The furniture handbook, p.5
The Furniture Handbook, page 5
Stools
Stools are considered one of the oldest forms of furniture for sitting on, and they were in use as early as ancient Greece. In technical terms, what distinguishes them from chairs is that they have neither backrests nor arm supports. There are also stools that can be folded up (i.e., folding stools).
When buying a stool, it’s important that it has the right dimensions to not wobble or tip you—or whatever you might have placed on it—onto the floor. In the following section I shall point to a few of the things you should think about before buying a stool.
Seat Height
The recommended seat height is 16½ to 18 inches (42–45 cm), that is, the same height as a chair. The recommended heights for barstools and bar chairs are dealt with in a separate section on this page.
Shape of the Seat
The seat should be big enough to have room for your bottom—or for your foot if you are intending to use it as step. There are many “creative” seat shapes these days, and not all of them are genuinely compatible with the human body, so point number one is to check whether the shape and size of the seat suits your bottom.
Curvature of the Seat
To be comfortable, a stool, like a chair, should have a rounded edge where it comes in contact with the back of your knees. And since a stool is backless, the edge should be rounded off around the whole seat—either that, or it should be quite clear which is the back and which the front.
Left: The stretchers meet the legs at different heights (the usual pattern).
Middle: The stretchers meet the legs at the same height (very unusual).
Right: H-pattern strutting does not need a height difference.
Legs
Stools are usually either three-legged or four-legged. They vary in stability and tip resistance, depending on the angle and positioning of the legs in relation to the seat. Legs angled slightly outward will lower the center of gravity and make for a more stable stool. Stools made of slightly heavier materials have greater stability than stools made of lightweight materials, particularly when the legs are lighter than the seat. Different legs affect the load-bearing capacity, so pay attention to how the legs of the stool are strutted.
To ensure maximum strength, the stretchers between the legs of the stool do not usually meet the legs at the same height—strut-holes drilled at the same height in a leg remove too much wood and consequently weaken it. In exceptional cases this is solved by angling the end of the stretchers and joining them within the leg, but this requires high craftsmanship, absolute precision, high quality timber, and very strong glue. (“Miss Button,” Jonas Lindvall’s barstool made for the furniture producer Stolab, is an example of this.) Another solution is to have H-pattern strutting.
Stackability
Many stools are stackable, which makes them ideal for storage. The positioning and construction of the legs to optimize stackability can, however, affect their comfort. Staffan Holm’s three-legged stools, “Spin,” form a spiral when stacked, becoming a decorative detail in their own right and making storage in a closet unnecessary. So, before you make up your mind, make sure you check for both “sittability” and stackability.
Stepladder Stools
Many Swedish homes have stepladder stools—that is, stools with a ladder construction and often with a handle cut into the upper part to make them easy to move. Stepladder stools can be used as extra seating when needed and also as a step up when you want to reach a high shelf or cabinet. Make sure the steps are deep enough for you to have secure footing on them and that the rise between the steps leaves enough room for your foot and lower leg. And check that the cutout handle is big enough for your hand to grip the stool properly when you want to move it.
Tips When Buying Stools
• Test the stool by sitting on it. And not just by sitting still: be more active, try leaning forward toward a table as if eating, or, if you are thinking of keeping the stool in the hall, try bending down as if tying your shoelaces.
• The lower the center of gravity of the stool, the more stable it will be.
• Stools that can be adjusted for height by rotating the seat up or down often feel less than stable in their higher positions. Before buying, try out the stool at all possible heights rather than just the height it is in the showroom.
• Wobble the stool from side to side to check how firm it is and whether it is stable on the floor. Three-legged stools will always be stable, irrespective of how even or uneven the floor is: as the mathematicians say, “Three points define a plane.”
• Take care when using a stepladder stool with high side pieces. If you stand on one end of the step, the whole stool may become unbalanced and tip over.
• When buying a stepladder stool, check the width and slope of the steps and how smooth the surface of the steps is: you want to avoid the risk of slipping or tripping.
• Since stools have no backrest to catch hold of, you usually move them by gripping the seat. What does it feel like when you lift and carry it? Can you get a good grip with just one hand, or do you need to use both hands to move the stool without dragging it?
A Hidden Classic
The stepladder stool is a hidden classic of Swedish design, some 700,000 of which are reckoned to have been sold over the years. The stool functioned partly as a seat for the housewife, who at one time might find herself spending a good eight hours a day in the kitchen, and partly as a set of steps when she needed to get at things from a shelf or cabinet that was out of reach. Lindqvist Brothers AB in Motala is thought to have been the first to produce it in Sweden, but they never patented the idea, with the result that another Swedish company, AWAB (Anderstorps Werkstad AB), produced a very similar version, which is why you will find two virtually identical stools with different labels.
