Setting the pool bar line with poolside bar stools

From the far side of the pool, the bar reads as one line. A row of stools set at even intervals, all the same height, all facing the counter, tells a guest walking up from the water that the bar is open and in hand. Two stools pushed together and a gap where a third went missing tell them the opposite.

That line is set by the stools, so choose them as carefully as the bar itself. Every stool at a pool bar should carry patio use on its product page, sit at the right height for the counter, and be easy to rinse when the last order is poured. Here is how to get each of those right, with a worked count for a typical run of bar.

Only stools listed for the deck

A pool bar takes sun from the first opening hour to sunset, plus splash, wet swimsuits and the hose at close. Indoor stools with wood frames or upholstered seats fade, swell or rust in that setting, and the warranty does not cover indoor furniture taken outside. Begin in the patio bar stool range, where every stool is one we list for outdoor service.

Within that range, read the usage line closely. Some stools are listed for patio only, some for indoor and patio, and a few carry the note covered patio only. A covered-only stool suits a pool bar under a fixed roof. On an open deck, pass it by.

The full bar stool range is useful for the lobby and the restaurant bar indoors. It is the wrong place to shop for the pool, however good a stool looks in its photograph.

Seat height against the counter

Measure the bar before you look at a single stool. A bar top near 40 to 42 inches from the floor wants a seat somewhere around 29 to 31 inches. Counter height, about 34 to 36 inches, wants a 24 to 26-inch stool instead.

Mixing the two is the mistake to avoid. A pool bar built at counter height and fitted with bar-height stools puts every guest's knees against the underside of the counter and their elbows too high for a comfortable drink. The reverse leaves guests reaching up for their glass like children at a kitchen counter. Neither looks composed from across the pool, and neither can be fixed once the stools arrive.

The stools below all sit in the bar-height range:

• The outdoor ladder-back bar stool comes on a steel frame finished in black or grey, with a 29 1/4-inch seat height, a width of 16 1/2 inches and a weight of 18 lbs. It is listed for patio use and as stackable.
• The slatted resin bar stool is resin throughout, 21 inches wide with a 29 3/4-inch seat. It weighs 12 lbs, carries a 500 lb capacity and stacks, in a choice of colors.
• The aluminum bar stool with a cherry faux teak seat sits at 30 inches, measures 16 1/2 inches wide and weighs 12 lbs, on a black aluminum frame.

Where guests stand and lean rather than sit at a long counter, a free-standing bar table works as a second line. The aluminum bar-height patio table stands at 42 inches and has an umbrella hole. For a top you already own, the bar-height table bases carry it to the same level.

Counting stools along the bar

Space them on centers of 24 to 30 inches. Everything else in the count follows from that pair of numbers. Take a pool bar with 26 feet of seating frontage, which is 312 inches. At 24-inch centers you can set 13 stools. At 30-inch centers the same run holds 10, with a little to spare. The difference is three seats, and it decides how the bar feels at four in the afternoon.

Now check the stool against the spacing. At 21 inches across, the resin stool set on 24-inch centers leaves only 3 inches between one seat from the next. The ladder-back stool, at 16 1/2 inches, leaves 7 1/2 inches at the same spacing. Guests in towels and cover-ups take more room than guests in jackets, so a pool bar rewards the wider end of the range. A rule of thumb that holds up: start at 27 inches, then move toward 24 only if the stool is narrow.

How does the count compare with a property's other bars? The hotel bar stools guide works through the lobby bar after six, where upholstered seats and swivel stools change the arithmetic.

The rinse at close

A pool bar closes wet. Chlorinated or salt water, sunscreen and spilled drinks all end up on the seats and footrests by the end of service, so the close needs a routine. Rinse each stool with clean water, stand it where it can drain, and wipe the seat before the morning set.

Patio stools carry a six-month warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. That warranty does not stretch to outdoor furniture left uncared for, or to damage from the wrong cleaning agents. At season end, cover the stools or move them into storage. Stools listed as stackable are easier to put away, since a few short columns take less of the storeroom than a row of single stools. When they come out again, set them to the counter on the first morning and check the line from the far side of the pool.

A pool bar on paper first

Open a property plan for the pool bar alone, apart from the lobby bar and the terrace. Save the stools with their frame and seat colors, add the bar table if there is one, and note the counter height you measured. A plan holds the items, quantities and notes, and you can download a project sheet for the general manager or the designer.

For the property's other outlets, the hotel furniture overview walks from the ballroom to the terrace, and the hotel chair guide covers the seats at the pool restaurant tables. Before you confirm the order, count the stools against the frontage one last time and add one spare to the line, so a stool sent away for a claim never leaves a gap.