Breakfast Bar Stools: Height, Overhang and Choosing the Right Stool

It is built for short, informal meals rather than a full dinner, which is why it is narrower than a table and why the stools matter more than the chairs at a dining table would.

Breakfast bars come in three common forms. A worktop-height bar is simply the island or peninsula worktop extended on the seating side, at 89 to 92 cm. A raised breakfast bar sits on an upstand above the worktop, usually at 99 to 106 cm, and hides the washing-up from the seats. A wall-mounted bar is a deep shelf fixed to a wall or window, at whatever height it was fitted. Each takes a different stool, so identify yours before you shop.

A worktop-height breakfast bar of 89 to 92 cm takes a 66 cm counter stool; a raised breakfast bar of 99 to 102 cm takes a 76 cm bar stool.

Raised breakfast bars are often built outside these ranges, at 103 to 106 cm, and a wall-mounted bar can be at almost any height. For those, a standard stool is usually slightly wrong, and a custom seat height fits better. Enter your breakfast bar's height below to see which seat height fits.

Worktop-height bars need the deeper end of that range, because you sit lower and closer; for raised bars, our planning range is 25 to 30 cm.

If your breakfast bar has little or no overhang, sitting side-on is usually the only option and a stool with a backrest will feel cramped; a backless stool that you can turn on is the better choice. Wall-mounted bars need the same depth as any other: a shelf narrower than 30 cm is a place to rest a cup, not to eat. Whether an overhang or shelf needs brackets depends on the material and thickness of the worktop, and the specification of your worktop supplier applies; our guide to kitchen island overhang explains the figures in detail.

A 120 cm breakfast bar seats two, 180 cm seats three and 240 cm seats four. Slim stools gain a seat on the lengths in between: a 150 cm bar takes three of them.

Keep the centre of the last stool at least 27.5 cm from the end of the bar, or 37.5 cm where a wall closes it, so nobody is sitting half off the worktop. Leave at least 90 cm of clear floor behind the worktop edge, and 110 cm if people walk behind seated guests. Our guides to how many stools fit and bar stool spacing cover every length.