When choosing bar tables and chairs the bar owner is faced with a bewildering number of choices from the most modern designs in steel, glass or plastic through to the traditional wooden Colonial, Jacobean or Tudor designs. Prices range from under ten pounds for the cheapest steel framed chairs and even good quality wooden framed chairs can be bought below twenty pounds.

The most traditional styles of bar chairs are taken from old colonial designs and among these the ‘Wheelback’ or ‘Windsor’ chair and the ‘Mates’ or ‘Captains’ chairs are still the most popular choices. These are all wooden chairs and can be a little uncomfortable after a while which is fine if the intention is to get your customers in and out quickly, but if you want to welcome them for an extended stay, during which time they will hopefully spend more money on food and drink, then it’s a good idea to specify chairs with an upholstered seat. Usually this seat has dralon or flatwoven fabric on 1 inch thickness upholstery foam with the fabric stapled to the wooden seat and then finished with decorative brass studding around the edge of the fabric to hide the staples. Bar chairs upholstered in this way look very attractive and many suppliers offer a wide range of patterns and colours of fabric so that the bar chair seats can complement the carpet and decor of the room. The most traditional bar tables are copies of Victorian designs made in cast iron most famously by the Colebrookedale Company. These incorporate very decorative designs sometimes of dolphins or kings or queens heads or the image of Brittania cast into the base. Usually these cast iron tables are finished simply in black, but can be highlighted in gold or painted fully in gold colour to lift the design and give a brighter look to the room. These bar chairs and tables were previously nearly always in dark oak finish for the chairs with dark oak table tops for the bar tables but in more recent years light colours have become popular, with walnut, red mahogany or antique pine being most often chose. Other traditional bar tables use all wooden frames with decoratively turned single or double pedestals being popular. The ‘Refectory’ table is still a welcome choice, having flat table ends that are wasted to add visual interest. The table ends are joined with one or two horizontal stretchers which pass through holes in each end and are secured with simple wooden pegs. This uncomplicated design can still be very effective in a traditionally decorated room when accompanied with Colonial style bar chairs.

Modern bar chairs can be purchased in a wide range of materials with wooden frames still very popular, usually in more angular designs than the traditional bar chairs with gently curving vertical or horizontal slats being the only decoration on the backrest and straight cut rather than ornately turned legs. Many modern bars have moved towards offering comfortable dining for their clients to increase their revenue and to simply attract more people to enjoy their hospitality. Again these bar chairs can be specified with upholstery to the seat or to the seat and back for added comfort. Steel design bar chairs are often chosen because they can be strong and inexpensive at the same time and can be purchased with any frame colour or chrome finish which gives a very fresh aspect to a brightly lit interior. The chrome chairs really benefit from having a colourfully upholstered seat or seat and back and again the fabric can be chosen to enhance to overall look of the interior. If the bar owners main aim is to provide comfortable dining a really popular choice is to use wooden framed leather dining chairs. In the last decade these chairs have become more and more popular as the leather finish gives any venue a classy look. These leather dining chairs are available in a wide variety of leather colours and the wooden legs are available in colours from light oak or pine colour through to the darkest oak or mahogany finish. These chairs have the ideal height for dining and are best suited to a wooden table in an uncomplicated style – for example the Shaker design which uses more simple lines to really good effect. Recently many bar owners have chosen to replace at least some of their regular bar chairs with leather sofas to give maximum comfort to their customers. A few of these in a large room give a really opulent feel and look very inviting indeed. A few bar sofas combined with coffee tables can attract and keep new customers and of course attracting and keeping customers is the most essential consideration for every bar owner.

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