A few months ago when it was time to wean baby Nia (now one), and Saria made it very clear that she wasn’t going to let her use her precious Svan highchair, Norwegian designers Stokke’s Tripp Trapp was instantly top of our list for Nia’s new eating home, and they were kind enough to send us one to try out.
The iconic ergonomic (ensures they are sitting in the correct position) design is a household favourite, with, for instance, our friends nine year old daughter still sitting in hers every day at the dinner table and numerous friend owners raving about it, plus my other BG team members Lucy and Kat own one too.
When we buy a highchair, we like them 1) wooden, 2) with genuine longevity that grows with the child, 3) strong aesthetics that let it fit into our home instead of being an intrusive eyesore, and 4) strong design credentials. We’re not bells and whistles types so we want them to eat in it and do stuff like drawing ‘at’ rather than ‘on’ the dining table, rather than reclining and basically becoming a second home.
It’s fairly straightforward to assemble although from personal experience, I don’t recommend you do it with hangover… It took about twenty minutes and part of the time was taken up by having to loosen the screws as I’d been a bit hasty, so it probably takes about fifteen minutes. It’s assembled with one key which you use when you’re ready to adjust the footrest and seat. You do need to put these extra stabiliser clips on the feet of the chair as well which are removed when they are older, and I’ll admit that I found them a bit annoying because you have to remove the existing one to put them on, and in my view, as it’s likely that it’s a baby that’s going in it, they should be on there already.
The Tripp Trapp’s made from lovely beechwood and ours is in the lovely yellow which has mustardy hues and there are eleven colours to choose from. Stokke market the Tripp Trapp as a no built on table highchair that you instead, pull up to the dining table integrating your child into family eating. BG’s features writer Lucy opted to buy the Play Tray (£49), a Danish design made by a different company that gives you more flexibility without compromising the aesthetic appeal of the chair. We’re not too bothered about not having the table because Nia likes being up at the table with her sister plus when Saria’s not around, if necessary she can sit in the Svan. Shhhhh….
You can buy additional stuff like a harness and cushions although they do clock up in price and so far, we can’t claim to have a need for them. The wood has a protective coating so fear not when cleaning it, although if there is an exceptionally messy meal, there are a couple of nooks that are food attractors.
Footprint wise, it does take up a bit more space than the Svan as it’s wider plus the legs at the back. I’d heard people say that they stub their toe on the feet of Tripp Trapp’s – I discovered the pain about ten minutes after assembling it, although it hasn’t happened since. Nia loves it and oddly, has fallen asleep in it several times after an ‘exhausting’ meal.
Overall, we’re besotted with it and it’s the perfect companion to our Svan, with both being stylish, well used pieces in our home. The Tripp Trapp is an ‘investment piece’ though, with an RRP of £154 for the basic highchair, and stuff like cushions and harnesses being extra. But, if you want a chair that lasts from six months until their teens that you can sit in if you feel like, and buy your products on strong design appeal, it’s a no brainer.
Thankfully there are deals around so do your ‘tinternet research. As an example, Dinky Inc has an extensive range of Stokke gear and the basic Tripp Trapp is £119 with package offers for accessories.
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