As you can see, one of cats has given our stools her endorsement!

Ours are very comfortable (Baba leather counter stools). We wanted stools that were leather, preferably SS legs (ours are chrome, which was ok, just wanted to avoid powder-coated metal or wood of possible). They needed to be low-profile (tight space) yet have backs (we sit in our kitchen everyday, often for long stretches of time, so wanted the support). We also wanted the stools to have 4 legs (not a post with a flat base, or Breuer style). They needed to be contemporary in style as well.

These fit the bill for us and we are still happy with them over 3 1/2 years later.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baba Leather Barstool

I have big, sturdy, comfortable stools because they match both my dining set and my family. They're indestructible and were very reasonably priced.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stool

cat mom...Those look easy to clean and super comfortable. They look spot on in your kitchen.

warmfridge...Thanks for posting the photo & link. We had swivel chairs with backs long ago and I found my kids weren't careful enough. We ended up with chips out of the chair where they kept hitting the counter edge. Do you have that problem?

Hoping to get some more stools on here. These are my current stools from Pottery Barn. Being backless, they are not comfortable to sit in for long periods. We discovered yesterday that the rush seat snags leggings much to the chagrin of my eldest DD.
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Here is a link that might be useful: Napoleon Backless Barstool

I got the black leather Cosmopolitan ones from overstock.com. I'm very happy with them. They are comfy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cosmopolitan stool at Overstock

Mine are from Target.com. I would rate them a 6.5-7 on comfort. I like that they have a back, but they aren't cushy or soft. They work well for a counter stool. I lie on the couch when I want soft and cushy. :)

It doesn't look like they carry the counter height anymore, but I've seen similar styles elsewhere.

Here is a link that might be useful: Andres Stool

"We had swivel chairs with backs long ago and I found my kids weren't careful enough. We ended up with chips out of the chair where they kept hitting the counter edge. Do you have that problem?"

No, but I don't have kids. ;-) Seriously, I think there is less potential for damage from swiveling the stool, than from dragging/turning a non-swiveling stool around on the floor. I worry more about floor damage than damage to an inexpensive and easily replaceable stool.

From Overstock, swivel. they work great and help save the floor

marcydc, I looked on Overstock before your posting and I ordered those same chairs in dark brown leather! I am glad to hear they are comfy, I couldn't stand to wait any longer. Plus the price was right. Hopefully we get more photos on here to help other folks who are in the looking stages!

caliwendy, Very attractive stools you have there! They look like they are a woven type natural fiber?

warmfridge, I understand what you are saying. Do you have wooden floors? I wonder if that is more of a consideration for wood floors. We have a kitchen table with chairs that don't swivel, so we have to pull those in and out. Plus we put felt sticker things on the bottom of all of our chairs, so I don't see the difference between kitchen table chair damage to floor versus counter stool damage to the floor. But it could depend on the heaviness of the chair too.

salmon slayer, I haven't seen your kitchen before...it's lovely! Digging your chairs too. You have wooden floors, so I am wondering if swivel versus non swivel is more of concern for folks in deciding stools. (We have stone floors now.)

Ok. I got the stools from Overstock today. Dark brown Cosmopolitan like marcydc. I'm not sure if they work or not sylistically in my kitchen (plus I squished a fourth one in there, so I am not sure that it looks the best).

On the positive side, they arrived quickly and seem very sturdy and well made. The dark brown blends with the Antique Brown Counter. And, most importantly, they are very comfortable.

Maybe my older stools looked better. I don't know. This stool thing is really complicated. I hope I am not committing some horrendous decorating faux pas. Is it comfort over form? Or is the form all right?

Scratching my head....maybe I need a glass of red wine while sitting in the stool??

Thoughts?

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I like those stools a lot. I think they look much better than your old ones, especially with that counter. However, I agree there isn't really enough room for four of them. Park the extra somewhere else, and enjoy your wine in your new comfortable stool. :-)

I love the look of the Cosmo stools and am so glad to see positive gardenweb posts! Thanks for this thread. I think --since I've had my 1 or 2 glasses of red wine -- that it is time for me to order some stools!

We are very happy with ours, not too expensive, quite comfortable. Back support was important to us, and a foot rest. Two thumbs up.

Here is a link that might be useful: Venice counter stool

sochi, I love your counter stools! I didn't see that color on the website. Did you special order those?

I was going to suggest Sochi's barstools, so glad she chimed in! And thanks for the link, too. Like cat_mom, I want to minimize visual clutter, tight space, low profile, etc.

Doonie, I think the barstools look great with the counter, but I agree, the 4th one looks too crowded to stay there all the time. But then, I haven't had any wine at all yet so don't count my vote.

