Good Questions: Stylish Footstool Solution?

Hello AT,

I have a small living room space, and I am looking for a small (no taller than 12") and stylish footstool I can tuck under my chair when not in use. I was thinking beanbag cube, but they tend to be kind of ugly and suburban looking.

And then I was thinking a piece of finished tree stump/log could be cool--if anyone knows where to find them in town. These are very cool looking, but don't seem to be for sale and are probably too tall, but check 'em out.

I checked out Tiny Living and they have an inflatable footstool but it seems pretty flimsy. Any ideas? Thanks! Griffin

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Comments (12)

Mecox Gardens has wooden stump side tables, stools.

i haven't fooled with the new stump furniture at all, but wouldn't something like that be a bit heavy to move around a lot? for instance being pulled out and pushed back under a chair?

I don't know your taste or your budget, but there are some really beautiful african stools out there. I think you'd probably have to go to a store rather than order online, but here are some pics of what I mean-
http://www.hamillgallery.com/SENUFO/SenufoStools/SenufoStools.html
(note that these are pictures of stacked stools, not single stools)

What about a Chinese/Asian Foot Stool like this?
http://tinyurl.com/mvwg4

This particular one is too tall based on your spec but there are tons of these stools out there at varying heights at asian import stores...

Or a leather morrocan pouf?

Or a meditation bench?

Go to the super fab blog, It's (K)notwood, and type in keyword search. I haven't actually done this yet, but maybe it will yield a few finds of stylish faux bois stools.

http://www.itsknotwood.blogspot.com/

Another suggestion, try design public. They marked down a neat stool lately that you may really like:

Here's a $49 stool:
http://www.designpublic.com/shop/offi/2376

Felt top stools for $55
http://www.designpublic.com/discover/stool

A $49 burst of color
http://www.designpublic.com/shop/offi/2125

And my all time favorite stool in the world, created by an Aussie company that commissions artists around the world to work on their latest designs (which change constantly) Using 5 panels of artwork on plantation grown veneer, you simply assemble them by sliding the panels together - no nails or glue needed.

http://www.zaishu.com

They are $205 USD and $50 for shipping. You can contact Matt Butler for more Zaishu information, he's a great guy.

matt[at]bluesquare[dot]net

Holly

Hi there, right now the "Soft Tree Trunk" stool is featured in "Around the Flat" a design show at Spring in Brooklyn - www.spring3D.net - and it is soon to go into production. We have a list of hopeful buyers waiting for it to be ready - possibly this fall. Finding a nice stool to fit under a chair may be difficult (although at about 14", this one fits under ours - we tried). It is really a great piece.

how about a morrocan pouf as jen pdx mentioned? calypso home has silver or gold ones that look quite tasty. or a tribal stool check the open markets in the city many people are selling them. upscale try tucker robbins website for stools. abc carpet has petrified wood stumps that are quite pricey, but fun to look at. good luck.

i was intrigued by kim's suggestion of an african footstool as my grandparents brought back dozens of these as all-purpose seating/storage/side table/etc furniture when they lived in West Africa. i ran an eBay search on 'african stool', and the ones that look like theirs go for a lot of money!

i am going to have such an exciting inheritance someday, apparently.

Gumps, San Francisco (online mail order availabile) has a nice one on sale for $100!

that gump's stool is really cool. it doesn't fit my needs, but I might just have to get it anyway. thanks! and thanks to all and especially to decor8holly for all the great links--my girlfriend and I are loving the knotwood blog.

If anyone's still reading this thread, I found some great portable ottomans at www.redema.us ... They're inflatables, but they're covered in velour so they don't look it. They're really quite nice and sturdy.