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

Because on a high seat your feet cannot reach the floor. 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 restricts 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.

About 40 to 45 cm (16 to 18 in) below the seat suits most adults. On a 66 cm (26 in) counter stool that means a footrest roughly 21 to 26 cm (8 to 10 in) above the floor; on a 76 cm (30 in) bar stool, roughly 31 to 36 cm (12 to 14 in). On Freja with a 66 cm seat, the footrest sits about 24 cm (9.5 in) above the floor.

At that height, an average adult's 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 high and your knees fold up towards your chest, which tilts the pelvis back and tires the lower back. 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.

The most common cause is a stool that is the wrong height for the counter: a 76 cm bar stool at a counter-height island puts the footrest where it was designed to be, but the seat is too high, so people slouch to reach the counter. Getting the seat height right first keeps the footrest in the right place. See the bar stool height guide.

Either works, but a footrest on the stool is the one that always sits at the right height for that seat. 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 40 to 45 cm (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.

Because shoes rest on it, push off it and scrape it every day. 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 one of the clearest signs of a well-made stool.

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

A footrest matters even more for them, because their feet are further from the floor. A stool whose footrest sits near the top of the 40 to 45 cm 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 the most stable combination, and a high load rating means climbing up from the front is no problem. All our stools carry a 200 kg (440 lbs) load rating. See backrest vs backless stools for more on choosing for families.