Modern lobby bar stools

A lobby bar with a quiet, modern look needs stools that keep to clean lines and stand evenly along the rail. These 30 stools are mostly metal, the rest wood or metal under a wood-look finish, and the seats come in vinyl, wood or fabric. Take the height of the bar top before anything else, because the listed seat heights here start near 27 1/2 inches.

Seat height against the bar top

A bar top of about 40 to 42 inches pairs with seats of roughly 29 to 31 inches. Several stools here sit a little lower, near 27 1/2 or 28 inches, so read each product page against your own bar before the order goes in. A counter at 34 to 36 inches needs stools of 24 to 26 inches instead; for those, look at counter stools.

Backs and widths

Curved backs lead with nine. Upholstered backs follow with eight and bucket shells with six, and square backs, slat backs and a single cane back complete the group. Widths vary a good deal. The metal bar stool at $111 is 17 1/2 inches wide and the metal bar stool at $178 is 24 1/4 inches, so the same bar front holds noticeably more of the first. At 26 inches center to center a 16-foot bar seats seven; give the wider stool 30 inches and it seats six.

Covers, frames and price

Metal makes up 22 frames; wood accounts for five, wood-look metal for four. Sixteen stools take a cover from the listed options, and fourteen have a padded back. Single stools start around $98 and reach $202. A plain wood seat suits a bar where guests stop for one drink on the way to dinner; a padded seat and back suit the bar where they stay for the evening and order food at the rail.

To match a dining room set with modern chairs, order swatches for both from samples at the same time and compare them under the bar lights. Other directions: upholstered bar stools for more padding, traditional bar stools for a classic hotel bar. Save the bar line in a property plan and place the stool count against the length of the rail.

One last check before you order: walk behind the stools as a server would. With guests seated and turned slightly toward each other, the backs should leave a clear path to the end of the bar, and the widest stool you chose will show you quickly whether they do.