You know, maybe they did come from BB&B. I just remember DH found them and then showed them to me. BB&B is probably where we got ours. The colors are fairly bright -- it makes me think of Fiestaware. Get them and see if you like them.

Sure, we did this in a house (that we have since sold). I designed it and I loved it. We didn't have room to have the big kitchen we wanted PLUS a standalone table, but did have room to make the island bigger with seating. We also had a separate dining table. We really enjoyed this set up (and didn't use the dining table unless we had extra people visiting). We had no problem with the counter height, though my elderly father did not like it. Also, it was admittedly a huge pain for the period my son was in a high chair because there are no chairs that tall. We still had plenty of room for island storage and didn't need any more kitchen cabinets. In fact, if we wanted to fit a table in the room, we would needed to cut out some cabinets. This allowed us to maximize cabinets. We're currently designing another kitchen for our other condo, and also struggling to fit all of the cabinets I want plus a table. The island seating is the perfect solution. I also really liked sitting at that island while my husband cooked and vice versa. Much more casual and intimate than sitting at a kitchen table. Here's a picture from the mls listing (ignore the wide angle lens :)

My SIL has an island height table with 4 stools that doubles as prep space as well with a big wood cutting board on it. Maybe something like that would work? I am not sure how much space you have but being able to completely slide the stools would be helpful for aisles.

Thanks. The Stickley does have an old school library feel, so it really does work nicely in there (I'm on the west coast so Arts & Crafts is as old as public institutions get!). I currently have an old round metal patio set indoors while the backyard is under renovation and I'll have to say, not any table will look right! The umbrella hole is weird. :)