17 Of Our Favorite Danish Design Stools

A look at 17 different stools, one of the most versatile pieces of Scandinavian furniture

Practically every home could benefit from a timelessly designed stool. Whether you use it as an extra seat, an end table, a bedside table, a plant stand, or as an aesthetic way to get an extra boost, a quality stool is an investment that will last for generations. 

Let our selection of favorite stools show you just how versatile this classic piece of Scandinavian furniture can be in any interior.

Wood Stools from Danish design brand Skagerak 

Skagerak is an iconic Danish design brand known for producing high-quality furniture that’s designed to last for generations. Established in Denmark in 1976, Skagerak has deep roots in classic Scandinavian design, including careful attention to craftsmanship, all while adding a modern Nordic touch.

The name Skagerak refers to their northern location in Denmark, along with the strait Skagerrak that is known to connect Denmark to other Nordic countries. This strait is known to be crucial in the development of the Nordic region.

“We create furniture that is built to be used and to survive in the long run, so they patinate and accumulate stories. In our world, stories and relations are the most important thing, and we strive to make furniture that makes it easy and launch new concepts that can make it a reality. And that is something I am proud of," says CEO and Skagerak owner Jesper Panduro.

Over the years, Skagerak has brought forth a variety of beautiful and multifunctional stools. Let’s highlight some of our favorites.

Skagerak’s Georg Stool is where Nordic sensuality and Japanese minimalism meet. The stool’s signature slender wooden poles and rounded edges are crafted from light FSC-certified oak and are key identifiers of each piece within Skagerak’s Georg collection. One of our most popular stools, the Georg Stool includes a soft, woolen cushion attached with a leather strap. Use it as a minimal desk chair, a dining chair, or even a spot to take on and off your shoes in an entryway. 

This stool was designed by Chris Liljenberg Halstrøm, a Danish designer known for her Nordic minimalist approach to design, embracing strong combinations of materials like wood, leather, and wool. Her designs always start with function.

Skagerak’s Georg Jubilee Stool was introduced to celebrate Skagerak’s 40th anniversary. The jubilee version of the iconic Georg Stool includes a rare cushion made from leather sourced from a Swedish tannery called Tärnsjö. The leather strap is daintily braided, complementing the light untreated oak.

With both teak and oak options, Skagerak’s Cutter Stool is a small piece with a variety of purposes. Use it as a simple seat, place a tray on top to use it as a bedside table or an end table in the living room, or arrange a few plant pots near a window––the options are endless. Plus, the large Cutter box is designed to fit perfectly underneath the stool for added space-saving storage, wherever you need it. Lucky for you, we did an entire blog post highlighting the Cutter collection –– read it here.

Originally introduced in 1986, the Fionia Stool is Skagerak’s modern, Nordic interpretation of the ancient X-chair. The simple triangular construction allows this stool to fold whenever you aren’t using it. Skagerak’s careful craftsmanship makes it a stable surface that is often used as an elegant stand for books, pots, flowers, or design objects. 

Step up or take a seat with the simple and elegant Dania Stool. Designed for both children and adults, this classic wood stool––which comes in either oak or teak––can be used in a variety of ways.

If your kitchen cabinets are a little too high up, the Dania Step Ladder gives you an extra boost. Designed from a no-nonsense approach in a simple and functional manner, it’s designed so that you can slide the bottom step in or out whenever you needed, serving as both a stool and a step ladder. Just like the Dania Stool, the step ladder comes in oak or teak, plus a black option.

This Noboru Step Ladder is the newest addition to Skagerak’s stool selection. Noboru means ‘to climb’ in Japanese, a nod to how this multifunctional piece allows you to climb wherever you need to. We love how the lower step is ready to slide in, taking up less space while also serving as a stool or side table. The minimalistic step ladder in solid oak has slim profiles on all edges allowing the assemblings to be visible, which gives Noboru its aesthetic excess in the overall elegant and discrete expression.

