Modern Designer Stools

A stool serves the furniture equivalent of a full stop: it occupies space precisely, without excess, and asks nothing of the room it sits in. The best stool designs are almost propositions about what furniture can be reduced to — and still function perfectly. Alvar Aalto's Stool 60 (1932) is the...

Footstool, sofa ottoman or stool: start with the seat it serves

Most pieces on the first page of this collection share their name with a particular chair or sofa sold here. So start with the seat. If you own the chair, or are choosing one, look for the footstool named after it. If not, the freestanding stools suit any room. For the chairs themselves, start with the modern lounge chair collection.

Footstools that share a name with a lounge chair

Eleven of the 20 pieces on the first page share their name with a chair sold on this site. They are the Egg Stool, the Eames Style Lounge Chair 670 Stool in two versions, the Womb Chair Ottoman, the Barcelona Stool, the Corona Stool, the Falcon Stool and a 63 cm square ottoman. Three are Hans J. Wegner designs: the CH445 Wing Chair Stool, the Teddy Bear Stool and the OX Ottoman.

Ottomans for the modular sofas

Three are ottomans for the Comfort Style and Camaleonda Style sofas. All three are 38 cm tall, built from polyurethane foam and delivered fully assembled. The Comfort Style Sofa Ottoman measures 86 × 81 cm, the Camaleonda Style Small Ottoman 64 × 97 cm and the Camaleonda Style Sofa Ottoman 97 × 97 cm. The Camaleonda pieces are credited to Mario Bellini.

Stools that stand on their own

The other six do not share a name with a chair here. The Butterfly Stool is plywood in oak or walnut veneer, and a stainless steel stool comes in six colours. The PK33 Stool has a leather seat on stainless steel legs. The Golden Egg Stool stands on brushed cast aluminium, like the Egg Stool, and both are credited to Arne Jacobsen. The Featherston Ottoman stands on ash legs and the EA125 stool on aluminium.

Heights, footprints and weights

Heights on the first page run from 35 cm on the EA125 stool to 47 cm on the Corona Stool. Ten pieces sit between 39 and 45 cm. The Falcon Stool lists only its seat, at 41 cm. None of the 20 is a counter or bar stool; for those, see the modern bar stool collection.

Footprints vary more than heights. Of the 17 pieces that are not sofa ottomans, 14 are 51 to 66 cm wide, and the Corona Stool is the widest at 77 cm. The sofa ottomans reach 97 × 97 cm, so measure the floor in front of the sofa, not only the seat.

Weight matters if a piece will move between rooms. Four weigh 5 kg: the Egg Stool, the Butterfly Stool, the steel stool and the Featherston Ottoman. The Corona Stool weighs 19 kg, the Falcon Stool 20 kg and the Camaleonda Style Sofa Ottoman 34 kg, the heaviest on the first page. For other seating, see the chair collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which footstools come in leather?

Which stools and ottomans come in wool, bouclé or velvet?

Can I buy a footstool without the matching chair?

Is there a stool for a small space?

Is there a stool for a kitchen counter or bar?

Do the stools and ottomans arrive assembled?

How do I clean the stools and ottomans?

Are the stools in stock?

Who designed these stools and ottomans?