Buying Guide: Counter & Bar Stools

We love a kitchen where spending time chatting with the cook is encouraged. Adding some stools to your counter or bar can create a multi-use space where good conversation flows. However, picking the right stool can cause some confusion. Without some guidelines, it can be hard to know what size stool you’ll need, or how many will fit in one space.

If you’re looking for some direction when buying stools, you’ve come to the right place. Although it seems like it should be simple, choosing between bar and counter stools is more than just a matter of height. Our buying guide will walk you through everything you need to know, and provide a few design tips as well.

Counters in the kitchen are made as work surfaces. They are designed for the chef to stand at, chopping or performing other food prep tasks. As such, they are a bit lower in height than a bar. Although sizes are not standard, generally counter stools are about 24″ to 27″ tall. That’s because kitchen counters run about 35″ to 37″ inches, from the ground to the surface. A good rule of thumb is a stool about 10″ or 11″ shorter than your counter.

Next up is bar stools. When we say bar, we are definitely thinking of the kind you’d find in a hip restaurant or an old saloon. Bars have a little more variety in their height, but are most frequently in the 41″ to 47″ range. Bar stools are typically 28″ to 36″ tall, or about 10″ to 13″ shorter than the bar.

But what about the distance between stools? A general rule of thumb is 28″ between the center of one stool and the adjacent stool. That should leave 7′ between stools, plus or minus an inch. If your stools have arms or if they swivel, you should think about increasing the space between stools to about 10″. Also, remember to give the person at the end of the counter or bar a little extra space.

Now that you have an idea of what size stool you need, you can move on to the fun part: making some styling choices. As a general rule of thumb, chrome is pretty easy to keep clean. So that’s a great choice for a base if you think your stools are going to get dirty all the time. On the other hand, any mess on chrome will definitely show up. So if you think spill can be kept to a minimum and you want to clean less, wood could be a great option. Similarly, there’s a world of difference between cleaning leather and cleaning fabric.

Many stools swivel, and in our opinion this works best for a bar. It’s a little less necessary for a counter space, but that’s up to you in the end. Every design decision reflects your personality, so choose whatever tickles your fancy. Another available option is height adjustable stools. This feature isn’t just for flexibility between bars and counters. If you have a family of different sizes, an adjustable stool can be very helpful. Another option to look for is whether a stool is stackable. This is perfect for outdoors. Also, certain metal stools come galvanized. That makes them more durable in inclement weather.