Ikea Antilop Highchair Review

With little Pita Pocket eating more and more real food, we knew that we would need to bite the bullet and eventually purchase a high chair. For the past couple of months we put her in her swing or her Bumbo to give her rice cereal and various kinds of pureed nature's bounty. With her turning 6 months old this past week and nearly able to sit up by herself, I started to scour the Internet for affordable yet attractive highchairs. And just like several months ago while shopping for nursery furniture, I realized there is not a short supply of ugly highchairs. There are the wood ones with puffy pillows, pepto bismal pink chairs, and others that make an electric chair look more comfortable and fun.

I have often turned to Ikea for cheap furniture and after reading several mommyblogs, decided to check out the Antilop Highchair. After walking the maze that is Ikea, we finally came across this little gem and we snatched it right up. While online it indicated that it comes in white, blue, and red, our store only had the white chair which was just fine with me. And for $20?!?! Might as well pick up one for every room of the house! kidding.

Of course the price was right, but it was the no-frill style that I loved even more. sleek and functional. No bells and whistles. Not a hint of a plaid bow in sight. It would fit in nicely with the rest of our furniture.

Sure it's affordable but is it SAFE? Lots and lots of mommybloggers agree. I'm no expert but it seems sturdy to me. It even holds up well to a large dog that seems to be getting clumsier (or blind?) as the days go by. So far so good.


So the Antilop Highchair was designed so that you could scoot it up to your table and not need a tray. But if you WANT the tray it's a measly $5. I bought the tray and I like it! No hidden grooves where food gunk can get caught and it wipes away really clean. It's easy to put the tray on but I have a tough time removing it. I don't think it is a flaw in the design, I just need a little more practice. Unfortuneatly, I didn't get a photo of the chair with the tray.

I also read that since the Antilop doesn't have any padding, younger kids might not find it as comfortable. Yeah, I can see that. I think this is a chair you would want to buy once your little critter is sitting up by themselves. or close to anyways. We did buy the $2 support pillow to help Pita feel more comfortable and so far she loves sitting at the table with us and goes bananas when we put her in the highchair.

All in all, a good solution to the modern and affordable highchair dilemma. Now if only I could find a way to make my cat, Clyde, stop eating her left over baby food. He loves peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and prunes. bizarre.


Nanoseconds after I took this picture, the water in her cup came splashing out. Would have been such a great action shot if I just waited a tenth of a second!