Originally designed to be used as seating in museum halls while observing artwork, the Vent Stool has an organic look that works in both modern and traditional interiors. Vent means ‘wait’ in Danish, and we think it’s a lovely place to wait or simply rest for a bit. Made with braided paper cord and a black steel frame, this seat is handmade in collaboration with a company called ‘Blindes Arbejde’ which employs visually impaired people through manufacturing traditional, handcrafted design like this beautiful stool.

With an elegant and stackable design, the Nomad Stool is a minimalistic version of the classic Scandinavian three-legged stool. Made with untreated oak, this stool is rooted in a characteristic Nordic passion for materials and functionality, embracing the well-known “less is more” mantra. The oak comes from European forests and all processing is done by hand.

Even more wood stools from Kristina Dam, Menu, and more

Kristina Dam Studio is truly a powerhouse of new Scandinavian furniture and accessories (we wrote all about them here), and the Kristina Dam Stool is the perfect example. Designed in Denmark and produced in Europe, this solid oak stool is an elegant and thoroughly designed piece of flat-pack furniture. Its graphic and functional design can be used as a side table, an ottoman, a chair, or a pedestal to display a vase or another design object.  

A study of the unity between functionalism and minimalism, Menu’s Afteroom Stool looks to the simple, geometric lines of the Bauhaus design movement to create furniture pared back to their purest forms. Stockholm-based Taiwanese design team Afteroom Studio was tasked with creating iconic furniture designs for Menu that were both minimalist and comfortable– and with a silhouette that was both sleek and instantly recognizable. There’s also a counter-height stool, a bar-height stool, and a dining chair with a sleek and minimal back. 

With a modern look that’s sensitive to its heritage, the Passage Stool––also from Menu––is a purposeful piece designed in collaboration with Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen. The solid wood design is available in a natural or dark lacquered finish. Beyond its requisite use as a seat, the Passage Stool makes an ideal home for an indoor plant, a pile of books, or a cozy table lamp as shown above.

We wrote all about Menu’s community approach to design here. 

The Stool 60 from Artek is the most elemental of furniture pieces, equally suitable as a seat, a table, storage unit, or display surface. The legs are mounted directly to the underside of the round seat. The stool's geometry makes it easy to be stacked in a spiraling tower sculpture as shown above. Manufactured in 42 production steps a factory in Turku, Finland, Stool 60 is available in a wide variety of colors and finishes. One of the most cherished products in the history of design, this piece was originally introduced by Alvar Aalto in 1933.

There’s a similar four-legged version of the design––the Artek Stool E60––which is also stackable and multifunctional. Both of these pieces from Artek have a bit of a lead time, but trust us when we say they’re worth the wait!

With two seating sides that are slightly angled toward each other, the Angle Stool provides both a comfortable seat and a unique butterfly appearance. This solid white oak stool from Danish design brand Form and Refine is fully foldable and comes with a lovely brass hook that can be mounted on the wall so you can stow it away while not in use. We love the finishing touch of the leather band underneath the seat. 

We wrote all about Form and Refine here.

Made from solid English walnut, the LAX Series Dining Stool serves as a strong and sturdy seating surface. Designed to be paired with the LAX Series Edge Dining Table, this stool offers a minimal aesthetic that can adapt to a variety of settings, both commercial and at home. We highlighted MASH Studios’ LAX Series of Scandinavian design furniture in a recent blog post––read it here.

Ready to fill your interior with more thoughtfully designed pieces like these stools? Take a look at Batten Home co-founder Jeanne Batten's favorite things.

More Like This: 10 Modern Side Tables We’re Loving Right Now 

Batten Home carefully curates Scandinavian furniture designs and minimalist decor objects for the modern home. We are inspired by a Scandinavian aesthetic and Danish design philosophies with a new modern design feel we like to call new Nordic design. 

Have any questions for us? We’re family-owned and independently operated, and we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line at hello@battenhome.co or find more inspiration on Pinterest.