Choosing a wooden stool or bench
Antique, vintage or reclaimed?
An antique or vintage stool is an old piece. Most of ours have been restored in a way that keeps the knocks, worn edges and dark patina of long use, and a few are left just as we found them. Where we know a piece's age, its product page says so. The newer benches are built from reclaimed elm and other salvaged timber, so they have the colour and grain of old wood on a sound new frame. Elm is tough and resists splitting, which is why it was so often used for seats, and in an old piece it has had many years to season and harden.
Benches at the dining table
A bench around 45 to 50cm high sits comfortably at a standard dining table. Choose one a little shorter than the table, so it tucks under the overhang of the top when it isn't in use. A long bench seats more people along one side than chairs would, and suits a kitchen or a busy family table. A bench on one side and chairs on the other is a good way to have both.
More than a seat
A sturdy old stool makes a useful small table beside an armchair or a bed, or a stand for a plant or a lamp. A low bench works at the end of a bed, in a hallway for pulling boots on and off, or in front of a sofa as a narrow coffee table. Pig benches, the low, narrow country benches that sit beautifully in a hallway or entryway, and simple rectangular wooden stools are two things we always have plenty of in the shop. There are usually far more than we can photograph for the website, so if you're after one, come in or ask us.
Looking after them
Dust with a dry cloth, and keep water and household cleaners off the surface. Old timber can move a little in a very dry, centrally heated room; that's normal for solid wood.
See them in person
There are always stools and benches on show in our shop on the High Street in Moreton-in-Marsh. If there's one on the website you'd like to see, let us know before you come and we can bring it to the shop for you.
