Hotel Bar Stools

What do you see whenever you open your refrigerator? Sure, there’s the usual stash of food, fresh or leftovers, as well as water, drinks, condiments, and perhaps some things that are unidentifiable at first glance since they’ve been sitting in the fridge so long. But what else would you see if you really tried hard to look beyond the clutter? Well, Danish designer Hee Welling saw a stool.

You got that right. The shelves in his fridge served as the inspiration for the Hee Bar Stool. I’m simply blown away by how some people can find inspiration not only in the mundane, but things that are even beyond the mundane that they escape most people’s attention altogether. Bar stools inspired by refrigerator shelving, what could be next for Welling? Reception seating using piano hinges? Oh, wait, he’s done that already! But that’s a topic for another post. Here, we’ll focus on the Hee Bar Stool.

This chair isn’t uncomfortably rigid despite the hardy materials used in its construction. Just like refrigerator shelves, the seat gives a bit under the user’s weight, so it isn’t a pain in the behind. It measures 33 inches high, 16 inches wide, and 19 inches deep. The seat itself is 30 inches high, 14 inches wide and 14 inches deep.

At the start, Welling only wanted to use one kind of material for his creation – something that would be exceptionally strong. He did create his Hee Collection in 2004 using electroplated solid steel, but he relented a bit and decided to allow his furniture to be finished in powder coating. This is good because it meant that the bar stool and other items in the collection can be used in outdoor settings. The Hee Bar Stool and his other creations haven’t been left out in the cold in the hospitality industry; in fact, they have been adorning establishments like the Hoxton Hotel in Great Britain.