Upgrade Your Seating Areas With This Stunning Vintage Find At The Thrift Store

Vintage bar stools, whether alone or in sets of the same stool design, are a common sight in thrift store furniture aisles. This barroom furniture staple comes in many styles and you can often pick them up for just a few dollars second hand. They are almost always taller than conventional table seating, and can be useful in surprising places throughout your home — think workshops, home offices, kitchens, the outdoors, or anywhere distinctive seating options are needed, really.

Bar stools usually sit somewhere between 28 and 33 inches tall, but many can be adjusted using a lever or screw to fit a variety of counter heights. While some stools extend high enough to accommodate even the loftiest of home bars or tallest of people, you might also be able to lower the same piece of furniture to accommodate a standard dining table. Some stools swivel or feature a back and foot rest for improved comfort. Whether you have thrifted a pair of vintage stools or are looking to repurpose old bar stools after a kitchen remodel, working out how and where to use them in your interiors depends on the type of stool you're dealing with.

Vintage and secondhand bar stools come in a near-endless selection of styles, from basic wooden spindle legged stools and flexible wooden captain's swivel chairs that fit a variety of home aesthetics to actual Victorian era or Victorian-inspired metal tractor seat stools perfect for an industrial look. Chrome stools, popular for both bars and diners, come with leather, vinyl, or upholstered seats and can help create a modern or retro feel in your space, depending on the rest of the decor.

Upholstered bar stools offer an easy way to bring new patterns, materials, and colors into a space. Those with back support make for a comfortable addition to anywhere you tend to sit for extended periods of time, like a home office or kitchen. If you're handy, change up the fabric yourself or create a unique DIY bar stool to remind you of all of your favorite vacations with old postcards and train tickets.

Look for stylish backed stools made from cane or leather, for example. If you encounter stools made for purposes other than bar seating, like adjustable drafting chairs or utilitarian medical stools, while thrifting or antiquing, don't pass them over, especially if they're made from durable, attractive materials like enameled steel, chrome, or wood. Instead, think creatively about how you can put them to work in your home.

The most obvious use for thrifted vintage bar stools is next to an island or peninsula in an open-plan kitchen, dining, and living room, where they provide a unique alternative to new (and often pricey) stool sets sold in big box retailers or designer furniture stores. Even if you do not have a open-plan space, keeping a stool by the kitchen counter can add another seat for company while you cook or give you a place to sit as you chop vegetables for a soup or roll out pastry for your famous apple pie.

Offices are another great place for a bar stool if you have, for example, an adjustable sitting-standing desk. Ditto for craft rooms and workshops, where taller seating helps you move around as you work. Perch on a tall stool in your laundry room while folding and sorting washed clothing or linens. Slender, industrial-style metal stools double as plant stands in the sun room or catch-all counters in your entryway. A wooden stool becomes a nightstand, while small adjustable stools work as both side tables and extra seating when you entertain. Don't forget the backyard, where placing a couple of bar stools under a patio-adjacent kitchen window adds an outdoor bar to your home.