I don't have stools, but used to and think stools with backs look nicer. You have a beautiful kitchen and I'm sure people are going to be drawn to it more now than maybe before, so they could come in handy for guests and so on in the future. I also tend to lean towards comfort/function over form/looks, so just for the sake of comfort alone I always lean towards seating with backs.

This is the counter stool that DH wants- i'm just nervous b/c of a few reasons:

1st- Will i have a hard time getting a wood kitchen set that compliments this?-- or am i overanalyzing?
2nd- The wood on top is a bit redder than our brown wood- will anyone notice that - or am i just overanalyzing lol

A few things to note- This is the stool style- The fabric and iron are would be a different color b/c we can pick that. Thats what makes this hard b/c you cant see it all together until after you buy it b/c its custom made...

So here is the stool(We would NOT have the arms on it)
{{!gwi}}

The wood on the chair is the wood we selected.

Now here is the iron choice and the vinyl seat choice (dark brown)-- ignore our kitchen knob in the picture
{{!gwi}}

This chair shows our color iron (THIS IS NOT THE CHAIR WE WOULD PICK-- the stool is above) this just shows the iron- sun bronzed- deep brown
{{!gwi}}

I have iron bar stools similar to the ones you're considering. They're heavy and clunky pulling them out from the bar and pushing them back in. If I were to do it over again, I'd go for all wood.

While I love the look of the stools you show, I'm compelled to caution you about using stools with arm rests - they are harder to get in and out of, they take up more room than armless stools because you have to have enough room to get in and out of them easily, and they usually can't be pulled in closely to the counter. These reasons would limit the number you could comfortably use. It looks as though your island is about 9', with a stool like that you could probably only fit 3 comfortably. Is this enough?

I really like the kitchen table and chair you have now. If it is the color you dont like, why dont you have it sprayed a differnet color, although I like the white and that it is round.

As far as stools go I would also go with wood, and backless.

Hi

Lovely kitchen. Wish it were mine. Sorry I can't help with stool suggestion but I'd love to know the name of the paint.

Your tile floor looks similar to mine ( does it have some brownish bits ) and i can't seem to find a paint color that I like.

Thanks
Linda

I think wood or even leather stools would look best. If children will be using the area then backless stools are fine, but if adults will be hanging out I suggest stools with backs.

Paint color is SW Ivorie

Thank you for the suggestions thus far-- so we ruled out the stool above- mostly b/c of what K9 said- that really made sense to me b/c i want my 5 year old twins to use the seats to help me cook and I could see the chairs moving back and forth being very difficult for them b/c they are so heavy. So that was a great point- one i had not thought of!! Thank you.

Any other thoughts? styles to consider for dining?

Good job on your kitchen! I think the top of the round table & also the seats on chairs you already have could be sanded & then stained a similar color as your island. And it looks to me like your cabinets have a glaze on them. I wonder if you could experiment with glazing, and maybe glaze the white parts of the table & chairs. You might be happy with what you already have. :) Also think that you should have backless bar stools, so they could slide under the island when not in use. I think the bar stools should be a saddle seat & wood the color of your island.

Whenever I go to the Pottery Barn outlet, they have some light weight wood stools in white that would work beautifully in your space, do you have one of their outlets near by?

I feel like I could have written the same post! While I have NOT decided on a light fixture, I FINALLY choose a classic kitchen table and chairs. I choose a bird cage windsor chair and pedestal table from a small company. If you google Zimmerman Chair Company you should be able to link to the style. A local company in Delaware made mine. I was having difficulty finding a stain color to match my island, and chairs that were not too heavy or too big for my space. My cabinets are painted cream. My mantle over my stove is six feet long. The corbels are similar to yours.

I agree- I love the table & chairs you have already and would look into staining the top & seats to match your island. I have wood barstools with backs & while I love them my small children have banged up the sides from pushing them into the granite & they look a mess. My kids are getting older so luckily I am getting new barstools. The adults who hang out in our kitchen love the backs, however. Leather backed barstools would probably be what I would do. I just don't find backless ones very comfortable. And the leather would be so easy to wipe clean!

By the way, I think your kitchen is Beautiful!! Would you mind sharing what tile you used for your backsplash?

I love stools with backs too, but upon the advice of this forum, chose the backless variety, and I'm SO glad we did. I also have kids, and they are much more kid-friendly. Plus, your kitchen is similar to ours in that you have a walkway between the island and the refrigerator. You will appreciate being able to push in a backless stool. Our island is black, so we chose black stools as well. They blend in well.

We bought our stools (Napoleon Backless) from Pottery Barn, and they've withstood a lot of kid use. They have a lot of choices. Maybe you could find something there as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pottery Barn Barstools