Bar-height cafe tables

A high table turns a dead corner into seats, or a stand-up spot for the quick coffee crowd. These 16 tables sit at bar height. Most pair a solid wood top with a cast iron or steel base, and a few carry a patio listing. Choose the stools at the same time, because the two have to agree on height to the inch.

Height, stools and knees

Bar tables finish at about 40 to 42 inches. The stools that go with them want a seat of about 29 to 31 inches, leaving a gap of 10 to 12 inches up to the top for thighs and knees. Get those two numbers right and nobody bangs a knee or reaches up for a cup. Buy the stools after you have read the table height on the listing, not before.

Standing works too. A high table by the door gives the takeout crowd somewhere to set a cup down while they check their phone, and it needs no stools at all.

Tops and bases

Solid wood leads the tops. Steel, laminate, stainless steel, aluminum and synthetic teak make up the rest. Bases are mostly cast iron and steel, the weight a tall table needs to stay put when someone leans on it. Square tops lead, with rounds and rectangles next and a couple of drop-leaf versions.

Two to compare: a steel dining table at bar height, and a laminate dining table at the low end of the range. Prices range from about $96 to $464.

Spacing around a high table

Stools at a high table need the same 24 to 30 inches center to center as at a ledge. A 30-inch square seats two comfortably at bar height. For four, go to 36 inches a side or a round of 42, and accept that the stools will need more floor than chairs would. Keep about 36 inches clear around the group for the aisle, since a tall stool pulled out takes more room than a chair.

The rest of the table range

Dining-height pairs of top and base are in the complete table sets. Long shared tables, some at bar height, sit in the communal tables. For the catering order, try the folding tables, and see the whole range under cafe tables.

Put each high table and its stools on your shop plan as one group.