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I don't think that chair would be safe for a young child. When your baby first starts sitting and eating solid foods,s/he will only be around 5 months old and still small. There is an easy alternative to buying a high chair. We live in a small space and did not want to crowd our dining area so we just bought a booster seat with a tray. The tray helped when our son was little, and now that he is 3 he still uses the booster seat, but is pulled up to the table. The booster has straps that kept him in as a small child. It also had a back panel that was removable. And we didn't have to add a bulky piece of furniture to our beloved modern dining room set. (Note, it's best to install these things over a towel, because they can scratch furniture, as we discovered the hard way.) We also put a flat clear plastic mat (from an office supply store) under his chair to protect the persian rug and make wiping up a snap. Toddler love to throw and drip food on the ground.

This is similar to what we have: http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=booster-seats

I second the booster seat idea. Wooden high chairs look nice to begin with (I can't get the link to work, but I assume the antique chair you're talking about is made of wood), but after washing it for the billionth time it will show wear and you don't want to have to worry about chipping paint or wood. I know the plastic isn't nice looking, but you can put it away when company comes over (we have the fischer price healthy care booster and it folds down pretty small, you can shove it in a closet or cabinet. Another thing you might not have considered, if your antique furniture is tall and heavy (like a hutch) you'll need to secure it to the walls (using wall anchor straps) once your child can pull himself up onto stuff. You will be AMAZED at what kids try to climb (and they usually start climbing before they walk). I know putting holes in antique furniture isn't fun, but you don't want to chance heavy stuff falling on your kiddo.

I second the booster hooked on a chair you already own.

You want baby to be able to sit up well on their own before they start solids, but you need a strap to keep them in at least. My mom has an antique wooden high chair that my son uses at her house. But to be honest, the thing is a pain... a pain to clean, it's probably not the safest either. Keep in mind that whatever you get is going to be coated in FOOD and will need to be wiped down several times a day. We have a Eddie Bauer wooden high chair at home and though it's cute, I regret it everytime I have to wipe food out of the slats.

As for the rest, baby's really don't need as much stuff as the the RUs stores would like you to think.

I'd have to disagree with commenters so far. I have an antique wooden high chair but have fashioned a harness to it for safety reasons. I can easily throw the harness in the wash and the wood wipes up beautifully (just like a wooden table with a toddler eating at it).

Mind you, I DO NOT use my high chair as a babysitter. My son only sits in it when he is eating and comes out as soon as he's done (unless we're eating and he's happily playing in his chair, right beside us. I DO NOT leave him in it, even just to get something out of the microwave.

I should also mention he is only 8 months old. I'm not sure how safe it would be for a rambunctious two year old who is jumping to get out. Then again, I don't know how safe it is for a rambunctious two year old who is perched on a dining room chair in a booster seat.

Just my $.02's worth :) I like your chair, though.

Vanessa, I don't think we disagree. I wooden high chair with a harness sounds like a good compromise; the one if the photo does not have harness, however.

The booster seats don't perch. They attach with safety straps both under the seat, and with a second set behind the chair. If you adjust it properly, it's attached very tightly. Once our son got old enough, he learned to climb in and out using a step stool, but he was about 2.5 before he could do that.

I think it comes down to your individual aesthetics and the practicalities of your space. We have low-profile chairs and a high chair would look large and be in the way in our small dining area, so it just wasn't an option.

I agree you should never let your kid sit in ANY chair unattended -- especially if they are eating.

And I agree, the chair in the picture is very nice.

I have the lovely Heywood-Wakefield high chair that my dad sat in as a baby. I made a new oilcloth pad/harness for it and was quite pleased with myself...but honestly, we've ended up using the Fisher Price booster chair linked above, for all of the reasons mentioned. It's just easier to clean, and the booster vintage school chair just feels more solid to me than the H-W high chair, which has a relatively narrow base for its height.

I still have dad's chair in the kitchen, but it's mostly a decorative piece at this point. The cats like it, since its the perfect height for aggressive begging.

We love our Rochelle wooden high chair:
http://www.highchairs.com/Rochelle-Charlotte.pro

It is smaller than the bulkier modern or plastic highchairs and fits in our small breakfast nook, and also mixes well with our eclectic mix of antiques and modern furniture. Also, we don't have an abundamce of extra chairs for a booster, so a smaller highchair is perfect.

Rochelle makes a variety of styles and finishes. A compromise between wanting the look of old but the convenience/safety of new?

