I’m not sure how it happens, but somehow, slowly, as we design kitchens and add furniture and look at magazines and get ideas, we end up with bar stools that look fabulous and are chic and cool and modern and we forget what a stool was all about when we were kids.

We forget about the folding kitchen stool in grandma’s kitchen that she’d pull out while she made a pie and we’d sit on spellbound watching her. Then we grew up and started working and bought our pies from a deli or grocery store and delegated folding kitchen stools to the realms of oblivion along with plaid aprons and wooden rolling pins.

Kitchen Utility Stools

But it’s never too late to give our kids a surprise (hopefully before we become grandparents) and show them just how fun kitchen utility stools can be to stand on so that little hands can reach sudsy water and help (or pretend to help) wash dishes, or to pull up to the counter when their friends drop by to eat dripping popsicles.

Kitchen Stools for sleepy Sunday Mornings (What?)

The great thing is that kitchen bar stools that are practical for the kids don’t have to be tasteless vinyl or plain metal folding things that you want to hide. Wooden kitchen stools also fold and have natural wood seats to match modern décor. They don’t have to be an eyesore just because the little ones can kick them or dribble ice-cream all over them or stand on them to reach a box of cereal without waking you up Sunday morning.

A kitchen step stool, funny as it may sound, may actually help you get more sleep if the kids don’t have to get you up at 6:00 to serve them some coco puffs before they watch cartoons. And don’t underestimate the value of a kitchen island with stools where your young ones can snack and feel relaxed, and make a mess, without getting scolded for messing up the dinning area or living room just before guests arrive.

Step Stools for the Height Challenged

There are kitchen stools that will be very practical even if you don’t have children, but happen to be a little height challenged. Kitchen step stools, which also fold like the other utility stools, can allow you to reach the topmost kitchen shelf without calling for help. And they’re pretty safe because they usually have rubber runners on the steps so you don’t slip and the legs have rubber suction cups on the tips so the stool won’t swoosh out from under you.

Warm Fizzy Stool Memories

Stools that expand or fold or convert into steps aren’t just for grannies’ kitchens of days gone by. How wonderful it would be if your children (and their children) have warm fuzzy memories of spending time with you in the kitchen, sitting, kneeling, crouching, slouching or standing on your modern kitchen barstools sharing time with YOU because they can be right alongside whatever you do.

Whether you’re about to update your kitchen island with stools, jazz up your existing counter with chromed swivel kitchen bar stools or want that perfect retro kitchen stool, you’ll find zillions to choose from, even some that fold and kids can step on.

Where to begin?

1. Kitchen Counter Stools

These stools easily pull up to any style counter and are great for quick breakfasts on the run.

2. Step stools

These are versatile pieces that sit at counter-height, but below have another fold-out utility stool to make hard-to-reach places reachable. Most of them have sturdy legs and molded step treads for stability on the part you can stand on, while the chair part often has a retro style vinyl or leather padded seat.

3. Wooden stools

From utility unfinished pine to cherry, oak or cedar.

4. Folding stools

Surprise! They are not all made of metal with ugly hinges. Some are solid hardwood with padded seats and backs, the same rich look you’d expect from classic oak kitchen stools, but with folding capability for easy storage. Now it’s easy to accommodate visitors to your breakfast counter, bar or spread around a room or patio for extra casual seating.

5. Kitchen island stool

Depending on your kitchen island design you can choose low wooden bar stools especially if the island is cart style. If you have a stainless steel or marble top island you may prefer some modern kitchen stools in chrome or black leathers. If your kitchen is small and you have a drop leaf kitchen island that doubles as work table you may want to maximize your work space with a set of backless kitchen stools.

6. Wrought iron stools

Choose from swivel barstools to stationary seating. Tricia makes some great models in a choice of 18, 26 or 30 inch seat heights, and lots of upholstery choices in wild retro fun colors or classic stylish tones.

7. Country kitchen stools

For country with a twist of Mediterranean French country, try a Hills of Provence counter stool, hand-carved and finished in antique white.

8. Contemporary counter stools

One suggestion is the Silvi Bar Stool, a funky minimalist design made of polypropylene – light but strong, durable enough for commercial and outdoor use, and stackable for easy storage.

9. Italian kitchen stools

An Odette Bar Stool might be the touch of modern Italy you’re after. It’s a blend of elegance and ultra modern with a chrome frame, pyramid-like base and a seat made from one curved piece of wood, finished in a zebra pattern.

10. Gas Lift and Adjustable kitchen stools

Pod Bar Stools with chrome base, steel frame, molded curves and shiny construction, could be in a modern art gallery or in your kitchen. They come in vibrant red, yellow, blue or crisp black and white.

11. Kitchen Boston Bar Stool

If they’re made for commercial use, odds are they’ll survive the kids. They have a heavy base but a sleek ‘S’ shaped 360 degree swivel seat, low-set backrest and gas-lift.

When I was just an itsy bitsy piece of a stool, still swathed in factory bubble wrap, I thought I knew exactly what I would grow up to be: One of those solid wood bar stools that live a rich, though difficult life, in a smoke filled and rowdy pub! Then during stool adolescence I thought it would be more fun if I could become a rattan garden stool or a carefree teak bar table stool.

It wasn´t until much later that I realized the place to be was in a kitchen, at a counter, surrounded by busy adults and giggling children spilling their coco all over my vinyl seat cushion.

So, you can imagine my surprise when one day I was delivered to a mysterious address and after being unwrapped I saw myself in a mirror. I had become an Onda Counter Stool from Stua. I was quite magnificent, if I say so myself, since my curves mimicked the shape of the human body so I could even offer lumbar support. I had extra soft rubber “skin” all over my swiveling seat shell so I knew I´d get touched and squeezed and sat on more than other stools in the house. I had a stainless steel frame too, so I could relax at the garden bar or the kitchen counter.