Barstools
Barstools, as the name suggests, are a common kind of seat in bars and restaurants, where guests may want to sit but nevertheless want to stay at about the same height as staff and standing guests. Even if you don’t have a real bar in your house, barstools can provide you with some extra seating for occasional use around a kitchen island or other work area.
Seat Height
Bar chairs and barstools are usually made in two standard heights, 26 or 30 inches (65 or 75 cm). One of the most common mistakes when buying barstools is to buy stools of the wrong height, the result being that you are either too low to reach the top of the bar or so high that there’s no room for your thighs. Which size you decide to go for will depend on the height of the table or bar counter at which the stools are to be used. Those with seats at 26 inches (65 cm) are usually the best choice for tables, benches, or kitchen islands with work surfaces for domestic work, whereas those with seats at 30 inches (75 cm) are for higher bar counters or for kitchen islands with what interior designers like to call a wing—that is, a raised and protruding counter. There are also some models of barstools that offer the possibility of raising or lowering the seat according to need.
Backrests
The difference between bar chairs and barstools is that the former have backrests and the latter are stools but with longer legs. The backrests on bar chairs come in endless varieties, everything from short vertical extensions of the seat to normal, solid seat backs. A good starting point is to check whether the backrests on the bar chairs you like really do provide lumbar support, if that is what you are looking for. Otherwise, they are not much more than decorative details and make very little difference to your sitting position. There are times when the design of the backrest, whatever its actual purpose, has details that make the seat less comfortable. Always test a chair in a variety of seated postures—straight-backed and upright, leaning forward onto the bar, leaning back, slouched, and also moving your arms actively as though eating a meal or reading the morning paper.
Contact with the Countertop
When choosing a bar chair and its back support, as well as the comfort of the seat, you need to think about the actual countertop and whether its edges are rounded off. If you are going to have a bar chair that is pushed in against a sharp-edged counter, it is essential that the chairback be sufficiently robust to withstand wear and tear. A plastic chairback, for instance, continually pushed in hard against the sharp edge of a counter, will eventually begin to cause notching. Backless stools that slide in under the top of the counter are probably a better option, either that or bar chairs with their backs covered with soft but durable textile.
Legs and Stretchers
When buying barstools and bar chairs, it’s important to remember that they should have a cross strut capable of supporting your feet. It functions firstly as a step when you are getting up onto the stool, and then, since stools are usually too high for most people’s feet to reach the ground, you need the strut to provide footing when you want to change position or step down. Given the stresses and wear involved, particularly when the stool is in a location where the users are wearing shoes, the strut needs to be capable of sustaining considerable force. It must be made of strong and durable material and seated soundly into its joints if it is to take the full force exerted by adult leg muscles without breaking. The shape and joints of wooden support stretchers and the welding of metal stretchers can give some idea of the risks of wear and tear over time.
Leg Space
When we were estimating how many can fit around a dining table, our prime consideration wasn’t the size of the chairs but how much elbow room should be left between one person and the next. The same is true with bar chairs and barstools: 24 inches (60 cm) per person is a good guideline, though people frequently squeeze up a bit closer than that since we aren’t talking about long dinners or lengthy sessions. But what has to be borne in mind when calculating the space necessary between barstools is that they are usually designed with legs that slope outward in order to lower the center of gravity and increase stability, and this means that the footprint of the stool is bigger than the area of the seat. In this situation it is easy to miscalculate and place too many stools too close to one another, with the result that their legs get tangled when people move them sideways in order to make space to sit on them. So, in the case of barstools, seat area and elbow room are not the only factors to take into account: the width of the footprint will determine how many stools you have space for to avoid feeling too confined and crowded around the table.
Different Seats and Their Materials
The choice of seat style on barstools and the material they’re made from is not just a question of aesthetics; it’s very much a matter of comfort and the risk of wear and damage.
Wood A wooden seat reflects back the warmth of the body of the sitter, which means that it usually feels more pleasant than other, colder materials.
Metal Barstools with metal parts feel colder against your body and backside than other materials.
Plastic These are easy to wipe off and keep clean, are resistant to damp and food spills, and will survive in environments that experience temperature changes, such as conservatories. Plastics may, however, be susceptible to scratching, and shell-shaped seats are slippery with certain kinds of clothing. When choosing plastic, remember that the material does not breathe and can feel sweaty and sticky against bare skin if you sit there for any length of time in hot weather.
Fabric A fabric seat is softer and cozier, but—depending on the particular material—it is susceptible to staining. If you often wear shorts or a skirt, you should avoid fabric as it can easily feel sticky against your skin.
