Wooden Stools

Teak and Solid Wood Stools for Everyday Use

At around 45 cm, a wooden stool sits at dining chair height, which is why it ends up doing so many different jobs. Extra seating when more people turn up than you have chairs. A bedside table in a room too small for a proper one. A plant stand. A perch for towels beside a bath.

That flexibility is worth planning for. Buy one slightly plainer than you think you need, because a stool with a strong personality only works in the one spot you bought it for.

On wood: teak is the one to choose if the stool will ever see a bathroom or a covered balcony. It carries its own oils, which is exactly why it holds up where other timbers swell and split in this climate. Indoors it needs oiling once or twice a year, no more. Other solid woods are fine in a dry, air-conditioned room, but keep them away from a shower and off an open terrace.

Three things to check before buying: that the base sits flat without rocking, that the joints are solid wood rather than glued veneer, and that you can lift it with one hand. A stool that’s awkward to move stops getting moved, and then it isn’t really a stool any more.

If you need a seat for a kitchen counter or a bar, those are taller — see Counter Stools and Bar Stools.