It’s a dreary, stormy day here so I thought I’d spend a little time going through our island seating options to try and narrow them down some. I realized that I have kind of a high/low thing going on (which is the case for most everything we’ve chosen for this house) and thought it might be interesting to explore this a little more.
The Look
As you can see by the mood board above, we are looking for something that is sleek with a metal base (only one has a wood frame) in either black or brushed brass/champagne gold with white or ivory upholstered seats. I love to cook and the island seems to be where people like to gather while I’m in the kitchen so these seats will get used a lot! They need to be comfortable and have a back to them. That’s definitely something you’ll want to take into consideration when choosing bar/counter stools. Do they need to be just a small “perch” for a short time? If so, you can get away with something that doesn’t have a back and can tuck under and away for clean sight lines. But for us, these will get used often and for longer periods of time, so I wanted an upholstered seat with a back for more comfort.
The Price
These counter stool options run anywhere from $215 to $1199 per stool and we will, more than likely, need six of these bad boys! Yeesh. (That’s what I get for designing a 12 foot island in this kitchen. Gracious.) So, on the low end we’re looking at around $1300 for six (to which Eric would say “that’s expensive”- and he’s not wrong when you take into consideration we’re trying to furnish an entire house) to around $7200 for the high end option (to which Eric would say, “what are you trying to do to me?!” lol).
High/Low- What to Look For
In comparing these options, other than the obvious difference in price, I have noticed some differences in the construction of the higher end ones versus the less expensive ones. The first thing to note is that, with the less expensive ones, you’ll more than likely get only one fabric option- maybe 2 or 3 if you’re lucky. But, some of the higher end ones will offer many fabric options so that you can customize them a little more to what you need and want for your space. Second is the construction of the frames themselves. I have noticed that the higher end options are more “solid” construction and usually don’t show joints and screws like the lower end ones do. Here are some examples of what I mean….
On this less expensive option, you can see where the legs join the seat here.
And here you can see the screws when looking at the back of the frame.
Now let’s look at one of the more expensive options…
On this higher end option there are no noticeable joints and no screws showing. It just looks a little more “solid” in construction.
Let’s also look at one of the high/low dupes that I have on the board. They look very similar in style. But let’s look at the details…
This is the back of the less expensive option. The screws on the back of the chair are very visible. And next is a look at the back of the higher end option. No screws are visible and the “joinery” is much cleaner looking on this one.
Now, having said all of that, is it really worth spending so much more just so you don’t see the screws? It’s totally a matter of preference and budget. The dupes shown above are around $900 less per chair, they are very popular and sell out regularly. That’s gotta count for something, right?? So, you just have to weigh what’s most important to you, what your budget is, and what you feel like will or won’t be an issue for you when you make your decision. As for me, the jury’s still out. I will let you guys know as soon as we choose!
Until next time…
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