Making A Decorating Decision Whilst Sitting On A Bar Stool

/ Ally Bean

Spoiler Alert: There is no calamity in this post. For longtime readers this will be shocking because usually when I get involved in buying furniture something goes wrong.

• • •

IF YOU’VE BEEN AROUND THIS BLOG for a while you may remember that last fall Zen-Den & I spent a Saturday away from home because our electricity was inexplicable off in the house.

[Full story here.]

Well, what I didn’t tell you was that as we sat in the chicken joint’s bar, eating our sandwiches, dawdling over beer, watching a college football game that we had no interest in, we both noticed that the swivel bar stools that we were sitting on were comfortable.

Darned comfortable.

They weren’t like the awkward ancient curvy wrought iron bar stools that we had at our kitchen counter in our home.

So while in the bar Z-D turned over one of the stools hoping to find the manufacturer’s name on the bottom of the seat, but there was no name.

Naturally this didn’t slow us down in the least. When we want to know something we are intrepid. Blame it on our love of mystery novels and TV police procedurals. We find the answer.

Thus it came to be that, using a smart phone, we snapped a few pics of these stools, and googled them once we got home.

We found the manufacturer’s website and discovered that they make about a gazillion and seventy-two bar stools: different styles, different heights, different metals, different wood seats, different fabric seats.

All lovely.  Somewhat pricey.

• • •

Look at who’s peeking over the top of the kitchen counter!

• • •

THE STORY WOULD HAVE ENDED THERE except for the fact that in early January I received a coupon in the snail mail from Wayfair.  The coupon said that as a first-time buyer I could get 10% off anything I ordered plus free shipping.

On a whim, motivated by the coupon, I went online to see what Wayfair had to offer… and just for the fun of it, I looked to see if they had counter height bar stools.

Well, the angels sang…

Come to find out Wayfair offered one basic style of the above-mentioned company’s bar stools available in a size, and in a metal + wooden seat color combo, that worked in our kitchen.  Plus, using my precious coupon, *even better* these bar stools were the right price.

[Some assembly required.]

So lickety-split we ordered these bar stools from Wayfair.  They arrived without incident, and over the weekend Z-D put together our new bronze metal with dark cherry-stained maple seat counter height swivel bar stools.

Life is good when you’re sitting pretty– and comfy!

• • •

Feast your eyes on this svelte beauty! I dare ‘ya.

• • •

[Hello FTC!  Please note that I’m sharing what happened while buying this furniture.  There was no monetary &/or other compensation involved while shopping and purchasing this furniture.  But you already knew that, right?  However, to be clear, I just wanted to add this disclaimer.]  

60 thoughts on “Making A Decorating Decision Whilst Sitting On A Bar Stool”

  1. Wow! Lucky you in finding the right bar stool for your kitchen! They are beautiful…and useful. We have two mismatched stools sitting at our kitchen counter. Maybe one day, we can be cool like you and Zen Den and get matching ones too!

    Like

    • Beth, I have to admit that I’m really pleased with these new stools that look good, blend perfectly with what we have already, and are comfortable. I have no doubt that if you keep your eyes open you’ll be able to find two matching stools for your kitchen, too. They’re out there… 👀

      Like

  2. Reminds me of the time we stayed at a B&B in San Antonio. I was so fascinated with the bath that we came home and redid our shower. It was a bit pricey (aren’t all bathroom renovations!) but we are very happy. I love that your story started in a bar. When I go anywhere, I test sit in all the furniture because you never know when you will fall in love. That’s how we ended up with a new chair in our office. I sat in it 2 years ago and took a brochure home just in case.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, you’re a woman after my own heart. We had our front yard landscaping redone because I saw something I liked while we were in a hotel in Orlando. I’m all about test sitting on any chair before buying it, but usually it’s in a retail store– not a bar. Discovering these bar stools was serendipity in action, considering neither one of us wanted to be sitting in the bar that day. However like they say… good things come to those who wait. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Nice wide seat and a back rest…perfect. But aren’t bar stools ridiculously priced? Back a long ways, when I was looking for some I was amazed at what they cost, and those were just the uncomfortable “cheap” ones!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deb, yes, it’s astounding how much you could spend on a bar stool. 🙄 That’s why we kept on using our old uncomfortable ones for so long. However, when I found these two bar stools at a reasonable price I was ready to pounce on the deal. So lucky.

