Bar Stool Footrest Height: Why It Matters and What to Look For

Without a footrest, the weight of your lower legs pulls down on the front edge of the seat, which presses into the backs of the thighs and can restrict circulation. That is the ache people feel after sitting on a bar stool for a while. A footrest takes the weight and removes the pressure.

A footrest also makes a stool easier and safer to get on and off, and it gives children and shorter adults a step. It is one of the five factors that decide comfort, together with seat height, the seat itself, the backrest and the seat width; our guide to comfortable bar stools covers all five.

On a 26 in counter stool that means a footrest roughly 8 to 10 in above the floor; on a 30 in bar stool, roughly 12 to 14 in. On Freja with a 26 in seat, the footrest sits about 9.5 in above the floor.

In our experience, at that height most adults' knees bend at a comfortable angle and the thighs rest level on the seat. Taller people use the lower end of the drop comfortably; shorter people appreciate a footrest nearer the top of the range. The table gives the ranges for both standard seat heights.

Too low and your feet dangle or stretch for it, which brings back the pressure on the thighs the footrest was supposed to remove. Both make a stool feel uncomfortable even when the seat height is right.

A common cause is a stool that is the wrong height for the counter: a 30 in bar stool at a counter-height island puts the footrest where it was designed to be, but the seat is too high, so people lean forward to reach the counter. Getting the seat height right first keeps the footrest in the right place. See the bar stool height guide.

A footrail fixed to the counter or island suits bars and restaurants, where stools are moved around and guests of all heights sit; at home, it is an extra, not a replacement.

If your island has a footrail, check its height against the stool: it should fall roughly 16 to 18 in below the seat. Every by Crea stool has its own footrest or footrail built into the frame, so it works at any counter of the right height.

On a painted stool, the footrest is where chips appear first; on a wooden stool, it is where the lacquer wears through. A durable finish on the footrest is a good sign of a well-made stool.

Our steel frames are powder-coated, which is baked on and generally harder-wearing than paint, and our oak stools are lacquered to seal the wood. Both usually hold up to daily shoe contact better than wet paint. Read more in our guide to powder-coated steel.

A stool whose footrest sits near the top of the 16 to 18 in range, and a backrest, make a high seat feel secure. For a counter that is higher than standard, a custom seat height is often a better answer than a taller stool.

For small children, a stool with four legs, a footrest and a backrest is usually the most stable combination, and a high load rating helps when a child climbs up from the front. All our stools carry a 440 lbs load rating. See backrest vs backless stools for more on choosing for families.