When looking for a touch of nostalgia to complement their modern homes, more and more people are turning to the furniture piece with a leg up on the competition–the bar stool.
While traditional bar stools are still available, reminiscent of the soda-fountain era with their round, brightly colored seats outlined in chrome, the look and style of bar stools have risen to new heights over the last few years, offering customers a tall list of options.
Bar stools first swiveled their way into homes as pieces for the game room and bar area. But as times have changed, so have the uses and functions of the bar stool.
No longer relegated to one room, the bar stool is popping up in many areas of the home.
Beyond the game room
Particularly, the kitchen.
Gayla Holloway, store manager of Storehouse in Ft. Worth, said bar stools provide the kitchen with a sit-as-long-as-you-need-to atmosphere.
“So many families don’t actually sit at a table for dinner anymore,” she said.
“They use the bar stools at their breakfast nook or bar. … [Bar stools] allow the family to eat together.”
But the kitchen is not the only room in the home that features this high seat, Holloway said.
“It’s actually a chair that you can pull out into other rooms,” such as the living room or onto the patio, she said.
Limor Goren, chief executive officer of Aqua Creations in New York, said some people in the market for bar stools aren’t interested in sitting at all.
Rather, they’re looking for an alternative piece of art to add to the atmosphere of their home.
“The bar stools don’t necessarily have to serve any purpose,” she said. “They can be free-standing and serve as a decorative element, a sculptural element.”
David Braselton, marketing director at www.retromodern.com, echoed Goren and said the chance for self-expression is often the appeal for bar-stool buyers.
“Bar stools convey a certain amount of your sense of style,” he said. “People really use them to express themselves. They’re looking to make a statement, whether fun or subdued.”
Within the past five years, Braselton said, his company has seen a steady double-digit increase in its sales of bar stools.
“This would seem to be a direct result of a fundamental change in the way we live,” he said, citing how people are choosing to lead less formal lives.
And as they move from one job location to another more frequently, he said, people are finding that bar stools flourish in any home setting, whether in the city, the suburbs or the country.
From the Internet to specialty stores, bar stools can be found in vibrant shades, intricate designs and adjustable heights. Retromodern.com features the LEM bar stool ($415), which has a flowing form that results in the foot rest becoming the lower back support.
Billiards and Barstools in Euless, Texas, carries 150 styles of bar stools, which range in price from $69 to $1,600 and include old-fashioned soda-fountain stools in five colors ($159.95), as well as a line of retro-style seats featuring sports teams’ logos ($89.95).
The store’s most popular seller is the Lone Star bar stool by Tempo ($339.95), which has a pebble-stone finish and the Texas star on the backrest.
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At Storehouse, the Greta bar stool ($169), available in black, natural or mahogany, features double bracing on its legs and a full wraparound bracing directly beneath the seat.
On www.shoppingart.com, home to products by H. Studio, customers can choose from several eye-catching bar stools, such as the Fan bar stool ($825) and the tasty Gumdrop bar stool ($750).
Variety of styles
Pier 1 Imports offers several styles of bar stools, including the ergonomically contoured Mombasa ($45); the Sable ($79), which has a hand-woven rattan peel; and the Medici ($155), which has a hand-forged steel frame and a pewter finish.
The blending of woven rattan and bamboo gives the bar stools ($125) at Into the Garden in Ft. Worth a natural look and finish.
Triggered by customer interest during the past two years, Smith & Hawken (www.smithandhawken.com) added bar stools to its inventory–items it traditionally did not carry, said Kristi Kubiak, marketing manager for the store.
The company’s newest bar stool, the Devon bar chair ($349), is crafted in solid teak.
The company also offers the Galvi bar stool ($155), which is treated in a zinc bath that creates a spangled texture while rendering it rust-resistant, and the Dolce bar stool ($129), which features a tubular steel frame and a powder coating.
Whether it’s because of their height, structure or versatility, bar stools are growing in popularity as the seat of choice among those looking to add a new spin on their home’s design scheme.