Plastic or wooden table & chairs???

[Lynn]

Hi,

I am looking at buying a table and chair set for son. What is the best - plastic or wooden? I guess I also need to know whats the easiest to keep clean e.g. food, crayons etc.

Any suggested brands?

Thanks

[CrystalBoo]

We have a very cheap plastic set from The Warehouse (cheapie store) and it does the job but isn't particularly sturdy. I will go for wooden when I get around to upgrading. I think Ikea has some at a decent price.

[Visitor8]

I think it would depend on the quality. I have gone through 2 lots of plastic ones, both crap and wobbly and broke in no time. The wooden ones I have now I have had for about 12 months and they are great! I got mine from Kmart.

[minimatron]

Neither....they end up draging them around and using them to climb up to things they shouldnt touch!!!!!

I got mine from Kmart and its a wooden set, by memory it was about $50. I got it a year ago and has been easy to clean and sturdy....for all the times she wants to help do the dishes or maybe sight see from the bench!!!! Or even to open up the office door to play with daddy while hes working, or escape from her bedroom....do I have issues!?

[*mummyof1*]

We have been on the hunt for table and chairs for DS. I have decided on getting a wooden one from ikea, and staining the legs of the table and the chairs, but painting the table top with blackboard paint, figure it would allow hours of fun for DS and also DD when she is bigger.

So ladies, Does that sound like it would work??

The ikea set was $59.95 I think from memory for 2 chairs and table. There is a similar one in our local baby store but with the blackboard top already, and it is $120
I am sure I can do it way cheaper than that! It has a hole in the middle of the table for a plastic tub to sit, to put the chalk in.

[Visitor8]

lol Melissa. Sounds like the same one I got from Kmart... and your right! They can now get into my lolly cupboard!!!

[Mother Goose]

What a great idea Mich! If DD didn't eat so messily at her table I would borrow the idea! Not sure how easy blackboard is to clean food off of without ruining it though... maybe when she is a bit older... But I love the idea!

[BeautifulMadness]

wooden, it has cars on it

[Lynn]

Thanks everyone - some great ideas and suggestions!

[~Trish~]

I have a set of the Ikea Mammut table, chairs and stools. They are plastic and really funky looking. They are brilliant! It is really good quality, it wipes down easily and the chairs are so sturdy that DH & I can sit on them without worrying about breaking them LOL! I have a table, two chairs and two stools, definitely one of the best kids things we have purchased

Wooden ones would clean OK if the timber was stained. You will find they get more dents and scratches then a plastic set, but they do look lovely.

Good luck deciding!

[Arimeh]

We got the plastic Mammut one from IKEA but found that the chair kept sliding on the timber floor when he would go to sit down so we worried about him cracking his head open one day.

We went back to IKEA and got the timber one instead - its a pretty orange and yellow colour - really colourful - and super easy to clean

So far - no dents or scratches!!

[Pandora]

We also have the plastic mammut set from ikea. I love it but its so lightweight, and DS climbs...I think Id have preferred a timber one if I got to choose again.

[mbear]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a set of the Ikea Mammut table, chairs and stools.

...here too. Red table and funky pink chairs....looks great.....

[Mummyof2under2]

We have both a wooden one and a couple of cheapy plastic ones from Bunnings - the wooden one is more sturdy but they are both the same as far as cleaning goes.

The wooden one is much heavier and harder for them to move.

[Salsa]

we went wooden and then coated with polyurethan for easy cleaning. We did that because i often saw brocken plastic ones out in peoples rubbish and thought it was a waste of money and bad for landfill.
i think wood looks nicer anyway and ages better. A nice wooden set could be kept for your own grandkids one day but i doubt anyone would keep a plastic set that long.

[min]

I prefer the look of wooden. I bought a square raw woooden set from a pine store with two chairs and painted the table in gloss dark blue then the 1st chair a lighter shade of blue and the 2nd chair an ever lighter shade of blue. A coat of clear varnish over the top stops the paint from getting scratched or damaged and cleans just as well as plastic.