What’s the Best Modern High Chair?

Looking for a high chair for baby that is totally functional and still looks great in your grown up kitchen or dining room? Some of the latest modern high chairs fit the bill. So, in keeping with my quest for good design that is reasonably priced (maybe not so reasonable on some of these), here is a review of the best modern high chairs I’ve found.

Do you want a baby high chair with a tray or without one? This comes down to personal taste and whether or not you want to introduce your baby to family meal time at the dining table right away or not.

A tray makes it easy to feed baby right in the kitchen, possibly even standing right next to the refrigerator. I’m all for making my life easier, so being able to wheel the baby’s high chair right up to where she is most efficiently positioned (read: minimize your effort) is a plus.

A high chair without a tray allows you to push that high chair right up to the side of the table. (BTW, we chose the table option and while I am extremely pleased with that decision there have been many times when I have walked back and forth to the fridge or the stove thinking, I am exhausted and all this getting up and ferrying to and fro has got to end!

On the plus side, with a high chair that you can move away from the table, it is easier to discipline the baby against food throwing by simply sliding them away from the table when the food starts flying instead of having to unlock and remove a tray full of food.

Here’s a selection of the best modern high chairs on the market:

1. Svan High Chair ($259). The Svan…very mid-century modern. These guys can do great things with plywood. A cool feature is the plastic tray cover that definitely makes clean up easier. It’s adjustable in many ways, like most of these models. This chair can be used either with the tray or without, making your decision about how (or whether) to incorporate the table easier. Also, you can add a fabric cushion that can easily be changed to grow with your design choices in the future.

2. Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair ($250). Less molded plywood and more deconstructionist, the Tripp Trapp is ultimately adjustable, always allowing your child to have their feet hit a footrest, no matter how short or long his legs are. It can either be a presence or blend in to your decor, depending on your color and cushion choice. This chair can be used up until your child is in high school, it is so adjustable and sturdy, but what kid will want to be in a baby high chair after age 3?

3. Bloom Fresco or Flair High Chair ($399 or $229, respectively). Very space age, pod looking. These chairs seem very comfortable, like eating in a Lazy Boy recliner. Do you have a kid that likes to snooze after they eat? This chair has a multiple positioning reclining seat complete with a sleeping pod for the 0-3 month old. The clean up looks quite easy on this one, too. Another thing to mention - all materials are PVC free, lead free, phthalate free, heavy metal free and AZO dye free.

4. Tavo High Chair by Monte ($345). Gorgeous. Leather. It is almost like a comfy bar stool, but with a t-bar for babies. I can imagine this chair in even the most contemporary of homes, blending nicely with the dining room or kitchen decor. Oh, and the leather seat is made from recycled leather. This baby high chair has the smallest footprint.

5. DucDuc ($800). Anything DucDuc makes is truly beautiful and fits even the most discerning of modern tastes. Their strange high chair with bench contraption is something that I do not quite get unless you have the whole DucDuc dining room set. And at $800, it seems a bit pricey for the use-time you will get out of it. Of course, you can always keep the bench.

For what it’s worth, I ended up buying the Tripp Trapp high chair and have been quite pleased with it. My brother has the Svan and he and his family loves it.