we had swivel stools... and yes, the "bite marks" are prevalent with kids. I haven't completely decided what I'll do this next time around. (swivels were at the old house, "new" house needs remodel before there will be island seating) I have looked at the suspended seating ... and drooled a bit. I did go see them at a kitchen store awhile ago - wasn't as impressed at the store. the seat was a bit loose and wonky. But I haven't crossed it off my list yet - the store didn't seem very invested in the suspended seating, so perhaps it wasn't installed right... or wasn't maintained right... or... ???? I would LOVE to talk to actual people that have them in their homes to see what their after purchase, real life experience is.

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone. It is interesting how different everyone's experience is with these stools.ie. some have problems with the swivel, or swivel return, others do not! I wonder if some swivels are "stiffer" than others and don't swing around so much? I love your barstool, buel. (I love how when I moused over the photo, I could find out exactly what it was and where you bought it!I just checked- they aren't carrying it anymore.) Shar-az- what a good idea to put a clear bumper on the stool! I actually called my granite company today to ask if they have had problems with people chipping the granite edge with a counter stool--they said they have never had a customer call to ask for one to be repaired, at least. Jterrilynn- I like your idea of a dark leather or vinyl seat. I never thought about making it easier to slide off; I was just thinking about color and ease of cleaning. My first pick was really this stool which has a brown vinyl seat-- I just had a bit of sticker shock when I put 4 of them in my cart (with tax it is close to $600 and I still need to buy another two more bar-height ones for the dining room!) Then I started questioning the whole swivel thing. It is too expensive to make a mistake. I think now I may just go ahead and bit the bullet and pay the money. I was running around all day today looking at bar stools! What do you all think of this one? My cabinets are a honey-spice maple, with a light colored granite, so it will be a contrast. Here is a link that might be useful: corsica counter stool

Thanks, blondie...it's a 5 inch wide pre-finished pine from Lumber Liquidators. We had to go and pick up the material from the warehouse (used a big trailer!) and then had some guys lay it. It's pretty soft-there are actually some dings under the bar top where the chairs hit the floor, but we don't mind if things get a little rustic...:) I just really love the shine-all I have to do is vacuum and then touch up any spills with wood floor cleaner.

I want to also thank everyone as we have been running around like chickens without heads trying to find bar stools for our redo. similar problems too as our cabs are cherry, floors are dark (ipe) counters are typhoon bordeaux, dining table and chairs are all cherry and LR couches are off whie leather. all three rooms open to one another and I realized if I just realized if I went with wood, it would be wood heaven in there. we also just decided we didn't want backs on the stools. we also want our stools to swivel, otherwise I'd have gone with the matching stools. Here is a link that might be useful: our dining chairs