Tips for Buying Kitchen Bar Stools

Hello friends!! First of all I wanted to say THANK YOU for all your kind words about our little basement staircase makeover! It truly was one of those areas that didn’t seem significant enough for a makeover, but once we finished it, we couldn’t stop asking ourselves why we had waited so long to tackle that space.

Recently I shared some inspiration for Farmhouse style kitchen bar stools, and how I’m looking to upgrade our old Ikea ones, but my dilemma is the price tag! Well you guys are awesome because you totally weighed in with some great advice, and today I’m sharing my follow up thoughts with more tips to help you before you buy new kitchen bar stools too.

To recap, I shared how while our Ikea kitchen barstools have served us well, what I didn’t realize was just how much, or I should say how long, we would sit at our kitchen island. While in pictures they appear fine, they are definitely starting to show their age with wear ‘n tear on the edges, chipped corners, and even some stains. So in an effort to improve our time (and bums) spent around our kitchen island, I’ve been on the hunt for something a bit comfier.

I shared a quick round up HERE, of some bar stools that have caught my eye, including this inspiration pic below –

I love the relaxed look they have, and the fact that they are slipcovered, which means they are easy to maintain. I can simply take the slipcovers off and throw them in the wash to keep them looking fresh and clean.

The problem was the price tag. While I’m no stranger to how much furniture can cost, I just wasn’t prepared to spend over $2000 on new bar stools. Then I found a similar low cost version of the higher end ones I liked. The only difference was they weren’t slip-covered and had darker legs, 2 problems I was confident I could fix.

Then you all weighed in with some amazing tips, and things I hadn’t thought about doing, so I thought I would share them here, because many of you said you were in the same boat as me, so I thought you would find these tips helpful as well!

Tips to Consider Before you Buy New Kitchen Barstools

• First off measure! Guys can you believe I hadn’t even done that part yet! With all the furniture I’ve bought in the past, and worked with clients on, I always say to measure first, and I completely spaced that step!
• Along with measuring the overall height of the chairs, knowing the size, how many will actually fit around our island? Will there be enough room, and space in between each seat at the island with everyone sitting.
• How easily will the chairs slide? Will they be easy to get in and out of?Looking at my current barstools we can get on and off the chair without moving them. But these new ones I like have sides with arms, we will definitely have to push them back to get off of them – hadn’t thought about that either.
• Thinking about pushing the chairs back, do we have enough room in the kitchen to push them back? Think about when you are entertaining and everyone is crowded in the kitchen, how will the new bar stools effect the flow in the space? Thankfully we have plenty of room in our kitchen.
• Lastly, who will be using the chairs the most, and how will they hold up? Now I know there are mixed reviews about white-slipcovers and kids. Honestly everyones kids are different, and use things differently. I have one friend who openly admits that they are rough on all of their furnishings, therefore making them having to replace furniture more often because they wear through pieces quickly. I don’t know if it’s just the environment my kids are being raised in, we like things relaxed, and they lounge comfortably on just about everything, but we are not overly rough on our furniture, and they are pretty careful.

My biggest concern is always how easy things are to maintain and keep clean, and I feel like having slipcovers on upholstered barstools will make that maintainable for me. What I did find out, is that once I measured I actually need “counter stools” not “bar stools”, and my inexpensive option, is too tall, making it no longer an option 🙁

So in some sense I feel like I’m back to square one, searching for new chairs all over again. On the other hand I feel like I’m that much closer to pulling the trigger, because I know what style I want for sure. I now know what size they need to be in. I just have to weigh out the price, and ultimately what I’m comfortable with spending.

In the past I’ve shared how I will put birthday money, or gifts from the hubby towards purchases for our home, because ultimately that’s what makes me happy, and that’s what I really want. So we will see if I go that direction or not. And I will for sure keep you posted! Until then, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these tips, and any further advice you might have to contribute!