      Like

    • Thanks, John. I never would have thought that being forced out of our house would lead to new bar stools for our kitchen. But hey, good stuff happens in the weirdest ways.

      Like

  9. The stars aligned for you there, Ally, and those bar stools look great. I love a good bar stool and swivel too! But tell me, do you actually live in that gorgeous house? I see no clutter. The shelf under the microwave holds perfectly placed and matching containers, no dust bunnies on the ground, flowers, candle AND fruit on the table! I feel so inferior.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Allie P, yes, they looked over at us like we were bonkers. However, the chicken joint is a family restaurant, friendly, so they seemed to take our behavior in stride. Later I did explain what we were doing to our waitress when she stopped by the table with the bill. She seemed unfazed.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Serendipity at its finest. The seat of your new stool are exactly like the seat in the vintage banker’s chair I found in an antique shop four years ago. It is the most comfortable chair in the house. Well done.

    Like

    • Colleen, no kidding? An antique banker’s chair… huh. So far we both think these stools are comfortable. Of course, coming from the wrought iron monstrosities that we were sitting on, anything is better. 🙄

      Like

  13. Wow, do I love your barstools… Wayfair, huh? Ours are comfortable but I would love if they swiveled. I’ve gotten a few ideas for our house from various untraditional sources. In fact, I’m about to update our guestroom based on inspiration from a recent hotel stay. Your kitchen looks lovely!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Janis, if it weren’t for the coupon I never would have looked at Wayfair. That being said, they have lots of stuff there that looks nice, but we do not need any of it right now. The swivel feature on the stools is new to us, and as such, is still a novelty. We’re really just kids at heart! Our kitchen was the first room in this house to be remodeled [10 years ago], and we’ve enjoyed it ever since.

      Liked by 1 person

    • JT Twissel, I only know what happened this time round. I don’t know anyone else who has talked about using Wayfair. I’m not even certain when it appeared on the shopping scene. If you buy something from there I’d be interested in knowing how it goes for you. 🤞

      Like

  16. Those are beautiful bar stools! Another theme here is the randomness of discovering them when you weren’t expecting to, or even looking. A good mantra: Remain open to possibilities. (and then Google the heck out of them! )

    Liked by 1 person

    • Margaret, your mantra is my perfect. That’s exactly what happened with these bar stools. I’d been wanting to buy some better ones to replace the old ones, but I’d been looking in retail stores. Silly me! Go to a bar, find the answer.

      Like

  17. Oh I do so love when all the stars align and the angels sing! Great tale of barstool, Ally Bean. Attractive is great, comfortable is excellent — both is perfection. Score!

    Liked by 1 person

    • joey, thank you. Once in a while the stars align for me when it comes to furniture shopping. Not often, but when they do, like this time, I feel the need to talk about it. Must focus on positive.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Ooh, me like those stools! I absolutely love that you examined the stools in the bar. That is something I would do, given that you’re in a bar and being a little kooky is okay. So glad the stars aligned and the angels sang for you!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, kooky is as kooky does. Because we were in this bar in mid-afternoon there was plenty of space to flip over a stool and have a look. After 5:00 pm there would have been no way to unobtrusively do that.

      Like

  22. I’m sharing this post with my wife because we are in a big furniture-buying phase. And she loves Wayfair. But I know I’ll regret it later because I am TERRIBLE about assembly. I’m still living off the fumes of successfully installing a plastic, under-the-counter wine glass rack four years ago. I’m sure she’ll love these barstools; they are beauties. – Marty

    Liked by 1 person

    • Akilah, it’s amazingly difficult to find the right bar stools. I was stuck trying to get the right scale for our kitchen. It’s a Goldilocks thing– some are too big, some are too small, but some are just right.

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Those are pretty spiffy bar stools. I think if we had those, I would sit at the counter to eat my lunch, rather than the inelegant way that I sometimes do it now, standing and reading the paper.

    Liked by 1 person

    • J, I’m amazed by how much fun it is to sit at the kitchen counter on a swivel stool! It took me a long time to find stools that worked in our kitchen, but now that we have them they look like they’ve always been there. A good thing.

      Like

  25. Once one has had a beer (or two) one does not let conformity get in the way. Instead, one searches above and below a bar stool for inspiration and insight. Well done! The Wayfair catalogue comes to our home once in a while, and I’m sorely tempted to order something. Nice stuff in there.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.