23 Best Bar Stools For the Kitchen Island (2024)

If you’re searching for new bar stools for your kitchen island, we’ve rounded up the best bar stools to buy!

The kitchen island is a natural gathering space and it wouldn’t be complete without beautiful counter stools.

Whether you need swivel bar stools with backs or counter-height bar stools, we’ve got you covered!

In this blog post, we’ve gathered 23 of the best kitchen counter stools that are the perfect addition to a functional and beautiful kitchen.

We also share the exact bar stools we ended up choosing for our own home (shown above) along with plenty of close-ups!

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23 Best Bar Stools For Your Kitchen Island:

This Amazon Wood Counter Height Bar Stool is the exact bar stool we chose for our kitchen island!

For the affordable price, it looks and functions beautifully in our home and I’m so glad I found it on Amazon.

We have 4 of these bar stools and it completes our kitchen perfectly!

While browsing bar stools for our island, I came across the more expensive version of this kitchen stool, which is the McGee & Co Beau Counter Stool.

I saved a lot of money by getting this lower-priced Amazon bar stool instead!

Head to the end of this blog post for more close-ups and details on our bar stools!

The Amalia Counter Height Swivel Bar Stool is rated highly on Amazon and has photo reviews to see how it will look in real life!

I love that it can swivel so you can easily chat with family and friends.

The Natural Wheat fabric combined with the wood tones of the legs is so beautiful and adds a warm modern style to your kitchen!

If you’re interested in browsing more of the best swivel bar stools, check out this roundup!

If you’re looking for a bar stool with brass legs, you can consider the West Elm Alden Bar & Counter Stool.

These stools have a beautiful juxtaposition of wood and brass to instantly elevate your kitchen!

They have a slim profile and don’t take up too much space in case your island is on the smaller side.

It also comes in an all-black version, as well as a wood and black leg combo!

The Nathan James Arlo Backless Kitchen Counter Bar Stool from Amazon has a modern style with its striking black metal legs.

It also comes in a brown faux leather cushion top version for an industrial feel.

They have excellent ratings on Amazon with many customer photos to browse through!

If you’re wanting an all-wood look or a rustic vibe, the Halifax Farmhouse Wood Counter Height Barstool is a popular pick on Target!

I absolutely love the color of the faux leather cushion of the Nathan James Isaac Round Backless Bar Stool, which introduces so much warmth to a kitchen!

This same counter height bar stool also comes in a boucle upholstered fabric version, which is so unique and cozy!

The Hylie Nailhead Wood Kitchen Counter Bar Stool is highly rated amongst 7,000+ reviews on Amazon!

There are many color combinations to browse through to find one you love, but I like the Natural Flax / Light Brown stool the best.

The Nelson Bar Stool with Leather Cushion and Metal Base has a glam aesthetic and immediately caught my eye while browsing island stools for our home.

It has high ratings amongst 800+ reviews on Amazon along with many customer photos to get an idea of how they will look in your kitchen!

These Walmart Howard Metal Stackable Stools come in a set of 4 at such an affordable price!

It’s also available in 24 inch counter height and 30 inch bar height versions.

This stool would be very easy to wipe clean and the gunmetal color looks super sleek and industrial!

We had similar affordable bar stools from Walmart like these and they’ve held up great after over 5 years.

Best Bar Stools With Backs

While searching for bar stools with backs, the Nathan James Cohen Mid-Century Modern Leather Bar Stool was one of my absolute favorites.

The woven back detail is so stunning and would look amazing in any kitchen!

It is a great value for the price and I would definitely consider buying these for myself in the future!

The Lenox Bar & Counter Stools are a best seller at West Elm and I can easily see why with their stylish curved back and brass frame details that give them a unique look!

It comes in many customizable fabric options and metal leg colors.

The Linus Modern Counter Height Bar Stool With Back from Amazon has a 24″ counter height.

It has a simple yet inviting classic look and would look great in a white or black kitchen!

If you’re looking for comfortable upholstered bar or counter stools with backs, you can consider the West Elm Jack Metal Frame Bar Stools!

I love the brass legs that give them a luxurious look!

The Target Bowden Faux Leather Counter Height Barstools are an affordable option for bar stools with backs!

It has great ratings with 500+ reviews on Target with photo reviews to look through.

The Pottery Barn Fenton Woven Leather Bar & Counter Stools are a best seller on Pottery Barn.

There are some examples in customer homes at the bottom of the product page to get an idea of how it may look in your home!

I love the warm faux leather color of the Gracie Modern Counter Height Bar Stool with Back from the Nathan James store on Amazon!

