Turning a table into a chair

Ever since I saw Manhattan Nest's "Tabletop swap" my mind has been a-whirlin' (Sorry for the lack of a clever post title, "chairtop swap" did not seem to work for me). Look at this beauty! Total cost, $45...

You see, I have had these "Saarinen" reproduction chairs and table for over a year now in my kitchen. While I love the table, I have tried numerous times to sell the chairs to an owner that could give them the fix up they need (my husband bought me some Herman Miller chairs for Christmas last year to replace them). They are quite awful to sit on because the base (from a previous fix) has been attached with a piece of plywood, and my kids are always knocking them over and trying to stand on them so I'm afraid they will get hurt...

 

I know I could breathe new life into those bases but how? side tables? children's tables? And what sort of top? I don't know if I have the luck or the patience to stumble across an abandoned "small" tabletop like Daniel did (have you seen the deals he has "happened upon"? who gets a Bertoia chair for $60????). However I could make one inexpensively because of the size. Marble? plexiglass? reclaimed wood? the options are limitless. What do you guys think? Are they worth the effort?