The Highchair
Surprisingly, the highchair was my first big purchase after finding out I was pregnant. Months before I was even pregnant, I saw this amazing mod highchair- the Mozzee Nest Chair (http://www.mozzee.co.uk/ or http://www.modernnursery.com/itemsDetail.cfm/item_num/MZ-NST). I could just imagine my future child sitting in the white pod atop its tulip base. Knowing that someday I wanted to have a baby and that there was no highchair more appropriate for this house, I began my hunt on ebay. So why the ebay? Because at $570, there was no way on Earth Tim would let me order it, especially when I wasn't even pregnant yet. He had no idea how much highchairs cost, but he knew me well enough to know that if I liked it, it was bound to be way more than any other chair. About a month after finding out I was pregnant and several ebay bids lost, I found one on Atlanta's craigslist. I called up Tim's bro Rob and asked if he would be willing to pick it up. I am forever grateful to Rob for being willing to not only pick it up, but also to keep it at his apartment until we made it up to Atlanta again- that's kind of a lot to ask from a single guy, but he said yes. I am forever grateful. It is so perfect- I can;t wait to use it.
I also looked at the Stokke Tripp Trapp Chair (http://www.stokkeusa.com/). Its also pretty mod, but it just didn't have the rounded features that relate to our curved kitchen the way the Mozzee does. My friend Amanda got the Stokke and is really happy with it- her house is more traditional than ours- but the wood frame of the Stokke is appropriate in both traditional and more modern settings. It also comes in a wide range of colors and promotes eating at the table as it does not include it own tray. From an aesthetic standpoint, both chairs are far superior to their plastic, babies-r-us counterparts. Yet, Consumer Reports does not share the love of these two high chairs. They were ranked the lowest of all high chairs tested. Clearly, aesthetics and design significance was not a factor in their tests. They said, "High-end chairs tend to be stylish, but don't make looks your deciding factor". Which brings me to the dilemma of the modern stylish mom. I'm ready to have a baby, but I will never be ready to relinquish my style. The thought of all that obnoxious, poorly designed baby/kid stuff invading my life has kept me up at night. I wont do it- I won't buy the vinyl clad, electric-chair looking high chair just because some testing geek at Consumer Reports says I should. I refuse. Its kind of like my high heels. I'm not going to trade in my high heels and skirts for sweats and sneakers just because I had a baby. So I'm not going to throw out everything I know and love about design just because I have a baby. After all, I want my child to grow up knowing about great design and art. It will be a challenge, but I'm up for it.
I really see a need for more low-cost, high-style chairs. I'm not impressed with Ikea's attempt and I hope that someday designers will be able to offer moms2b a more affordable high chair that is also aesthetically pleasing. It can be done- let me know if you see one.