We used an antique wooden chair until my daughter was 14 months. These days we use the same Fisher Price booster seat mentioned above that attaches to a dining room chair, since she now prefers to be at the table with us.

Our chair has been in the family for three generations and comes with added mojo--no baby has ever fallen out of it. :) We propped the kiddo up with towels and held her in around the waist with a belt when she was too little to sit up well, but did away with both once she was bigger. Perhaps we are more cavalier than your average parent, but it worked fine for us and we loved the look of the chair.

My issue with the chair pictured above is that its legs go pretty much straight down. Our antique high chair has legs that splay out widely to prevent tipping. As others have commented, a wooden high chair is tougher to clean. You may want to skip straight to the booster seat for comfort and convenience. You can also take the booster seat with you to visit relatives, restaurants, etc. Good luck!

We use an antique high chair similar to the one you pictured when we visit my grandmother. It seems very sturdy, but our son just kept slipping because there's no bar between his legs and the varnished wood is slick. The one we've used has a leather harness (almost like a leather belt), but he still managed to slump.

At home we have a new wooden high chair and I love it (it has a bar between baby's legs). I think it's much easier to clean than fabric ones--just wipe it down. And it looks fantastic!

I would add a harness - perhaps one similar to the ones on the Stokke trippe trappe (sp?) - It would require screwing a harness into the wood but would still look beautiful, and be safe. That is a gorgeous chair - I would go for it!

I would think you could attach straps for the between the legs and around the waist fairly easily to the chair from underneath so it wouldn't ruin the chair once your child has outgrown it. I'm sure you can judge for yourself if it seems to tippy. Booster seats have their own issues with tipping. Our son managed to put his legs up to a table and push and entire chair over regardless of how wide the legs are or how heavy the chair is. He did it at a very young age when we were traveling when we stepped away to grab something out of the microwave and there were 4 adults in the room! Hit the back of his head right on the floor. It happens VERY quickly. He still tries to do it even now from time to time but we are super watchful if he is in a booster.

If it were my chair, I'd make a small padded seat with vinyl coated fabric that would attach around the legs and then attach straps to the bottom like I stated earlier. Good luck!

I don't know.
I don't have kids but I do know that everyone in my family sat in the same high chair... from my sister who would be 46 (she died as an adult not as a child) to my 10 year old nephew. It doesn't have a leg bar --- and not a single one of us fell out - including my oldest nephew who is not very bright.

I don't understand how everything we survived with no problems is suddenly DANGEROUS!

Maybe two things have changed. 1) maybe parents today are too busy trying to get 20 other things done that they can't pay attention to a child sitting in a high chair (put the laptop down sweetie) and 2) maybe as children, we actually spent time on our stomachs building core strength - and no one was worried about us suffocating.

My mom bought an antique high chair she used with me and my siblings. Now my son uses it when we visit.

She fashioned a padded seat from an old comforter that ties on the back of the seat, at the top and at the bottom. Then there is a long piece that fits between the legs. It ties above his waist, almost under his armpits behind the chair.

If you would like pictures let me know. :)

it's a gorgeous chair... and you can purchase a harness (travel chair is the kind we have i think we got it at onestepahead or leapsandbounds) if you're not handy w/sewing and cant do a harness on your own. you have to be attentive no matter WHAT type of chair your child is in, and i think if you love the chair, use it, see if you still love it. if not.. go for the booster.

It sounds like your 1 bedroom is not so big, since you don't want to fill it up with new things...
We use a hook-on chair. It's small, you can barely see it over the top of the table and takes up no floor space.
This is ours:
http://www.strollers.com/asp/show_detail.asp?sku=ERB1067&refid=FR67-ERB1067

That's my recommendation. You're gonna need to keep your floor space clear so you can start filling it with primary colored bouncy seats, excersaucers and swings.
:-D

We have a beautiful wood highchair that grandpa made for our guy. We bought a separate strap and so far so good. It wipes down clean and is beautiful to look at. The only downside is the slipping (as the finish is so new) so we put a non-skid pad under his bottom.

Don't be scared. Kids did just fine before plastic. Anything - ANYTHING - can be lethal or harmful if used improperly.

Martha here. Thanks everyone for the thoughtful comments--especially the encouraging one! Lots of good advice to take to heart. We'll use this in our Catskills weekend house, so it'll be used infrequently and only with super-careful parental supervision and some form of belt/harness/padded seat cover.

I find the antique chairs safer then the new ones because years ago they were building the chairs from strong wood. Now it's all replaced by cheap plastic wood... and i hate it! I just bought an antique tub chair and I am very happy with it!