Materials: BEKVAM Step stool, SNILLE (seat only), NEDDA chair pad, countersink drillbit, glue, 4x crosshead screws
Description: On a trip to the UK, my little boy had the use of a chair not too dissimilar to Stokke Tripp Trapp
which costs well over $300 here in Australia. He loved being able to use the step to climb in and out of a 'Big Boy' dining chair and sit at the table with Mummy and Daddy so here's what I came up with...
Step1:
Assemble the BEKVAM Step stool ($14.99) as normal
Step2:
Glue (normal PVA wood glue in this instance) the NEDDA chair pad ($0.99) to the top of the stool, trimming the excess off with a pair of scissors.
Step3:
Mark 4 holes in a square formation on the flattest part of the SNILLE ($7) seat and drill a pilot hole through each - get a countersink bit and make recesses on the holes.
Step4:
Line up the seat on the top of the NEDDA covered step and drive 4 countersunk screws through the seat and straight into the wood - make sure these screws are long enough to hold the seat but short enough to not poke through the other side.
Hey presto, a Stokke Tripp Trapp inspired, Kiddy-Climb-In dining chair for less than $25 AUD and about half an hour to put it together.
~ Duncan, Australia
The chair you are trying to copy looks like it is balanced so it will not tip over if the child leans backwards. Is there a way to stabilize your hack so it will do the same? As it, it looks like it might topple backwards if the child leans back.
ReplyDeleteYes. The chair should be Z shaped. Then only the child can sit comfortably without falling.
DeleteAgree with the previous commenter... this needs some lengths of 1x material that extend behind the chair far enough to change the center of gravity to be behind the seat.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why is the chair pad needed?
Reminds me of Ikea's junior chairs. I applaud your creativity, but I agree that it lacks the stability of Stokke's design. They are amazing and ours have never tipped, even when our littlest gives a big push back from the table. On the other hand, few of these chairs are designed as well as Stokke's and even Ikea's junior chairs look like they could tip too easily.
ReplyDeleteWe've had a Stokke chair since our kid was a few months old, but we've switched back and forth between the Stokke chair and the Antilop and Urban chairs from Ikea. They're all perfectly stable.
DeleteI found the Stokke very impractical without a tray when our son was a baby. Plus it was heavy. You can get a tray for the chair (don't remember the name - Stokke doesn't make trays) but it was around €60, and I was not going to pay that much for a tray when chair-plus-tray was €15 at Ikea. I didn't particularly like the look of the Antilop but it was very practical.
We switched back to the Stokke chair when our kid outgrew the baby chair and used it until the Urban came out. I prefer the simple look of the Urban, and the Stokke was annoying to clean with its nooks and crannies.
This was a very helpful comment since I am looking to get the Urban chairs from Ikea. Thanks!
DeleteWe own two of Ikea's junior chairs, and they don't tip over.
ReplyDeleteOur oldest once sat on a Stokke, fell forward with his chin on the table and needed stitches. All children are different ... ;-)
Good to know that the Ikea chairs are stable. Thank you.
DeleteFor what it's worth, the Stokke chair you mention tipping may not have been adjusted properly. There are guidelines about the positions of the movable pieces to maintain the proper center of gravity. Or maybe he just managed to tip it. Nothing's perfect. ;) All I know is that our kids climb up and down them all the time and have never tipped.
P.S. Realizing I sounded terribly unsympathetic. I hope your child was okay in the end and of course I am very sorry he got hurt.
Deleteeh. You can get an affordable chair from Big W that has a very similar design to the stokke.... and it has met safety standards. Safety issues aside, the point of a junior chair is added height so that the child can sit at the table properly. I don't see how this could be high enough.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the choice parents on this site make to put their budget before their child's safety.
Everyone makes different choices. For example, shopping at places like Walmart who purposely push their vendors to do their manufacturing offshore, are ruining manufacturing here. So, shopping there means you make a choice to limit your child's future. Unfortunately it looks like IKEA is going the same way, so you have to check where your item is manufactured before purchasing anything there.
Deletebecause that's relevant to your child's immediate safety! Also Big W = Australia.
DeleteThe choice to support local business is a valid one. The choice to risk any person's safety for the sake of a few dollars is not.
I like your hack and think it looks way more comfortable than the Stokke chair. Then again, I'm not a parent and don't play one on TV. :) If there is a stability problem as so many commenters have suggested, could you bolster it with a fold-out leg, something like the back of an artist's easel, has?
ReplyDeleteTina in San Diego
Sorry, but the Stokke went through rigorous safety testing and was approved. Don't hack your kid's safety.
ReplyDeletePlease don't waste your breathe on such stupid comments. Not all of us have your money to throw around obviously.
DeleteMy son sits on the Bekvam stool every night when brushing his teeth, and regularly dances on the top stool. It's very sturdy, particularly since it's not that high off the ground. So if your child can reach the table top then looks fine to me. And if he's old enough to climb on and off (things - everything! Sofas, tables, cupboards etc.) then he will realise quickly enough to not be too crazy and fall off. Kids don't like hurting themselves, you know.
ReplyDelete