I think it's very pretty and looks well made. However, the first thing I notice is the hockey player design on the back. If you had a sport-theme kitchen I'd say it fit in nicely, but you don't. Because of that I think it should go into the downstairs FR with the other sport decor.

Carrie

I hate to write this but it is the absolute FIRST thing you notice about the stool. It looks like you took them from the basement sports-themed bar to the kitchen. I would move them or return them. Sorry!!

I have to agree with the others. I like the stool, but think it's better suited for another room. You do have excellent taste in sports! Hockey rules! :-)

Nice stool, but I concur that the first thing I noticed was the hockey player, before I noticed anything else about the stool. When you multiply the number of them at the bar, it will be even more pronounced.

I wonder if you could make a little slipcover in a cool fabric that would slide down over the back, not covering the side posts. You could leave the stools as they are now, but down the line when he doesn't care any more, put on the little slipcover. Maybe a fabric with sunflowers on it?

In the end, what matters is whether you can be happy with them. If you are, and you don't notice the hockey man, then go for it. Your house, your rules!

Carrie - I am going to disagree with the others, and agree with you. I don't hate it. I am also the person who almost bought the similar martini back stool for our bar - the cost was the factor for me. I think your kitchen looks "lived- in - very comfy-a place to hang out" I say that in a very good way!!! If your family likes hockey - plays hockey- watches hockey - than I think that stool fits into your lifestyle and its that kinda cool, unexpected decorating bling that should be in every room. You have a lot of chairs / backs at your table - more of the same would just be way too many. These stools are so different , they separate the two areas. I think the color looks great - esp with your floor. I had the same set up in my other house, and it was really hard to find the right stools for the counter , that we used daily, that 'went" with the table chairs.
I say go for it - if that theme fits your family lifestyle - and people will get it!

I'll agree with everyone haha. I definitely do see the hockey design first thing.. sorry, I don't think you can get around that. The color and design does blend with the other two rooms, but th sports images will be very visible. However, I remember that this was a compromise with the rest of your family. The kitchen/fr is shared space and has to please everyone.

If you are happy with them and they fit your needs then well great. Not many of us open our homes for magazine spreads.. no, we share our spaces with our family and friends and they have to be pleasing and comfortable for OUR circles. Really, that's what makes it a home.

Sigh.

I see pictures of beautiful, sophisticated looking homes and ooh and aah over them. I secretly - and sometimes not so secretly - covet them for myself. I dream of the day when people beg me to share the name of my decorator, and I can modestly glance at the floor and admit I did it myself.

Then I wake up.

My reality is two busy, growing kids (13 on Saturday and nearly 10!), one loveable but shed-dy dog, one hard-working and slightly sports obsessed dh, and a large group of extended family and friends (we had the equivalent of 49 people staying here over the Christmas break, LOL). I'd like my home to be a supermodel, but in truth, it is exactly like me - big, busy, and casual; never perfect but always welcoming.

The stools won't be the stuff of magazine layouts. But I suppose they will be the stuff of "us" - taste and fashion be damned, LOL.

Carrie

Carrie, to my eyes, the die cut hockey player is the first thing I see. But, the bottom line is that this is your home and your family. So, if BH&G magazine is not on it's way to do a photo shoot of your home, I'd go with whatever makes you & your family happy.
Funny story: several years ago I bought DH (a Sooner alumni and huge, huge fan) a Oklahoma Sooners bar stool for Christmas. It was for him to sit on out in his garage work shop. His initial excuse for keeping it at the eating bar in our (former) kitchen was that he wanted to enjoy it a bit more inside. Next, it was that it was winter and was too cold in the garage. The darn red & white bar stool ended up staying in our kitchen for two years, until I lugged it out to the garage myself when the kitchen was redone! And everytime someone new came over, that bar stool was the first thing they noticed! By that time, though, I'd stopped noticing it myself . . . kind of ;^P
{{!gwi}}">

Carrie.. whoa, don't apologize to yourself or anyone else for not have a showcase home. You have something special that is much harder to achieve-- a great family and circle of friends. You obviously create a home that people want to BE IN. My grandparents had a show home full of gorgeous furniture and fine fabrics and artwork but my memory as a kid was that we were constantly nagged about dropped crumbs and where to sit and where to play. They aren't warm memories.