This kitchen chair is a great way to warm up a white kitchen island!

The Pottery Barn Maison Leather Bar & Counter Stools are simply stunning and one of my favorites on this list!

The antique bronze metal details on the back of the stool are so unique and I can easily see why this is a best seller at Pottery Barn!

There are also a few examples at the bottom of the product page to get an idea of how these bar stools may look in your home!

The arched detail of the Nathan James Bailey Upholstered Rattan Bar Stool from Amazon is so eye-catching and unique!

The rattan woven back has such a pretty texture and is perfect for a modern boho kitchen aesthetic.

The West Elm Holland Counter Stool is one of my favorites on this list!

The vibrant acorn color of the wood is so pretty in combination with the neutral woven seat!

There are also a few examples at the bottom of the product page to get an idea of how these bar stools may look in your home!

The Serena & Lily Riviera Rattan Bar & Counter Stools are a very popular kitchen chair and I’ve seen these all over Pinterest and Instagram!

If you’re going for a coastal vibe, these French bistro chairs would be perfect.

They also come in a swivel bar stool version that makes it easy to chat with guests at the island!

We have the Slope leather lounge chair in our home and have loved it so much over the past few years!

I love that West Elm also has the Slope Leather chair in a Bar & Counter Stool version which would be a great option to choose!

The Malibu Woven Bar & Counter Stool is a best seller at Pottery Barn and is handwoven out of seagrass, bringing so much texture and warmth to the kitchen!

There are a few examples of these kitchen chairs in real homes at the bottom of the product page to get a better idea of how they will look.

I am obsessed with everything about the Pottery Barn Ashbury Cane Bar & Counter Stool!

It has a beautiful minimalist and Japandi aesthetic and the natural cane seat back is stunning!

The Exact Bar Stools We Chose For Our Kitchen Island

The Amazon Barker Wood Counter Height Bar Stool is the exact bar stool we chose for our kitchen island!

For the affordable price, it looks and functions beautifully in our home and I’m so glad I found it on Amazon.

We have 4 of these bar stools and it completes our kitchen perfectly!

While browsing bar stools for our island, I came across the more expensive version of this kitchen stool, which is the McGee & Co Beau Counter Stool.

I saved a lot of money by getting this lower-priced Amazon bar stool instead!

Bar Stool Assembly

You do have to assemble these bar stools but it was very easy and straightforward! It took around 15 minutes of assembly time per chair.

Modern Bar Stool Aesthetic

The faux leather cushion adds warmth and depth to our kitchen making it much more cozy and inviting.

The cushion makes these bar stools comfortable to sit on and I’ve been very impressed by them!

I love the thoughtful details of the two leather straps as well as the black bar detail at the bottom of the kitchen stool.

I’m so glad I found this high-end look for an affordable price!

RELATED POST: 11 Prettiest Rattan Bar Stools to Complete Your Kitchen

Kitchen Island Size For 4 Stools

The size of our kitchen island opening (where the bar stools would go) is 80.5″ which just barely fits these 4 stools. Our overall kitchen island size is 7 ft.

I would say this island size would be the absolute minimum size to fit 4 of these stools. If your island is larger than this, then you should be good to go!

Because it’s a little bit of a tighter squeeze at the island, we definitely needed stools that did not take up too much space and these are a great slim choice for us!

One caveat is we are now careful when getting in and out of these stools to not bang our knee or leg against the square edges!

It’s mostly because our island isn’t as spacious so if you have a similar island size, this is something to note.

Overall, we are so obsessed with how these stools turned out for our kitchen island! They could not suit our kitchen any better and it really completes our modern look.

We’d highly recommend these Amazon Counter Height Bar Stools for an affordable price!

What’s the Difference Between Bar and Counter Height Stools?

The key difference between bar and counter height stools is their seating heights.

Bar height stools are taller, with a seat height ranging from 28 to 32 inches. They are intended to be paired with bar counters or pub tables, which are usually around 40 to 42 inches in height.

On the other hand, counter-height stools are shorter, with a seat height ranging from 24 to 27 inches. They’re designed for use with kitchen counters or counter-height tables, which usually measure around 35 to 37 inches in height.

For example, in our home, our kitchen island counter measures 36 inches from the ground and we have 25-inch counter height bar stools (including the seat cushion).

We hope this post has helped you in your search for the perfect bar stool for your home!

We love hanging out at our kitchen island and would recommend any of these beautiful bar stools to help complete your kitchen!

For modern home decor inspiration, follow on Instagram @vivandtim.home!

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