Hi gypsabelle - Thanks! I bought the chairs at a local store, they had it in several colours, including "Kiwi", which is the colour I bought it in. It wasn't a special order, I'm sure you can find them somewhere online in Kiwi. It is a great colour.

Doonie - I agree with puppeez, I think those stools look fantastic in your kitchen. And they look very comfortable, very important. I had similar parson type stools in my last kitchen (actually perhaps exactly the same but in a different fabric - check out the picture below) - I love the comfort of them. I agree that the fourth stool looks a bit squeezed - perhaps only pull it out when truly needed??

cat_mom - love those stools. And your kitchen stills makes me happy every time I see it!

I was out of town for a while and missed all these followups...

Thanks warmfridge!

Bellacucina, did you order the stools yet??

Sochi, I really like both of the stools you posted. The metal bases are more practical than the wood (no scuffing from people's shoes). I couldn't work the chrome in the kitchen though;(....maybe the next kitchen! lol!

puppeez, My DDs both loved the stools. I am annointing the long legged one...Lounge Lizard of the Kitchen. The youngest child, my DS, hated them and asked why we switched because the old ones looked so much better. (What an opinionated little dude he is!)

I ended up scootching the chairs around so that three are on one side and the fourth is on the end. A little tight, but acceptable looking. And very comfortable! Cheers!

Picked these Pottery Barn stools because they fit the look and feel of our kitchen. The kitchen is small and fairly busy so I did not want to see backs on my stools when I entered the room from the other side.

Jodi-

Our island stools are from a Vermont furniture manufacturer called Pompanoosuc Mills. We wanted to match the profile of our dining room chairs which are in the adjacent room. These swivel and are extremely comfortable.

Our peninsula stools also swivel and are equally comfortable.

Someone had cool ghost stools with low backs, but at the moment I can't remember who. Maybe they'll see this and post.

Mine that we scored brand new off craigslist. We bought 4 but think only 3 will fit comfortably:

Love all these counter stools and the kitchens they are sitting in - so amazing! I wanted relatively comfortable (not upholstered, but with a back) and something a little unexpected in our older home. We went with the Vapor chair from CB2 - and LOVE them! Very airy, super simple, and no problems with scraping on the wood floors, they have nice little protectors on their feet.

Mine are for casual sitting and working. I wanted easy-to-clean, and washable.

Bumping this b/c I'm in the market for stools and love seeing all the diff ones - I have my mind set on a specific look - all wood, swivel, back and seat with straight lines no curves - but trying to be open to diff ones.

Not my kitchen, but I'm fascinated by these stools. I love the fact that I wouldn't trip over them, the kids wouldn't drag them all over the kitchen (leaving them and causing the tripping hazard), they'd be easy to clean under, wouldn't tip over, and have a special mechanism that keeps them from banging into the counter, as well as returning them to the proper location when you get down from them. Pretty nifty. : ) They have several different styles, and there are other manufacturers as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Suspended Seating

Or for something a little different...

Here are mine...Village from JC Penney:

You can see them at the peninsula (the DR furniture is old; the table & chairs have since been replaced)

Forgot to add...

Swivel
Comfortable padding
Comfortable backs
Footrests (although not as comfortable as I would like)

We definitely wanted the backs, swivel, & footrests and are glad we got good padding as well.

I have two different stools, one sort at the high nook table and another that swivels at peninsula.

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Ours are from Pottery Barn and they are comfy but they have two "minuses".

1. They don't swivel.
2. They don't have a great place for your feet.

I picked them because they match and have a low profile and I would pick them again - form over function for this particular choice.

Wow.

momqs...I haven't seen your kitchen before.

It's spectacular! An awesome space!!

Ditto!

Mine are the Overstock cosmo stools in red. Have had them over 1-1/2 yr now and they are still fine. One is a little shaky but it's still ok. I use three at the island and put one against the wall. They also hold up well with cat claws. They don't scratch or sink into these as with real leather. I end up sitting at my island for hours on my laptop because they are comfortable enough. Love them.

Buehl - I just ordered some counter height stools (swivel, back, footrest) from JCPenny's too....waiting for them to come and can't wait. I never knew you could order furniture from JCPenny's until I started doing searches.

doonie,

Thanks for this posting. I am having such a hard time finding the right stools.

Thanks!! Hopefully I'll have finished kitchen photos next week - one more hurdle and then we're done.

These are Pottery Barn knockoffs from Target.com, but they are suprisingly sturdy and only cost about $80 each as opposed to $200 each for the PB ones. I've had them almost 4 years now with 2 little boys sliming and bouncing on them and they've held up perfectly.