Kitchen stools are a fine way to get extra seats in your kitchen as well as to enhance its mood and character. Indeed, the increasing use of breakfast bars and islands demands that stools be included in your kitchen. No other type of chair is appropriate for them.
Formal dining tables are often reserved for formal dining occasions. Fine china, silverware, and glassware are simply left set on them but are not used daily. Instead, meals are eaten either on the breakfast bar or the kitchen table. If there is no kitchen table for want of space, the island can double as a table. Using these in place of the formal dinner table saves time as it eliminates the need to set and clean the table up. Also, dining may be more relaxed and comfortable in an informal setting.
As with other types of chairs, a primary concern when buying stools is comfort. Because bars and islands are usually taller than your average table, the stool must adjust to them. Not all counters have the same height so you will need first to take its exact measurement before purchasing your stools. Ideally, a stool should give an open space of from 11 to 13 inches measured from the top of its seat to the bottom of the table. Thus, if your breakfast bar is 35 inches high, purchase a stool with a height of between 22 to 24 inches. It would be most frustrating if you brought home a set of stools that you like for its great design and seating comfort and discover that you it does not give you enough leg room, or perhaps your chin rests on the table if you sit on it.
You also need to measure the width of the bar or island where you want to put the stools. Not all stools have the same width. Those that have arms will naturally take up more space, and if you plan on buying the swiveling type, be sure to allocate enough room for your knees to avoid banging them on the adjacent stool. You do not want to end up with more stools that you can use.
Another important thing you will have to do is to take a close look at your kitchen. Decide what type and design of stool would complement its existing décor. Designs can be contemporary, retro, tropical, or traditional. They can be made of wood such as oak or cherry, stainless steel, chrome, or painted steel. Upholstered types are more popular because they are more comfortable.