Tolix-style bar stools

Overall heights in the examples jump from 30 inches to 46, which tells you the shapes differ a lot. 43 Tolix-style bar stools live here, every frame metal, indoor use listed on 26 and patio use on 10. Read each height before you count a ledge.

Reading the heights

Four examples stand 45 1/4, 45 1/4, 30 and 46 inches tall. The gap between 30 and 46 is too big to be a rounding error. The 30-inch stool sits far below the rest, so it is a different shape from the ones near 46. Check which you are looking at before you settle on how many fit along a ledge.

Footprints are easier. They run from 14 by 14 inches to 17 3/4 by 20, and a metal bar stool at 17 by 17 inches and 30 inches high is the compact end.

Say a 14-foot window ledge, which is 168 inches. At 24 inches from center to center it takes seven stools, and at 30 inches it takes five. That is a two-stool swing, so decide the spacing with the stool in your hand. Eight stools at 24 inches need 16 feet of ledge, and at 30 inches they need 20.

Frames, seats and prices

All of the frames are metal. Seats are metal on 17 and wood on 3. None lists upholstery options, so the choice is finish and shape, not fabric. Prices range from $81 to $147.

Indoor use is listed on 26 stools and patio use on 10. Those 10 are the only ones that belong at an outdoor ledge, and even they need rinsing, drainage and a cover or a spot indoors when the season turns.

Next to the ledge

Seats of about 29 to 31 inches pair with a 40 to 42 inch ledge, and a lower counter wants something else. If yours measures 34 to 36 inches, go to counter stools.

For a version without the back, the backless bar stools tuck under in the morning rush. For the chairs from the same family, see Tolix-style metal chairs. To compare against other metal frames, metal bar stools lists them side by side.

Before you order twenty, put one candidate at the ledge and sit on it with a coffee in your hand. Questions about one particular stool, such as its seat height, go to a specialist Monday to Friday. Then draw the ledge in a cafe plan, drop in your stools and look at the aisle.