My favorite sushi bar has their counter set up this way. There's a second wider counter hung at a comfortable dining height. Without spending too much money, you could install a 16" or 24" coordinated shelf, and simply remove it when you move out. (Just spackle and touch-up the holes.)

I vote ixnay on the pea-princess look.

Sell them for $75 each on Craigslist and get some stools that fit.

Add a shelf, or cash out... sorry.

I think you might be out of luck here... stacking 3 cushions on that seat would bring the surface right up to the back panel, which will look funny, and will be uncomfortable. It will take away from the clean lines of the stools. And even then you wouldn't be at a comfortable seating height for a 47" surface. Use them elsewhere, they are great stools.

as you noted, your bar is higher then the 42in-ish standard... jacking up the stools might make for an unsafe seat (and weird spot for the backrest to hit). to make things worse, seems your chairs might be counter-height. you might look for an adjustable bar-height stool to replace these.

You could build a platform that they could sit on?

casters would raise the height by a few inches, and one custom made cushion (3 inch foam) would also help. i know apt therapy has a link somewhere in the archives for casters, and check into a "locking" wheel if you want to control movement..

I vote for a simple platform as well. Just somthing simple out of cheap wood that you could paint to suit your decor.

I'm new - so what do I know, but...I'm jumping in because I feel creative this morning.
I think a combo idea could work - get a nice fluffy cushion for an inch or two lift at the top. For the bottom, build a box for each chair however many more inches high you need, (or buy something from Ikea to modify), and put casters to make the added weight easy to move around. Make it very stable, and stick out enough in the front that you can use it to give you the lift up to the seat. Paint a funky color to coordinate with cushions, then attach the stools to the box with either L brackets on the chair legs, or by adding a "frame" on top of the box. I think it could look great, be completely stable, and serve the purpose, with a little creativity.
OR...if you don't need to move the chairs around, you could build a heavy rectangle box on the floor, like a step up at a bar, and just sit the chairs up on that. People would first step up on the step, then up onto the stools.

Okay, I recognize this is a kinda ridiculous suggestion, but from a person who regularly shops for kid products, you *could* use something like this: http://www.kaboost.com/

Better than the phone books or pillows to sit on, anyway...

In the time it took me to register, someone already posted the suggestion I had...

http://www.kaboost.com/

I think it could work...

Honestly, not much you can do then to sell them and buy higher stools. Pillows won't add much height to be honest.

Ditch the stools and get new ones. Its the simplest thing and all other ideas are dangerous.

i'm in the camp of installing a second bar or building a platform to make-up for the height.

cushions will not add enough height and will create some instability. plus, the foot rest will be useless and difficult to climb up on. other suggestions of castors will have you putting holes into the stools (certainly something i wouldn't want to do).

I'm with the commenter that said build a lower shelf. Those chairs are too beautiful to give up (and what a deal you got, too)! From the photo it looks like there are some already existing brackets coming out from underneath the bartop, which means with some creative thinking (maybe an Ikea Grundtal hack?) you could have a platform extend out at a more appropriate height with little to no cosmetic alteration of the surface.

Take it as a lesson learned. Don't blow your money on things that won't work on your space, no matter how good of a deal. You'll end up spending more money to make it work.

I'd sell them for a little less than retail on CL and get some that fit.

The kids' stool accessories is just a great idea. Make it your own by painting them to match your accessories. (There's a paint for every plastic) Or, add a cushion and then paint them a solid color or design to match the cushion or paint them "blond" to match the stools. (A verbal version of "That's my story and I'm sticking to it.")

I love the stools and think you'll be glad in the long run that you bought them. My vote is with the others on building a cheap step-up platform. Research DIY platform beds on AT and you'll find a bunch of easy and safe ideas that can be used for your chairs. Then again, a lower shelf would probably be easier.

... imaging scooting back and falling off the platform with appletini (or steak knife) in hand...

Why don't you point out to the landlord that the counter is oddly high. As demonstrated by your stools. Offer to fix the problem by placing the brackets in desired lower position, spackle and paint holes. Win/win?

Fallback is definitely the brilliant platform idea.

Ya, I'm with the sell-them-and-go-taller crowd. I think princess and the pea is going to look too messy and I don't think three cushions will even give you the amount of height you need. :( They're great stools... but way too short.

Are you sure you need stools at the bar? 47" is a good height to use for standing and eating. Perhaps you could use the stools elsewhere in your apt and treat the bar as a stand-and-eat bar.
But, if you're not the stand-and-eat type, Kaboosts are really cool and could be a fun, modern and temporary upgrade to the stools.

Sell the stools or use them elsewhere. It would look ridiculous if you altered them in anyway. Do you use the counter to eat at? If so get proper height stools or use the underside of the counter or a long low white bookcase.
I have a counter in my kitchen that I rarely used to sit at, so I utilized the underside for storage with simple low bookcase that almost looks built-in. Great use of space for my cookbooks and bright colored mixing bowls and wine storage.

I suggest you return the stools to DWR and get taller ones. You cannot successfully modify those stools to accommodate that countertop. Adding cushions will not work and is liable make the stools top-heavy and subject to toppling. Placing the stools on a platform will make getting on and off them difficult. And sitting on them on a raised platform dangerous.

If you have the space to install a second, lower countertop, you might find success.

definitely get the correct height stools. don't worry about "investing in extra-tall barstools I'll probably never use again" cause you can always have the legs shortened if needed.

If you love the stools, then add a second, lower height counter.

A simple solution would be to buy a reasonably priced bar table that works with the stools. Maybe a square top, sits two comfortably. Push the table close to the wall, but not so close that the existing counter interferes.

During a meal, use the counter for serving dishes, carafes, etc. Might be a cozy little dining area for two. And you wouldn't have to deal with building either a platform or a second counter.

The chairs are keepers.

Build a platform and you are looking for trouble when someone has one to many to drink----
I like the table idea with these two stools---if you have the room for it.

Finally, someone as crazy as me! I found the best deal @ a garage sale only mine were 4 for $15.00! Couldn't pass up the deal although they too, are too short for the island that I had the contractor make higher when I got a new countertop installed. So far I've investested in adorable cushions which have helped and will try the castor idea. Don't have the room for the platform, but I think that suggestion is the only way to go if you have the space, as you have a loooong way to go to make them usable!

i'd just build a platform underneath your stools, and paint it to match the rest of the room. that way, there is a color accent, and its functional.

I felt compelled to comment on this post, particularly to the one's who posted "get rid of them and get correct height bar stools." I'm confident the one's who made that suggestion have never, themselves, had to purchase a bar stool 33" - 36"..they are almost impossible to find!! Yes, ofcourse you may purchase them on the internet if you'd like to give them your first born. They are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. All the common stores that sale bar stools only carry the standard up to 30"...I'm in the same position as this person. Saying to ditch them and get correct height is easier said than done...my thoughts are that where there's a will there's a way, you can make them work...

Im in the same position and refuse to buy the extra tall barstools. You cant get nice, stylish ones for under 250.00 and probably closer to 3-400 (each)!
I've considered the platform but am leaning towards buying a cool pub height table (Ikea Utby) and pushing it up against bar (easiest).

I've also considered buying a stainless steel countertop that would attach to the wall and fold down when not in use.

Really, having drinks at the tall counter would be fine with the shorter stools, but eating would be frustrating. That's when you could pop up the folding counter from the wall. My $.02