Seat for cooking

NelliePledge

NelliePledge

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Hi looking for any recommendations for a seat on castors to use in my kitchen so I can sit down in front of the work top and cooker to do food prep. My new kitchen is bigger than the old one and there are more steps involved between fridge surface and cooker. Just walking from my seat in lounge to my kettle to make a cuppa is about 4x as far. I’m noticing that I start to get OI while I’m cooking here which I didn’t at the old house. I’m thinking of a stool on wheels that I can scoot round on in the kitchen. But not low down like hairdressers use. It would need to be high enough like a bar stool or thereabouts, maybe a bit lower would be ok. My balance is reasonably good except on stairs so I’m not concerned about that aspect.

Does anyone already have something like that??
 
This is something I've been mulling over too.

My vet has a stool which is on wheels and appears to be height adjustable with a footrest. The seat is shaped a bit like a bicycle seat. It looks very comfortable. No back rest though. Might give em a ring and ask where they got it.

I've considered a perching stool, but with a long counter stretch something wheeled would be handier.

Edit - I've just phoned the surgery and asked. They're going to look it up and call me back. I'll keep you updated.
 
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A perching stool really requires a section of counter with nothing underneath and for sitting down prep to be done there. They are not IMO really suitable as a general purpose kitchen seat as they are not particularly mobile, and keep getting in the way, unless they have a dedicated area.

No help for the original question but may rule out a perching stool.
 
I use an old office chair for dishwasher loading/emptying and if I need to stir things on hob. Also when putting away online food order. My kitchen is open plan with dining room. All my veg chopping etc is done in their. Appreciate that this would be too bulky for many kitchens andprobably too heavy to lift up a step or two. Good luck with finding something suitable.
 
NelliePledge said:
I’m thinking of a stool on wheels that I can scoot round on in the kitchen. But not low down like hairdressers use. It would need to be high enough like a bar stool or thereabouts, maybe a bit lower would be ok.
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I'm trying to envisage such a stool. If it is high enough to be useful with standard height kitchen counters, surely your legs would be too short to control the scooting around? Wouldn't you have to get on and off to move?

I hate bar stools because I haven't got any control over them with my feet dangling in the air two feet above the ground. Perhaps I'm just not imagining the right scenario because I'm only short.
 
I haven't heard back from the vets yet but the stool he uses is shaped like a saddle so the legs go to the side & down rather than out in front. Like sitting on a horse or a bike with the feet in the rests. I think just taking the foot off the rest and placing it on the floor will allow you to propel yourself.

I've eyed the flippin' thing a number of times while I've been in there. I should have just asked for a go!

He's already seen me in my pjs after an emergency visit so it's not like I could have embarrassed myself a whole lot further. Then again....
 
I used to use an office chair, but the scooting action was very hard on my thighs. These are the most painful muscles of all for me, and very prone to burning like crazy as soon as I go to bed, so it was a bit problematical! It's also surprisingly hard to steer a rolling chair, even backwards.

A bigger problem is that there's nowhere to put your knees when you're next to the worktop or stove, so you have to reach over. It gives your legs a rest, but is hard on your upper arms.

My solution – when I can afford it – is going to be a sort of breakfast bar that I can get my indoor wheelchair underneath, so I can sit up to it when I'm fit enough to prepare food. If I were able to cook most days, I'd also have a hob with a knee gap underneath it, and fit an eye-level oven somewhere else. (I can only cook every now and again, so it's not really worth it.)

If it's mostly OI, you might be better with a static, tall-ish stool that's easy to move. Making notes of everything you need to get out of the fridge before you start cooking might also help, if you find yourself forgetting things because your brain goes foggy when you're upright. I do this, and it cuts down no end on the number of trips I have to make!

A friend with MS has a kettle and a small beer fridge (for the milk) in her sitting room, to save her some of the hikes to the kitchen. I don't have hot drinks, but if I did, I'd do the same!
 