Your home doesn't look beat up or neglected .. your decor is beautiful but comfortable and I can see bits of you and your DH & sons scattered through just this one room. It's a HOME .. enjoy it and all the times you share in it!

Carrie - Your Home is a Super - Model full of love, both friends & family.
You stole my dream!!!
Enjoy the stools - as your kids get older, you'll have more & more people over & I'll bet those stools will be the ones they want to sit in.
Regarding noticing the hockey player backs - that's the whole point- you want them to be noticed! Enjoy the stools and your family!

i like em. The hockey player does stand out but again that's the point. Sounds like you're the cool Mom and now you'll be even cooler with hockey player seats!
I think the color matches very well and you have two boys and a husband you compromised with (if i remember the other thread right..)I think that's great. DH doesn't bicker too much with my taste so once in awhile when he has something he really wants i try to accommodate that.

I followed your first thread and I like them better than I expected I would. Now I raised 2 daughters so we were more into cheerleading and dance but I get the idea :-) Sports made a good backdrop for my cheerleaders lol. I think the coloring of the stools looks nice at the bar and I think they are a great conversation piece, and like someone said, a little unexpected. You have a long time after the nest is empty and you're where I am now to re-do your house. Have fun with it while the family is young. The stools are probably not what a designer would choose but they are cute, they don't look bad in the room, and they have personality :-) I'd order the rest if I were you!

Ooops - something I have to clarify. My dd would be incensed for people thinking I had two boys, LOL.

My 13 year old dd in her Ukrainian dance costume:

My soon to be 10 year old ds:

The kids are both big hockey fans. DH was a little disappointed when dd never showed any interest in playing hockey herself, but is impressed with her dancing. We spend plenty of time at the rink with ds!

And to show you how much hockey means to us, here's a pic of our backyard!

Thanks everyone.

Carrie

Carrie,
I totally understand.
I had a decorator come to the house - feel the same way as you - covet the magazine spreads but have to face reality!! Budget and my lack of true style.

Anyways, I have 2 chrome barstools with HUMMER on them in my kitchen. Dh bought them for his shop - unpacked them in the kitchen - DS loved them and they have stayed.

Well...getting to the point....the decorator commented that she thought they added personality - more importantly...OUR personality. DH & DS are car freaks & we love to off road.

Yes, they will be replaced but no one ever says anything. They just plop down to enjoy an appetizer or what ever is being served on the bar.

Keep them, enjoy them and like others have said - be grateful you have friends and family to enjoy them!!

Smiles:)

carrie - your backyard is AWESOME! i would've loved to have that as a kid. or even now for that matter!

Wow hahah I would have loved something like that THIS winter. I love to ice skate-- not into playing hockey but I'd enjoy watching the boys play.

They are totally perfect for your kitchen and your family.

I am trying to decorate around a huge red and yellow commercial popcorn popper in my kitchen (I host outdoor movies all summer)-- at least your stools blend with your decor!

Oh Carrie - How could you ever question your choice after seeing your backyard?? You have to get the stools!!!! I actually think that is a showcase home and yard.
Your daughter looks beautiful - and her costume is gorgeous!

Carrie, it sounds to me like you've got the right idea! Enjoy your life, have fun with it, laugh along the way. I think it's great that your husband shares his input. I guarantee you, your many friends will remember the good times they had in your warm and inviting kitchen!

Of course, it's probably not the best idea listening to my decorating advice - for our new house we bought "faux emu" leather stools (and love them!)

One more thing - when we were growing up, my dad built us a full court basketball court in the backyard and we were the most popular kids in the neighborhood. Perhaps not the most beautiful yard, but the most fun. Many years after we were all grown and gone, my parents still had the young neighbor's kids knocking on the door, wanting to play basketball. We lost my dad a little over a year ago, but one of my prized photos is of him and me, playing "one on one" in the backyard (I was a newlywed at the time - my husband was laughing at us as he took the picture.)