High seating in two flavours: draughtsman chairs with a gas lift and a footring for benches and reception counters, and bistro stools for kitchen islands and standing height tables. Harlestone stools come round, square, curved and rectangular in single or two tone upholstery, the Turin pairs a black frame with a fabric seat, and the Hepscott is the plain bistro shape for a canteen. What separates them from an ordinary chair on a long gas lift is somewhere to put your feet; for low breakout seating, look at soft seating.
Choosing a stool
Match the seat to the surface, not the other way round. A kitchen island or bistro table at roughly 900mm to 1050mm wants a seat around 650mm to 750mm, while a tall reception counter or workshop bench needs a draughtsman chair with a wide adjustment range. Leave 250mm to 300mm between seat top and table underside or knees end up jammed. The mistake is buying stools first and choosing the table later, so pick the bar and poseur tables at the same time.
Then think how long anyone sits there. A perch for a five minute chat can be a backless block like the Harlestone square, which doubles as spare seating when a room fills up. Somebody at a standing height bench for hours needs a back, a gas lift and preferably a tilting seat, because high seating without support tips you forward. Fabric matters here too, since stools near a kitchen catch more spills.
Tables and seating to go with them
Stools belong to a wider breakout scheme. The Harlestone stools sit alongside upholstered pieces in the same family, and bistro and cafe tables give round tops that suit two or four stools without crowding the legs. Cafe and bistro seating covers normal height chairs, breakout and shaped tables handles the shapes that stop a room feeling like a meeting suite, and if people perch because they work standing up, the answer may be sit-stand desks.
Stools and high seating across Suffolk
Office Masters is the online arm of Neil Andrew Office Solutions Limited, a family business at Edison Close, Ransomes Europark in Ipswich, going back to Neil working in his father Malcolm's firm in the 1980s. We fit out breakout areas, canteens and receptions in person across Suffolk and north Essex, including Woodbridge, Felixstowe, Sudbury and Haverhill.
Stools generally arrive built or need four bolts and a screwdriver. Standard UK mainland delivery is free within five working days, with a next working day option when a room has to be ready for an opening. Counter heights vary far more than desk heights, so measure floor to the underside of the surface and send it with a photo, or call 01473 464644.