PS: avoid perching stools, as they throw all your weight onto your thigh muscles; and if you become clumsy when you're fatigued and brain fogged, avoid any kitchen seat with legs that flare out. I had a perching stool imposed on me by Occupational Therapy, and the flared legs caused more trips and falls than anything I've ever had. My brain thought the size of the seat indicated the size of the obstacle, forgetting that the legs were wider.

When I fell so badly that I ended up flat out on the kitchen floor for two days because I couldn't get up to summon help, I took the bloody thing to the charity shop. (I did try to return it to the OT, but they didn't want it back – I'm not surprised, they're a menace to society!)
 
Be warned I have no idea of prices but I'm rather interested myself so don't mind finding out tomorrow afternoon.

None of these in the following link look exactly like the vets but his is several years old.

There a couple of saddle type (without integral footrests) & I think one (amazon) is designed with the female physique in mind.

https://www.eickemeyer.co.uk/Furniture-and-Laboratory/Chairs/

Edited - the vet nurse I spoke to reckons she finds the saddle seat quite comfy. Maybe they'll let me just call in for a go.
 
Invisible Woman said:
Sound horrible, especially as the kitchen floor tends to be a cold hard surface. :hug:
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It was, but it's long enough ago to be funny now! It was just unlucky that my neighbour was away at a conference the first night. I heard him coming home from work on the second day, and managed to yell out to him through the cat flap.

Needless to say, I now have a falls alarm and a key safe outside the house – but since I moved into accessible accommodation, I haven't actually had many accidents. I'm 60 now, though, so they'll probably come in handy as I get even more creaky, clumsy, and dim-witted with age! :laugh:
 
I think going in for a try out would be a good idea @Invisible Woman. It looks like they come at a wide range of prices with some fairy cheap ones on Amazon I have added issue of making sure it’s sturdy enough to take my considerable bulk.

I might just start off by getting a cheap high static stool to see if the sitting down helps as much as I think it will. if I end up going for a saddle one I would probably have to go for one of the higher spec ones £££
 
NelliePledge said:
I think going in for a try out would be a good idea @Invisible Woman.
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I shall investigate further, but it may take some time. I'll wait until I need some new tick & flea stuff for the dog. Don't want to be too cheeky!

I'll look into the prices from that site too & see if they give weight specs.

I guess the other thing with price is comfort. If I'm not pacing very carefully then my thighs and muscles really hurt. Hurt to the touch too. So quality/quantity of padding would definitely be an issue for me. Also £££ implications!
 
Just a thought on safety you need to consider. Castor chairs can move very easily, and you would only have to unwittingly push a little bit to find you have pushed yourself away from the worktop. If you were holding a kettle/pan of hot liquid you might end up with it all over you. Not saying to not use such a chair, but just suggesting you would need some strategy to deal with it.
 
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I use an ordinary kitchen stool with slightly splayed legs. I have a small kitchen, so there's only just room to put it where I won't trip over it in front of a cupboard. I just drag it to where I want to sit on it. I'd be worried about wheels and kettles etc as Barry has just suggested.

It means I have to sit side on if I'm doing stuff on a work top, but I don't really do cooking, just little bits of assembling stuff to go in the microwave or oven, so being a bit twisted around doesn't matter too much. Better than trying to stand for a few minutes which isn't really feasible for me.

If I'm doing things at the sink I open the cupboard under the sink and tuck my legs in there with my feet resting on its bottom shelf. (I've removed the blank panel at the top above the cupboard door (where a drawer would be if there weren't a sink) so my knees can fit under. Does that make sense?
 
Barry said:
If you were holding a kettle/pan of hot liquid you might end up with it all over you. Not saying to not use such a chair, but just suggesting you would need some strategy to deal with it.
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Yes, that's a good point. My sink is beside the kettle and there's a long run of worktop, so for me I think that would be okay.

I more in need a solution of something to sit on where I'm my legs aren't in the way what with cupboards & dishwashers under the counter & I'm not twisting.

Scooting over to the cooker would certainly be a bad idea for me.
 
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