then they were too expensive for me. Their substitutes were fine, but as you can tell I still think about them after all this time!

    I like your Ikea stoosl, they would have been a good fit for me back then.

  • Lisa says:

    Here’s what I’ve learned from my counter-height stools.
    Pros: My stools have easily-wipeable cushioned seats and are backless so they don’t interrupt the view to the family room.
    Cons: 1. The cushions are not all consistently firm, so I find that I sink a bit too much in a couple of them and therefore they feel a bit too low. So I say do the sit test on every one before you buy.
    2. The footrest is stained wood and so shows wear and tear from shoes. A metal footrest might wear better.
    3. They are NEVER left in a nice even line after being used, so I am forever lining them up again. Nail them to the floor, maybe ? 🙂
    4. The feet do mark the hardwood even though I put new felt cushion things on them very frequently. If there is some better product to try, I’d love to hear about it….

    Your Ikea stools look great in your beautiful white kitchen!

  • Kim says:

    I just purchased a pub table set on sale because I wanted the chairs which are perfect for my kitchen which has room for seating four at the counter. This was actually less expensive than purchasing counter height chairs separately. Sadly I am now selling my two beautiful, but very expensive, custom-made counter height chairs because I just could not bring myself to buy two more as the cost would have been double the cost of the pub table set. Also I can sell or donate the table.

  • Love our Vapor Bar Stools by CB2. Very similar to yours, Maria, and they go with any color since they are clear! http://www.cb2.com/vapor-24-counter-stool/s417907

  • Mary says:

    Love your new stools. Good thing they can be wiped down. It appears some memories are being made on them. 🙂

  • I bought my Shinto counter height stools from Canadian Tire as a temporary fix, until I could find the ‘perfect’ ones. Who knew that these were it!?
    I love them! Canadian Tire sells them for $74.99, but occasionally they sell them for 70% off. I picked them up for about $22.00 each! They look great! I even placed a spare infront of my sliding doors and use it as a small table for an orchid. 🙂

  • Momlady says:

    Love the stools you found…perfect for your kitchen. The nephews are just too cute!

  • Momlady says:

    I’m a little surprised by the comment(s) that having to adjust/straighten the stools is such a problem. Let’s not forget the real point of having the stools in the first place. Which, in my mind would be having people in your kitchen sharing your time, company, and food. Yay, right? Isn’t that worth the bother of having to tidy things up a bit when they’re gone?

  • Betsy OShea says:

    Look sleek and in keeping w your style but i doubt imho that plastic chrs r that comfortable. Why not white leather w backs? Sorry, but like shoes form follows function. Well, comfy shoes can be comfortable AND look stylish just like bar stools. Midcentury modern furniture is already going out of style in NYC and the surrounds because w a few exceptions (like barcelona chrs) modern furniture is not comfortable. Just saying. Hope u r not insulted Maria it’s only my opinion

  • Dinette Sets says:

    Your post shares the wonderful information about the kitchen stools. Counter height tables are great in the dinning room, kitchen or other eating areas.

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