Tuesday, 9 June 2009

24" Inch Bar Stool Evolution

By Jane Moore

I don't believe I had ever seen a 24 inch bar stool until about 5 or 6 years ago. The things just didn't exist. All bar stools were a standard height, and that was for sitting at a bar. When I first started buying bar stools for different business ventures in the late 1980's, bar stools were generally standardized. Bar stools, for the most part were found in bars and pubs. Times have changed and all different types of bar stools are manufactured and they now come in different heights.

There are 24" bar stools and 30" bar stools. These are the two standard heights for bar stools available on the market these days. For the most part, the 30" bar stools are found in commercial areas such as bars, pubs, and restaurants. Both the 24 inch and 30 inch models are found in residential settings. There are hundreds of different models to choose from. Stools come in a wide range of different styles and colors.

A few short decades ago, the residential use of bar stools was generally limited to recreation rooms or possibly at the edge of a very large living room used for socializing. If the stools were found in the recreation room of a home, these stools tended to be wooden and were stained in a dark reddish oak. Of course, the whole idea was to recreate a bar in your basement, and bars need pub style bar stools. If the stools were found in the more formal areas of the home then they tended to be made out of metal or chrome. These older style bar stools were invariably 30" high to suit a regular 42 inch bar. Most definitely, these stools were designed for use by adults.

Then about 15 years ago a revolution began in the kitchen. Kitchen renovations were becoming quite popular and very common. Kitchen renovation shows were popping up on TV. Lifestyle shows were being set in the kitchen. New glossy kitchen renovation chat rooms were being launched. It suddenly became self-evident: the kitchen was an integral and very important part, if not the most important room in the house. Today kitchens are still about function but they are also about lifestyle. The new kitchen reflects a redistribution of domestic labor. Husbands, wives, and children all contribute to meal preparation or clean up. Today's kitchen is about stainless appliances, cappuccino makers, and breakfast bars and breakfast bar stools. Breakfast bar stools are generally 24 inch bar stools.

New ways to use the kitchen as a family or a meeting area were created. At some point it became obvious that a breakfast bar was the perfect place to accommodate the modern eat and run lifestyle. This realization occurred at the same time that families were trying to maximize counter space. More counter space was needed if the kitchen work was to be shared. And so, the breakfast bar became the ideal place to read the paper or do homework while someone else prepared a meal or did kitchen chores.

There are two reasons the 24" bar stool was created. Number one the standard height bar stools seemed to overpower the kitchen and draw attention from other areas. The 24" bar stool was different enough from a chair to be unique, but blended into the kitchen. The second reason was safety. Children were to use these stools and the standard height stools were simply too high. The shorter 24" bar stool became an invention of necessity.

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