Designing a Stool

I love designing and making stools. There are essentially an infinite amount of concepts and designs that could be brought to life. From a rough sketch or a 3D computer design, to figuring out the joinery and construction, to cutting and glueing the wood and shaping it to its final form, I find the whole process to be very satisfying. It may be because it is a smaller product, that can go from sketch to final product with relative speed. Designing and making something larger like a table requires much more consideration, time and material, all of which make the exercise much more costly. The design of a stool can be as wild as you can imagine within the boundaries of it still remaining a stool, and brought to life in little time, to discover whether the design works in reality as well as it does in the imagination. 

Stools have a set of guidelines to make them practical, but endless design possibilities which can also make them sculptural. Stools are multifunctional and adaptable. One day a bedside book holder, the next a beautiful spot for a bunch of flowers. They could be a place for your cuppa beside the couch, or an extra seat at your table when your mum’s cousin comes for dinner. They can be a form of art in their own right and a piece of cherished furniture that can carry memories across rooms, homes and lifetimes.  

A three legged stool has a certain aesthetic. Perhaps reminiscent of images of old milking stools, made from scrap timber laying around the farm, to form the very practical purpose of sitting on something to milk a cow. There’s an old worldy charm that comes with a three legged stool. A four legged stool can be more sturdy, if made correctly. A four legged stool means that each leg must be cut to exactly the same height, and stay at that height over time. A leg that is a millimeter or two shorter than the other three will create a wobble, with one leg hanging free in the wind. A three legged stool eliminates this risk as the three points of contact will always be touching the ground. But a stool doesn’t even technically need legs to still be considered a stool. It could be a cylindrical pillar or a column made from another material like stone. Endless ideas. 

Stools are obviously a simpler version of the chair, a piece of furniture which surely has more designs than anything other style of furniture. The possibilities here are also endless. And there are many more considerations when designing a chair: to ensure its durability, comfort and longevity. Many people know what a particular chair is called or who designed it if it’s a popular enough design. Like the Eames lounge chair for example. I believe that in a way the multi functionality and style adaptability of a stool makes it more useful than a chair which can be beautiful and artistic in its own right, but is made for one thing: to sit on. It’s hard to style a chair. But styling a stool? Endless possibilities. 

I’ve made stools for two year olds to brush their teeth on, stools for friends Mum’s birthdays, stools for my wife to move around the house wherever she pleases, displaying her favourite things. To create a piece of furniture which can bring a functional type of joy into someone’s life, is rewarding. But I also make stools for myself, as a test of new techniques, new tools, new challenges. Stools are the perfect testing ground. It may be a completely different shape with a totally different joining method, a different wood and a different style, but it remains within the functional constraints a stool demands. 

Furniture design offers the opportunity to balance function and aesthetic. When the balance is right, longevity ensues. Whether you place sentimental value on objects or not, I hope the stools I create go on to stand the test of time.