Leather A leather-covered barstool gives a feel of exclusivity and develops a fine patina over time. Be careful with sharp objects and accessories such as the buttons on jeans and zippers, all of which can make nasty marks. Synthetic leather is a more affordable alternative to leather and will tolerate rougher treatment.
Webbing or linen strip seats These offer a soft and well-ventilated seat, but they do tend to sag after a while and might need tensioning in a couple of years.
Cording/Rattan These seats are often a better value than, say, solid wood or leather, but cording them neatly is very time-consuming, so always check low-priced versions extra carefully. Corded seats can leave marks on your backside and can feel uncomfortable to individuals who are less padded in that area. It’s not difficult to see the differences in quality of finish and tautness in the more exclusive versions versus low-budget models. A corded seat can be easily damaged by pressure put on a small area by, for instance, an individual with something hard like a cell phone in their back pocket. And you can’t stand on them either.
Advice if You Are Buying Bar Chairs
• Bar chairs and barstools must be of the correct sitting height relative to the height of the counter. As with ordinary chairs and tables, a distance of 11–12 inches (27–30 cm) between the seat of the chair and the counter or tabletop is recommended. A less favorable distance will soon make itself felt in your neck and shoulders.
• If the bar chair is height adjustable, check how well the mechanism works. Over time, cheaper chairs frequently stick and get stiff, so that raising or lowering the seat can sometimes feel like sitting on a rocket.
• Seats that are adjustable for height are sometimes also swivel chairs. Check that it is possible to lock the chair into the position you want, so that you don’t constantly have to resist the rotation of the seat.
• Avoid seats made of materials that are too slippery. You don’t want to be constantly sliding off or slipping down. That quickly becomes uncomfortable.
• Since they are backless, barstools can usually be pushed right in under the countertop when not in use. This gives you more free floor space, particularly good to have in smaller rooms.
• Barstools and bar chairs with seats that are overlarge when measured front to back mean that you will end up either sitting too far from the countertop or too far from the backrest. Having to lean forward can—depending on the construction of the stool—affect its stability so that you feel it might tip over.
• Barstools with a sled base make less noise when you move them across the floor, and they can feel more stable when you change your sitting posture. But watch out for sled bases that are too rounded, as they may tip over backward unless fitted with safety blocks.
• Always sit on the stool to check stability. Does it tilt or creak when you shift your sitting position?
• In order to reach the floor, short people often have to hop or slither down from tall stools. How well does the stool tolerate the wobble caused by hopping off it and how well does the front edge of the seat take the wear of sliding off? Are there parts of the stool likely to be damaged by these movements?
“Making furniture to sit on should be produced with such art that sitting on them doesn’t need to be one.”
Bruno Mathsson
Benches
Bench seats can be useful in many kinds of rooms: at the table in the kitchen to make room for several people; as seating in the hall for people to use while putting on their shoes; alongside the tub in the bathroom in order to play with the children while they’re bathing; as an extra surface to put things on while having a bath yourself; and as somewhere to sit in the garden, especially against a sunny wall.
Regardless of where you intend to use it, all benches need to be tip-proof, stable, and not saggy in the middle when you sit down. It is important for the bench to be wide enough to accommodate your bottom, otherwise it will feel like sitting on a railway line. It is useful for there to be enough space beneath the bench to draw your feet back and stand up without needing support for your upper body. You can compromise on this last point if the bench is for occasional use only, in which case you could choose a bench with storage or a shelf for shoes under it.
Here are some worthwhile guidelines and measurements to help you avoid buying the wrong bench and having to return it, particularly if you are buying online or buying a vintage item where the older standard measurements don’t necessarily agree with current ones.
• The seat height of a bench should be roughly the same as a dining chair, that is 16¼–18 inches (41–45 cm). The height of the seat can be at the lower end of the scale if the bench won’t be placed at a table.
• In order to allow for comfortable sitting without straining your neck or raising your shoulders, there should be 11–12 inches (27–30 cm) space between the seat and the height of the tabletop.
• The sitting surface needs to be about 16 inches (40 cm) across to be comfortable. A narrower seat will tend to cut into the thigh muscles, whereas an over-wide bench can lead to an unnatural sitting angle.
• To estimate the number of people you can accommodate on the bench, reckon on leaving about 24 inches (60 cm) of space per adult (including elbow room).
• Ideally speaking, the front edge of the bench should come in slightly beneath the table: if it doesn’t, it is likely that some people will have to lean a bit forward, with the risk they will get backaches after a while.
The length of the bench should be matched with the length of the table and the placement of the table legs. This is to prevent the bench hitting the legs/stretchers of the table and to avoid the sitting position being a little too far out.
