I have to admit that I am very partial to Stokke stuff. I think they are very well made and well designed, with enough oomph to wow other people who are blessed enough to get to see them.
Case in point: the Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair.
Happy baby in his seat.
The angular lines, the simple yet elaborate construction, and the joyful manner in which your baby can interact with her surroundings, unencumbered by the chair itself – magnifique. The design is so insistent that your baby joins your dinner table that the existence of its baby tray is a secret.
The exquisite beauty yet practical usefulness of the Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair is such that it is used in Singapore by kid friendly restuarants such as Marche. It is also used in the MUJI Cafe, which probably encouraged to get this chair in the end, and then people ask, “Did you get this chair from MUJI too?”
It doesn’t scream its existence, but you know it’s there.
If we use that barometer, there is another very ubiquituous baby high chair in Singapore that is ever-present in restaurants but you may not have noticed.
This is the subject of today’s post: the IKEA Antilop baby chair.
They’re so confident, the product photo doesn’t need a baby.
Price wise, there’s no comparison. With a tray, this high chair costs $30. I can’t remember exactly how much I paid for my Tripp Trapp, but motherswork lists the chair itself (without the baby thingamajig, harness, the tray or the cushion) for $399. (Sylvia: The Stokke tray costs 3 times the Ikea high chair 😥 )
Notwithstanding Ikea’s reputation for products which are hard to set up, the Antilop is the easiest damn thing I have ever put together from Ikea. No spoilers — there are only six parts to this thing including the tray. It’s so dumb, even a small kid can set it up herself.
Whereas Stokke is also from some Scandanavian country, there are nuts and bolts to this thing which make you go “Wah lau”, and though I have experienced more terrible setups from Ikea, this is no mean feat for a father.
Now that Meredith is on BLW, the washing of the Tripp Trapp chair is now more work since it has crevices and more surface area (read Sylvia’s BLW post and notice how quickly she raises the cleaning point).
I think the Ikea chair is far superior in this regard — it is designed to be stupid. You can literally hose this thing down and be done. Its one-piece plastic construction is hardly dishwasher friendly, but it avoids the trouble that complications bring.
So how? Did I spend hundreds of dollars on an over-priced high chair that I have to build, which also clearly has scam-like upgrade options?
WELL.
I think the Ikea chair is a pretty good chair, and for more than most people, it fits its uses more than perfectly. With a price like that, you will never regret buying it. This clearly is the perfect baby high chair.
EXCEPT.
She’s watched 1 season of Amazing Race from this chair.
Errm.. Meredith is a very destructive baby, and it’s possible for an older, heavier child to fall if she tries hard enough. I haven’t actually seen this happen. But everytime Meredith swings her legs in excitement, I can’t help but worry a little.
The Stokke looks good and fits well with the furniture?
Meredith’s also very happy sitting in it? It was her first chair. That counts for something right?
Errm when she’s older, the chair can transform into a child seat?
Ergonominically, the lack of a step for Meredith to rests her feet on means the Stokke is better?
I love Meredith’s Stokke Tripp Trapp.
Public Laundry 