Bar stools are one of those types of furniture that has persevered over decades and decades because of their simplicity of design, functionality and their appeal in so many different settings. Traditionally speaking, bar stools are used exactly where you would imagine: in a pub. They were and still are used to maximise seating at the bar itself so that patrons can take a seat, have a few drinks and socialise with both the bartender and the other clientele. This was conventionally a male dominated arena; men went out for drinks after work, to socialise, relax, to coax prospective business associates and clients and other reasons while women stayed at home preparing dinner and looking after the children.

For this reason, women traditionally had no real connection or relationship with bar stools as functional furniture since their domain was the home. As furniture designers evolved to create contemporary designs in the latter half of the 20th century, however, women were freer to experiment with other aspects of society other than the home. Women were included in the workforce to a much higher degree than before, trying to not only succeed at different kinds of jobs but to support themselves and their families financially instead of purely as a home-carer.

As a result of a heightened female workforce, women also found themselves included in other traditionally male oriented activities that included the pub scene. They began to socialise in public areas that they had not previously been a part of, and because of their intricate knowledge of their homes and a tendency to take care of their traditional domain, aspects of the outside social world began to work their way into the home. Women were finding innovations, designs and new ways to run the household in their jobs and social circles, and incorporating them into their homes.
Bar stools are one of many items of furniture that were revamped during the contemporary furniture design change; they became less rough around the edges, more comfortable, more colourful and inviting and often were designed more as novelty chairs than something recognisable as a bar stool.

Women had discovered that such pieces of furniture could not only serve a purpose at a crowded bar, but perhaps in their own homes with the redesign of kitchens, dens and other areas of the house. Bar stools can now be found at kitchen bars for family breakfasts; in sitting rooms as novelty pieces; in bedrooms as favoured children’s chairs. This piece of furniture has come a long way from dark pub bars and into sunny kitchens, and the reason is very closely linked to women’s liberation from the home and into the workplace.

Stella Stevens loves writing and discussing contemporary modern bar stools in the home, kitchen, pub and office.

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