It has been a while since a highchair turned my head and this one not only turned my head but left my mouth hanging open.

The Cosatto Hiccup Highchair is sleekly designed with both looks and practicality in mind. The seat is a seamless curve supporting your baby and making cleaning easy. It has a removable washable tray and a five point harness. It comes in two colourways, either Lime Zing or Orange Soda. What I really love about this is that it isn’t over fussy or clunky – cool and curvy design.

So why was my mouth hanging open? The price – RRP £60 with many retailers discounting this. I was expecting it to be at least £100. I think this is a great price point on a nicely designed highchair.

Stockists.

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As soon as the Stokke Tripp Trapp Newborn Set was released I was sold. My favourite highchair: suitable from birth bringing the baby into the heart of family meal times. When Betsy was born, knowing we were fans, Stokke very kindly sent her her own newborn set.

As Betsy is now five months old and nearly ready to move on to the baby set I thought I’d share our experiences with you. We’ve used it from the day she came home and it has been an invaluable piece of equipment.

Milla and Monty loved the fact that the new baby had a chair matching theirs ready and waiting at the kitchen table. It was a small touch which made a big difference to their sense of unity and we were having family meals from our first day home.

Betsy has joined us in the kitchen for baking-fests, chatted to her siblings as they modelled play dough and currently mimics me as I eat my lunch. By bringing her up to our level she’s been included in our activities and we’ve been able to respond to her interest. I did have my old bouncy chair out and ready, convinced I would use it as well but it hasn’t had a look in. When the newborn set isn’t on the Tripp Trapp I have moved it into the play room or bathroom where Betsy has happily rocked away.

Reasons why it is great for any baby:

• Brings the baby up to table height giving them a better view of all household action.
• The seat unclips and has a rocking base for use on the floor.
• Snuggly cocoon-like seat.
• Excellent position for pooing (I know, a bit gross but isn’t every parent of a small baby mildly obsessed by the baby’s poo? Just me?).

Reasons why it is great for a baby with older siblings:

• Keeps the baby a little out of reach – fewer baby ‘walks’.
• Allows you to watch and chat to your siblings at the table.

Things that were a slight disadvantage:

• Going on holiday with the Tripp Trapp would have been impossible and we (& Betsy) really missed it while we were away.
• Tripp Trapp toe – you won’t make this mistake more than a couple of times but the back legs are prime toe stubbing spots.
• It may have an excellent pooing position but it also provides the right angle to achieve a ‘backer’ – thank goodness for the washable cover!

In all honesty I’d struggle to talk the Tripp Trapp Newborn Set down at all; it is such a brilliantly designed piece of furniture. It has been one of our most used pieces of baby equipment and certainly great value for money. If you were buying this for your first child and expecting to use it for a second or even third then you would get your money’s worth over and over not to mention the great resale Stokke has on eBay.

The Tripp Trapp with Newborn Set goes down as one of my all time favourite pieces of children’s design and one I shall recommend for my grandchildren; afterall, it has stood the test of time so far.

RRP £99 plus Tripp Trapp. Check here for stockists.

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I love nostalgic toys and I’m particularly loving these deliciously retro inspired delights by American toy company Schylling. Made from tin, for those of you who have fond memories of listening to Hickory Dickory Dock on the Fisher Price wind up radio (we snapped up an original on eBay last year), you’ll love the playful, whimsy appeal of the ABC wind up radio featuring vintage styled images of animals, letters and little people walking in the rain, with the deep orange winder in the centre, £13.50.

The gorgeous chime ball, £15.50, is another nostalgic joy and brilliant as a first proper toy as it’s suitable from 6 months. The animals, including a zebra, cockoral and a duck bob along when the ball moves and it also makes a chiming sound. Both are available from the ever fabulous Little Baby Company where they have a hell of lot of vintage styled play things to get very excitable about!

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If you have ever tried to eat a meal while a small baby makes their protest at being down on the floor in their bouncy chair than you will know it isn’t long before you’re either holding them and attempting to eat or have abandoned eating all together. This was an all too familiar scene in our house and it really did make lunchtimes into torture for me. Now my favourite highchair the Stokke Tripp Trapp has a solution in its latest product – the newborn set.

The newborn set is a baby seat which attaches to the top of your Tripp Trapp raising the baby up to table level. It comes in a choice of four washable covers (pictured below) and has a small mobile to keep your baby entertained whilst you eat. This is a marvellous innovation from the team at Stokke and I can see it solving the mealtime dilemmas of many families.

Available from November RRP £99. Check here for stockists.

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Highchairs no longer represent the very worst of design for children. They are now ergonomic, sleek and designed to be easy for you and comfortable for your baby. The Phil and Teds High Pod is a stunning example of both form and function.

This elegant, modern highchair immediately catches your eye with its gorgeous curves and minimal shape. It comes in white with either black or red seat inserts (although I can’t find anyone with stock of the red at present). The High Pod has a whole host of clever features such as: the easily detachable tray which has a dishwasher proof cover, the easy adjust harness, the flush seat which has no cracks to clean and of course the list goes on. It has a reclining function which is operated with one easy click and while I can’t see myself using a highchair for a child to nap in I love the idea that a young infant can join you at the table rather than sit beneath it in a bouncy chair. It is suitable from six months to around three years and can be used either as a traditional stand alone highchair or without the tray at the table.

