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.
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.