Restaurant bar stools

Seat height settles most of the choice here, and the surface in front of the stool sets it, not the stool. Counters and bars sit at different heights, and the 325 stools below span both. Measure the rail first. Then turn to swivel or fixed, back or backless, and the frame.

Match the stool to the surface

At a counter of 34 to 36 inches, look for seats 24 to 26 inches high; at a bar of 40 to 42 inches, look for 29 to 31. The heights listed most often are bar-side figures: 31 inches on 16 stools, 30 inches on 15, 29 3/4 inches on 13 and 29 1/2 inches on 11, with 30 1/4 and 31 1/2 inches on 6 each. For a lower surface, the counter stools page has its own set.

Run a tape up to the top of the rail, subtract 10 to 12 inches, and the remainder is the seat height to chase. Keep one height along a run. A guest who sits two inches lower than the neighbor notices it at once.

From the host stand, the bar is the first thing a waiting party sees, so the row of stools reads as one piece of the room before anyone sits down.

Swivel, back and arms

Stools sit 24 to 30 inches center to center, and a seat that turns wants the wider end of that. 82 of the 325 swivel, and the swivel bar stools page lists them. The trade is the warranty: swivel metal stools carry one year, fixed metal ones seven, so choose the turn on purpose.

Backs run from bucket, on 67 stools, to upholstered back on 39, curved back on 36, tolix-style on 30, interchangeable back on 18 and ladder back on 16. A padded back is listed on 105. Arms appear on 27 stools and take width along the rail. The backless bar stools have a page of their own for a service rail where nobody settles in.

Frames, seats and the patio

Metal frames lead with 205 stools, wood follows with 69, then metal with a wood look and resin at 13 each, aluminum at 10 and steel at 7. Seats are vinyl on 210, wood on 118 and fabric on 84. Indoor use is listed for 296 stools; 48 are listed for patio use, one of them for a covered patio only, and the patio bar stools page holds that set. Prices start around $79 and reach $507.

Last, the stool belongs to a surface. Bar-height tops sit on the bar-height tables page; save the pair to a seating plan so the rail and the stools are counted together.