Visions of Breakfast Bars

Besides opening the kitchen up to the dining and living rooms, my main reason for knocking some holes in my walls was to try and create a useable breakfast bar area. I would love to be able to serve my two boys their snacks or lunches right near where I'm working, and I'm sure my older son will choose to do his homework there sometimes too, since he often asks me to sit with him and keep him company. And I can't wait for Mike to be able to sit, drink a glass of wine and chat with me while I cook dinner. (Or even better, the other way around!)

The problem is that since we are limiting the cost by making the best of what we have for the time being, the dimensions aren't ideal. We'll only be able to fit two stools -- they'll be tucked in there pretty snugly, and they're going to need to have a smaller footprint to make it possible. In addition, the top of the notched out wall where this is all happening is 46" high which is too high for a standard counter-height or bar-height stool and we can't make it lower (like just extending the current counter) because I don't want to buy new countertops. So we're working within some pretty rigid constraints.

Here are the options that I'm considering:

Option 1: Finishing the bottom of the notch in the wall with a wider board to create a breakfast bar and buying two adjustable stools that can reach the crazy tall height that is required.  The only place I've found such inventions for less than $200 each is at a school supply website I first saw at Young House Love -- and they don't look like much to begin with, but when Sherry & John painted theirs aqua they were darling, so I'm not worried. They are also really inexpensive which is a big plus for this spur-of-the-moment project.

PROS: Takes up less of the walkway toward the living room, clean line with only one "counter" surface.

CONS: Extra tall stools might be difficult for kids to scale, less choice in bar stools, and I wonder if it would look out of proportion or odd because it's not a commonly used height?

Option 2: Finishing the bottom of the notch in the wall with a thin board that matches the one behind the sink and adding a wider board below to serve as a breakfast bar, then buying two regular 30" bar-height stools. 

(Stand-in corbels only for representation, not sure I love them at all)

PROS: More choice in stool style, easier climb for kids

CONS: Takes up more of the walkway into the living room especially if we make the lower counter surface deep enough to be functional, corbels might infringe on the horizontal space needed for the stools since it's already such a tight fit, and I think it might look like too much is going on -- not sure I like the overall aesthetic.

Both options have some drawbacks -- and while I'd most likely be limited to choosing one of the school outfitter's stools (barring an barstool miracle), I do think they'd look cute once painted and I am leaning toward that overall look more than the one with the two levels. I'm just worried about my kids having to take up mountain climbing in order to sit down for breakfast... what do you think? 

UPDATED TO ADD: Several people have suggested taking the new breakfast bar height down a little lower or to counter height -- unfortunately we're stuck with the height it is at currently (you can see in the photo below that it is cut down to right above the backsplash) or we would have to remove the whole section of backsplash, and then it would be flush with the counter. The problem with the lower height option is you then have a weird seam in your counter -- laminate to the left, new material to the right.  I'm not sure I would like that look at all -- any ideas? Also, replacing the countertops isn't an option now because we would then have to replace the backsplash as well since it sits on the counters, and I don't want to drop that kind of money (even for inexpensive options) into a kitchen I'd like to tear up in a few years.

UPDATED TO ADD AGAIN (ohmygoodness): I just got off the phone with my "incredibly attractive, single contractor friend" (his requested words) and he said that we could remove the top row of tiles on the pony wall without disturbing the rest of the backsplash. So if we dropped that wall down one row it would take the new breakfast bar height to about 42-43" which is a teensy bit tall for 30" stools but it may just work. So that might be the winning solution!