I’ve never really wanted to think about this, but I know the day will come when I´ll have to be disassembled. I take some comfort in the fact that my parts are all recyclable. For me it’s like stool reincarnation.

When I think back to when I was first set up at the kitchen counter, I remember being more than a little confused by all the odd sounds. I mean, I didn´t understand a word the other stools were saying and I couldn´t even get close to the kitchen countertop no matter how sweetly I whispered. Now, I understand that I had come from the design studio of Jesús Gasca in Spain and my tubes were full of Spanish.

Thankfully that’s not a problem any more. I speak English and my brothers do too. They all have to pass through a place called: Design Within Reach, the exclusive retailers for my Stua stool cousins. Yes, I’m Spanish, so I have lots of cousins and distant relatives who come from different factories and are waiting to be delivered from warehouses…but I think I’ll tell you their stories on another post.

Zuo Modern began with three people: two guys and a gal who knew a thing or two about manufacturing, banking and retail. They have grown into one of the largest and most internationally recognized furniture barstool manufacturers with more than a dozen factories from China to Mexico, head offices in the US, and distributors in nationwide showrooms and galleries.

There are also many online outlets where, at the click of a mouse, your kitchen stools will be delivered to your home.

Here are some examples of Zuo Modern’s fun, innovation and affordable bar stools.

Boxter Barstool

Where to find Zuo Modern Stools?

Here are 3 of their Permanent Show Spaces:

1. Las Vegas World Market Center

Grand Central Parkway
Las Vegas, NV 89106
Building B, 7th Floor, Space 758

2. IHFC

210 East Commerce Ave,
High Point, NC 27260
5th Floor, Design Center,
Space D501

3. San Francisco Mart

1355 Market St,
Space 239 – 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-861-7711

International Offices and Contact Information:

Address	Phone	Email
West Coast United States 738 105th Ave Oakland, CA 94603 United States	510-777-1030	info@zuomod.com
East Coast United States 6920 NW 12th Street Miami, FL 33126 United States	305-513-4888	info@zuomod.com
Canada 9250 Boul. L' Acadie, Suite 360 Montreal, QC H4N3C5 Canada	514-382-6661	info@zuomod.ca
Mexico Av. Perifierico Sur #9834 Colonia Residencial Guadalupe Zapopan, Jalisco 45110	52-333-629-7312	sara@zuomod.com.mx
Hong Kong Unit 4308, 43/FL Tower II, Metro Plaza 223 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Fong, Hong Kong	852-2487-9939	product@zuomod.com
China Unit 1602, Block A2 Nan Hu Garden, Chen Chong Ju Long Road Long Jiang Town, Shan City, Guangdong, China	86757-233-87633	allan@zuomod.com

Sales Department

Logistics & Operations

Accounting Department

Quality Control

Purchasing

The government guarantees long-term supplies to the forest companies, and in return it requires that they manage the forest in order to maintain or increase its productivity. Also, the steel, aluminum and plastic used to make Trica stools are from 10% to 80 % recycled materials. Their paint is lead and VOC (Volatile organic compound) free. Trica kitchen stools made from steel and aluminum products are protected by a lead-free powder coating which is baked at high temperatures. The upholstered seat boards are made with low formaldehyde particle boards.

Trica Penelope Kitchen Stools

One aspect of green furniture that is often overlooked is durability. If furniture is well made it will not end up in the garbage so quickly and may even be passed from person to person. But making eco-friendly furniture does not mean they do not use cutting-edge technology. And quality control is of utmost importance. It may sound odd, but it’s serious, Trica bar stools are each tested in a way that simulates a 250 pound person sitting down and standing up 10 times a day, 365 days a year. Considering their strength, it’s remarkable how elegant and delicate the stools are. But that is part of the secret to their designs.

Tricia’s furniture designer, Yvan Babin, said, “You have to take the delicacy of the tubes and sheets into account when you’re making contemporary furniture. It’s a stimulating challenge.”

It is the combination of materials as varied as casting, wood, plastics and steel (sheet or tube) that has allowed Yvan Babin to evolve in creativity, artistically blending styles so stools are comfortable, adjustable, practical and yet stylish. It’s no wonder Tricia offers a 10-year limited warranty on all its stools.

But sometimes kitchen stools take on another flavor.

This was what I found when I arrived at a mountain hideaway belonging to the nearly extinct Tsou Tribe, on an island in the South China Sea. Surrounded by banana, mango and palm trees sat a large cabin, and upon entering the front door I caught a whiff of the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, more specifically cappuccino and espresso. It was not exactly what I had expected to stumble across after an arduous journey through jungle paths. But there it was.

Tribal dancers, an erotic art gallery, and along one side of the room, a massive wooden bar with all the normal things you’d expect to find in a secluded tribal village – millet, rice and plum wine beside a shiny new cappuccino/espresso machine. The kitchen behind it was simple, as were the wooden kitchen stools – chunks of polished roots and logs, some plain or painted with a motif; others carved and softened by colorful hand-woven cushions.

Tsou Tribe Log Stools

Candles lit up the kitchen counter, incense rolled through the evening air, and the chief and the dancers sat around their kitchen stools and sipped espressos. Later that night, diner was served at the same kitchen counter, 30 tribes people crowded around to eat fresh mountain bore, slices of green papaya and bamboo rice.

In the morning, as the sun rose over the holy mountain, where spirits of deceased tribesmen rested, I made my way to the kitchen bar and sat on the log stools to sip some mango juice.

It’s a lot easier to order some stools and chair pads online, have them delivered, and do a little 5 minute assembly, but if you’re planning on serving wild mountain bore or sipping fresh mango juice, I recommend first finding a few roots or logs as stools.