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herrdoktorprofessor

Can I Fit 3 Barstools at 72" Island?

My island is 72" wide and I would like to put 3 barstools there for seating. The stools I'm envisioning are 15.75" wide.

My understanding is that the rule of thumb is 24" for each person which gets me right in.

Thoughts?

Comments (13)

  • amykath
    9 years ago

    Definitely!! You will have plenty of room!

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    For kids, that will be fine. That's all that will fit on 15'' bar stools anyway. For adults, that's not really gonna work well, especially withthe kiddie sized bar stools. They'll be uncomfortable for more than a quick perch. Especially if it's inline, diner style. That's not social.

  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago

    My husband and I have a 72" peninsula. We also recently acquired an adult roommate. We range in size as XXL, XL and L. For us, 24" is cramped. Eating a meal as three adults is squished but we do do it. I find one of us will often drag a stool out around the corner. Drinks and snacks are fine. If I had it to do over I'd extend the counter another 14" and have three seats across in 86" and one on the end. I avoided this to have a nice big walking path into kitchen. We would also have another bit of elbow room with island as opposed to a peninsula that runs up against a wall.

    This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Dec 8, 14 at 7:44

  • debrak2008
    9 years ago

    Our barstools are 14.5" wide and we sit on them for hours. No issues.

  • GreenDesigns
    9 years ago

    Agreed that it will be tight for adults. 24"-30" is the recommended width, with at least 15" of overhang. If you don't have the depth of overhang, you'll have people sitting sideways, and it for sure won't be long enough. Look at narrowing up the cabinets on the island to be able to do an overhang on one end. And don't forget to deal with the counter support issue now, in the design phase.
    .

  • HerrDoktorProfessor
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here are our barstools. I hardly think they are kiddo proportions?

    Here is a link that might be useful: barstools

  • sjhockeyfan325
    9 years ago

    The stools are a fine size. The problem is 24" is really the minimum space you need per stool. But it depends what you'll be using the stools for (disclaimer - I'm not a fan of eating meals at an island, especially when the stools are lined up all diner-style). I have just two casual stools at my island, almost always used by only one person at a time (who is usually reading the paper or perusing the internet). We have 60" for the two stools, and that's the minimum I'd want if I were going to be using the stool regularly and/or for meals.

  • annaship1
    9 years ago

    We have 3 bar stools at a 72" peninsula. It is fine for average-sized people. If you have a family of linebackers, it might get tight, but something tells me that is not the case if you are already considering this configuration. We also only have a 12" overhang (to leave enough aisle space behind the stools) -- it has been fine for 5'7'' me and 6'0'' spouse.

  • bmorepanic
    9 years ago

    15" seats are on the small end of the scale, average is about 20". How comfortable that is will depend on the age and size of the people sitting there.

    Overhangs depend on the height of the counter AND the activities you expect to take place. As a simple example of activities, if you use 11" plates and use wine glasses - a 12" overhang at 42" high isn't going to feel very big. The rule of thumb is 15" overhang for 36" high counters and 12" for higher. That is the minimum size of overhang to produce enough room under the surface for a user's knees. Generally, a person on a counter height stool can borrow some surface to the front for activities that need more room like reading a paper. A person on a bar height stool usually can't.

    Also, the size of the stool seat isn't in control of how many butts will fit. It's a combination of the size of the butts and how that particular butt owner uses space or feels about getting elbowed on occasion or every day.

    The seat size isn't in control of your aisle depths directly either. Different stools have different leg arrangements that support the seat. The legs tend to be wider than the seat. Those legs will only "push up" a certain amount when the stool is empty. A person using a stool is considered to take up almost two feet beyond the counter edge and more when getting into or out of the stool. The taller the stool, generally the further the legs stick out for stability.

    On average, I'd guess about 60% of people go for it anyway so whichever way you decide, you'll have a lot of company.

  • Swentastic Swenson
    9 years ago

    "It's a combination of the size of the butts and how that particular butt owner uses space or feels about getting elbowed on occasion or every day."

    This made me chuckle. We've got three bigger stools (temporary until I find smaller ones) at our 72" peninsula. Being a peninsula it has a wall on one end so the 3rd stool is really just a token stool. I can't imagine three adults sitting there all in a row, but when friends are over (as robotropolis mentioned) someone ends up dragging one stool around the corner anyway. I'd say go for it - esp since its an island, you won't have any problems if someone sticks out on either side.

  • oldbat2be
    9 years ago

    Another - yes, you can (with a caveat). Our island is almost square; front is 72" and our beloved uber comfortable stools are 14" wide. We have 5 barstools but usually, the 5th barstool is against a wall because there are 4 of us and it's more comfortable with 2 barstools (vs. 3). When company comes, the third slides right in to the front of the island.

    (Is it OK to admit that I carefully prepended a 'bar' to every reference of stool? I still crack up over that old thread:) )

  • cookncarpenter
    9 years ago

    I think you "can" fit them, but it is not the most ideal set up. We have a 60" bar top counter, with two barstools, and it is very comfortable.
    We also have a 12" overhang, and it is fine, but it is bar height, so I guess that makes a difference? Chris

    This post was edited by ctycdm on Tue, Dec 9, 14 at 22:52

  • lisapoi
    9 years ago

    We have an 84" island with a small bookcase on either end, leaving a 49" opening for stools. Our counter is counter height. We have 2 stools (simple inexpensive stools with slab tops, no backs) and they are 15" wide. Our overhang is 12.5" -- so I know we've broken some rules here -- but we find this seating is fine for us. No issues with seating two of us comfortably, but we are 5'2" and 6' average build. The island is also not our main seating -- we have a table a few feet away. (We took down the wall between kitchen and dining room and created one larger space, with one kitchen / dining room table.)
    We have been surprised, though, with how much we use our island seating. We initially thought we would use it only when we had company as a place for friends to perch as we worked on dinner. But we use them everyday ourselves . . . For breakfast, quick lunches, to read the paper, etc.