There are tons of bar stools out there to choose from. Whether you have actually got a bar area at home, or a breakfast bar in your kitchen, or just a high table that would benefit from stools rather than chairs.

The children always seem to get on better with stools, especially those that are height adjustable. All the children went through that awkward phase, you know when they don’t want to be in a high chair anymore but they are just too little to sit properly at the table. You end up trying to prop them up on cushions, so they can actually see what is on their plate! It’s no fun for anyone really.

Adjustable stools can solve some of these problems.

What’s important with bar stools?

There are a few key things to consider when choosing bar stools for your home. Firstly, are they height adjustable? That’s the only way to make sure that they will be practical for the whole family to sit on.

Secondly, are they comfortable? I’ve sat on so many bar stools in other people’s homes and thought OMG, they are so uncomfortable – how do people sit on these? Some are so hard, some are an awkward shape and some are clearly just made for tiny bottoms.

Thirdly, have they got a foot rest? This is also linked to the comfort issue, but it is also a postural thing too. You tend to sit better if you can rest your feet, and this also stops that awful dead leg feeling when the back of your thigh has too much pressure on it.

Fourthly, are they easy to put together? I mean, often things look great on the website all nicely put together don’t they and then they arrive on your doorstep in a box, in 100 pieces with rubbish instructions – who needs stools like that in their life? Life is complicated enough right?

Finally, are they easy to clean? If you have children this will be crucial to you. Can you easily wipe food and drink off these bar stools? Will they survive the kids basically?

What we’ve been trying out?

We’ve been working with Lakeland Furniture recently to put their Rasmus Grid Style Bar Stools to the test. So, did they pass my five step test to bar stool heaven?

They are height adjustable, so that is a big tick on that front. The height range on them is huge as well, so they’d work well for very tall adults as well as small children.

They are VERY comfortable. The seat size and shape is good and the seat itself has a good amount of padding and is very soft.

They also have a foot rest, adding to the comfort and meaning that you can sit comfortably for a decent amount of time without back ache.

They were VERY easy to put together. It took around 15 minutes to put three stools together. You basically place the bottom post into the base, threading on a ring before hand. You then screw the top post to the seat with four screws and then slot the seat and top post onto the base post and it really is that simple!

My only reservation is how child-friendly they will be, but perhaps that’s just my own anxiety about white things not staying white for long?

The seats themselves are easy to clean and wipe over and the base comes up really shiny with a dry microfibre cloth. If you want extra sheen, try a squirt of CIF Stainless Steel spray on a microfibre cloth – you’ll see your face in the base!

These do come in other colours if white is not your thing. I’m really pleased with these and they look really nice. These are currently £49.99 and available online for home delivery.