The Great Look of Garden Stools

One of my favorite new accessories is the garden stool.  For the past several years, these ceramic barrel-shaped stools have been serving as little side tables or accents in any room of the house.  Their origin?---They have been used in China for at least 1000 years!  They most likely evolved out of Buddhist garden tradition, where natural elements like tree stumps and smooth rocks were used as seats.  Typically Chinese homes were built around a courtyard, with an emphasis on landscape and gardens, and these stools were portable to be used both inside and outside.  Today they have become a popular accessory in a wide array of colors and designs.  Beside a bed, as in the pictures above and below, they become a handy place to set a book or glass (or your glasses!)

Here, three fill in the space under a sofa table, just waiting to be pulled out for extra table or seating space.

Love this fresh, spring-y green room!  And aren't the matching garden stool a charming, yet practical,  addition?

Great used on a deck or patio, these ceramic charmers are impervious to the weather (our winters excluded, of course!)





 








Another cut-out garden stool, used as a coffee table this time.








Two bright yellow stools act as "bunching tables" in front of this sofa.



One of my favorite places to add a garden stool ---- next to the tub for a handy place to stack extra towels!

We have several great garden stools in the store right now, and many others we can special order if you don't see a color that works in your room.  Every home needs at least one!