Bar Stools – Who Invented Them Anyway?
The quick answer to this question? No one really knows. Bar Stools as we know them today are an evolution of simple wooden stools built long ago. These wood models are about as basic as sitting pieces go with three legs and a spot to sit. Eventually these grew and changed and at some point, someone decided to set several stools around a counter, which provided more space and, consequently, allowed for more patrons in a given establishment.
Because these sitting places weren’t exactly chairs and they were positioned around a bar, at some point the term “barstool” came into existence. All of this still happened quite some time ago, as the etymology for ‘barstool’ is Old English, though many other languages had a term just for “stool” alone. With the combination of “stool” and “chair” situated at a bar – we now have barstools.
Whoever the mastermind was behind the creation of wood barstools, they probably never would have guessed that they would grow to be such a phenomenon today. Early craftsmen designed them from a variety of different wood choices. As they grew in popularity, appearing in every restaurant in the 50s and 60s, bolted to the floor or freestanding, so did their diversity. Now you can find modern bar stools, they can be made of wrought iron, made to swivel, and made to match anything you could want from everyday home décor to even – yes – bedroom furniture (all depending upon your tastes, of course). The range has widened since their invention and now companies like Pastel Furniture make ornate contemporary bar stools to sit inside an average home, back to where they first began as a simple place to rest.