This is a highchair which doesn’t compromise on style and achieves a high level of performance. The perfect accessory for the modern baby.

You can buy High Pods from:

Kiddicare, who currently have the best price at £167.97 but are awaiting stock.

Kiddisave at £169.90 or Peppermint at £199 although we have not bought from these shops ourselves so please check them out before making a large purchase.

You can make the food tray larger with the clip on Snack Attack food tray from Teeny Tots for £19.99.

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If you’re looking at these highchairs and having a ‘Do I know you from somewhere?’ moment think Pizza Express, Jamie Oliver’s Recipease, a host of restaurants around the country, and er…KFC.

Like many parents, we’ve used them frequently and if you’ve liked them so much you’ve wondered how you can own one, you’ll be pleased to know that the No Tray Highchair is now available to buy. While the bursting blue is delightful, we all nearly had coronaries when we saw how fantastic it looks in black and white, which before you get yourself in a tizz, are not available until autumn.

Made from solid birch wood and suitable from six months to 2.5 years, they’re currently available in blue, birch, and darkwood for £75 each and they’re supplied with a seat belt for securing your little one, although to be fair, if you’ve eaten out recently enough, you probably know this! Hot!

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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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The lovely lady behind The Children’s Jewellery Company tipped me off about this bargain piece of child friendly furniture. This Vertbaudet chair is definitely a handy piece of furniture to have around. It is a regular dining chair which can be adjusted to fit the child allowing them to sit at the table easily. It has been reduced to £15.60 which is a serious bargain which won’t hang around forever. It comes in lacquered green (pictured) or natural wood. I am reliably informed that the construction is far from easy so be sure to set aside plenty of flat pack time when it arrives.

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Concept: bloom (they like their name spelt in lower case) is four dads on a quest to deliver functional designer furniture for children using sleek materials and strong ethics. Aimed at urbanite parents short on space, the nano highchair’s job is to ‘sit, fold, store’ with a contemporary design. Suitable from 6 months to 3 years, it’s quite light, has a 5-point harness, and can be pulled up to the table, or you can use the big feeding tray. There’s also a 2 position adjustable footrest.

Tester: Arrived just in time for baby Nia to start weaning just before she was six months old and she used it for six weeks. The bambino also gave it a few go’s until she realised that she didn’t like Nia using the Svan…

Appearance: If you’ve ever felt nervous of more traditionally styled highchairs that have lairy patterned plastic seating with imposing designs, you’ll love the Nano. It features a micro-leather seat (ours was the Henna pictured) and is available in five other colours – ebony, red, white, green, blue, and orange (my favourite). As I’m vain about my products, I’m not big on the white feet though.

Set Up: It’s almost ready to be used so no major assembly used and it’s quite intuitive so whilst the instruction guide was good, you could set it up without it.

In Use: Unlike some of its counterparts, the Nano’s seat is fixed so no adjusting. The first couple of weeks, especially with Nia only just getting used to sitting up, it was a bit annoying, as the seat back isn’t straight up so it has a slightly loungy feel and she would get a bit slouchy. However, after that as the little diva got very confident, she sat up straighter and engaged with the table. Whilst we are hardcore lovers of our Svan highchair for its minimalist design, I have to say that it’s only when you have a highchair with a large table on it that you realise how handy it is. The big lip for food spills and finger food certainly came in handy and the table can be removed and put in the dishwasher.

It was a dream to clean. The ‘ole Black and Decker dustbuster zipped out the crumbs and it was genuinely one of those easy wipe clean chairs. Many highchairs are buggers for attracting and keeping dirt in every crevice – not this one!

Even though I thought I’d fold it down more, we actually liked it enough to leave it up for the great majority of the time whilst we had it. This says a lot! It does have large foot print although this is mostly caused by the splayed legs, but it folds down flat, although I did find that folding down in a rush was a bit stressful as I kept trying to use the folding mechanism in the wrong direction.

We liked this for its simplicity as we’re not keen on highchairs that want your kid to practically take up residence in it, but this means that the non-adjusting seat and lack of stuff like storage bags cuts will be unappealing to others.

Any negatives: From a vanity point of view, I’m not sure about the grey legs. In fact, a black table on these would be brilliant but that would probably push up the price. Initially, I found the clips on the harness to be really stiff which could result in a wrestling session and folding had its fiddly moments although the boyf claims its easy. Minimalist lovers will still find this a bit on the big side.

Price: £100 – If you love bloom but baulk at spending around £270 for their fresco highchair, this is a great entry point into their quality and aesthetics.

Overall: A sleek, well designed, functional highchair that ticks the contemporary boxes, it looks good enough for you to actually want to use it for the two and a half year life span. High style at a reasonable price – we just wish they’d used black finishing!

Check out the rest of bloom’s products. The nano is available from Lula Sapphire – BG readers get 10% off at the moment. Also try John Lewis or check the bloom site for stockists.

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