How to choose the perfect kitchen stool

The kitchen is where the family really resides. It is a place where family members and guests eat, chat and make beautiful memories together. Every other room has a singular purpose, whereas the kitchen welcomes all and serves all! Consequently, your kitchen space needs to be well furnished, making it both beautiful and functional. Stools are among the first things you need to consider when choosing your benchtop style and kitchen cupboard layout. Ensuring space for kitchen stools allows you to be flexible with guest seating, casual dining options, and keeping the chef company while cooking. A breakfast bench or kitchen island is a necessity for a great kitchen design. The perfect kitchen stool needs to be at a suitable working height for your cooking helpers and ergonomically designed to make it convenient to sit for long chats and casual meals. Here are some points you should consider when buying kitchen stools:

Choosing the perfect height

How will you most commonly use the kitchen stools? Do you want a stool for the island kitchen or something that can also act as a bar chair? Needless to say, you will have to measure the height that you would be comfortable sitting at. A general recommendation is to have the seat between 9” and 13”. A chair stool is typically designed to seat at 18” from the floor. These can be easily paired with an island kitchen that is between 28” and 30” in height. Counter stools, on the other hand are designed between 24” and 26” and can be paired with counters and tables that are between 36” and 39”. Lastly, bar stools come at an average height of 29”. They are best paired with counters that stand between 40” and 42” in height.

The number of stools that you need

While you can always have an extra stool in your kitchen or stored as backup, it is necessary to have comfortable spacing between your usable stools. When at dinner or socializing, you don’t want to be bumping elbows. The rule of thumb is to allow between 21” and 22” of space per stool. In case, you are going for stools with arms, you will need to extend the spacing in between.

The style of kitchen stool

This depends on whether you are looking to make a kitchen design statement or if you want to keep the seating discrete and tucked away under the benchtop. Also, you will need to consider comfort level which varies greatly amongst stool styles. The longer people will typically sit on the stool, the more you need to consider comfort. Stools with deep seating, arm rests and thick padding are designed for comfort and typically used for cafe furniture seating.

If you have a small or narrow kitchen, you will want to choose stools that take up the minimum space. Backless stools are perfect in this case. However, backless stools are not the ost comfortable choice.

Futhermore, It is necessary to consider the material of the stool. The kitchen can get damp, smokey, messy, and you use harsh chemicals to clean up. Your stools need to be made of hearty materials that you can easily clean and that will last a long time in a harsh environment. Metal, polished wood and leather materials are good choices for this.

There are many stool design options. Do your research, have fun, and find the perfect stools that will make your kitchen even better!