Recommendations on Table and Chairs for Toddlers?

We got the white wood one from Ikea about 3 years ago. My daughter has drawn on it and covered it with various stickers (since removed). For the most part I have been able to clean off most of her creative acts and both the table and the chairs are still holding up well. Not too expensive, easy assembly and tough - I would definitely recommend.

I would suggest going to a thrift store or 2nd hand store and checking out what they have before going to buy a fancy set that she will outgrow quickly. we have always had smaller tables and chairs for the kids rooms but an oversized coffee table and 2 little chairs will work good for a play table. you can paint it however you want it and the little chairs like preschools have are at sams club. good luck

If you do go with wood, you might consider finding a "raw," unfinished sturdy piece and painting it artfully. We have one like this and we get great comments on it (and its held for all 6 of our children.)

i have little tikes and kidkraft. the kidkraft one needed two legs replaced which they did for free at about 1 and 2 years after getting it. We have concrete floors and a child was putting the chair back. they hold me.
the little tikes are easier to clean our messes off of
either has lasted 6 years and counting.
pottery barn has one with 3 sizes of legs to grow with your child, but it was cheaper to buy 2 tables.

We got the plastic Playskool table (white top, blue legs) that comes with 2 yellow chairs for our son when he was 1 year old. He is 8 1/2 now and still sits at it in his room to play with his Legos and other toys. This table has been great. It went through our house flooding during Ike. I'm sure he'll use it until he outgrows it.

I got mine at a local craft fair in Bulverde, TX (15 miles north of you). An older guy there was selling toddler picnic tables (raw wood) for $35 (a STEAL). He makes them in his woodshop. Husband and I went to pick it up from his home. You can add a stain or water-proofing it if you want. We left ours raw and it now has crayon and paint all over it from play. My son LOVES his picnic table. If we didn't have it I don't know what we'd do. PM me if you want the guy's contact info. I think I have his business card here somewhere. I plan to call him and get another table for when we have more room for another table (one nice for his room, one messy for outside). He can make them with slats (for outside, food fall thru the crack) or flattop (for coloring).

We got our from childrenstablesandchairs.com. Seriously, there is a website for EVERYTHING anymore. It's a nice wooden one that has held up great to lots of food, spills, and kid stuff.

We got wooden IKEA and love it!! A play place my son goes to, has the plastic ones. They seem really good, too!!

I have had the solid wood Ikea table for 5 years. I think they still sell the exact one. It comes in a natural wood color. I sanded it down and stained it to match our living room furniture. It's held up VERY well. Couldn't be happier with my purchase and the kids still use it often.

We bought the solid wood table and chairs from IKEA in 1998 for our oldest daughter. They've traveled with us from the states to overseas and back. They're still being used by the younger daughter who's now six and each piece is in great shape. Very sturdy and easy to wipe clean. I've even used the table to stand on to clean the ceiling fan in the living room. The pieces do need to be assembled so just check that you have all the right tools available.

I bought the Pottery Barn "Carolina" table and chairs in a neutral (honey) finish when my daughter was about 2. She is now six. She has used that table every day since we brought it home and it still looks like new. She has painted, play doh, played everything you can imagine and crafted on that table and the beauty of wood is that if it gets scratched, you can't really tell. We also looked at the KidKraft painted table/chairs, but be warned that any painted surfaces will get knicked and scratched and you will notice the wear and tear on them much quicker. I have friends who have bought them and have seen the damage. Also, the chairs are so sturdy, do not tip easily and my husband and I can easily sit on a chair and do stuff with her comfortably. We are average sized adults. The salespeople told me when I bought the set that it should last until the child is at least 8 or 10 on average, and that the PB sales folks conducted their meetings using the chairs as well and found them to be sturdy. I am pregnant and having another child in February and have no doubt that I will still have this set in perfect condition in another 10 years. Also we have moved houses 3 times, and no damage at all. Although the chairs seemed a little big at first, my daughter climbed into them and never tipped, and by the time she was 3 it was fine. Some of the other brands have really small "toddler" sized chairs that your child will outgrow by the time they are 4 or 5. Hope this feedback helps.

We found a plastic set at a garage sale when our kids were little. Don't remember the brand, but it was a Sesame Street set so it was one of the bigger brands. What we liked about having the plastic set was that we were able to take it outside when we had parties and ate outside. It was the "kids table." We also used it for crafts outside when our playgroup met at our house. It was one of those durable ones that adults could sit on the chairs and have "tea" with my daughter. It was also easy to clean. Just suggesting you figure out what all the uses will be before you buy.

we got a folding table and chairs from Bed Bath and Beyond. It's nice because we can put it up if we need to.

We've got the plastic colorful Ikea set and LOVE it! We take it out on the deck when the weather's nice so my son and his friends have their own table to sit at. Since its plastic we can hose it off. He has colored on it, painted it, even stood on it and its been great!

Ikea- we bought the wood one w/ the formica top in 1993 and it is still alive. It lasted through three kids, constant use and umpteen tea parties. Once the kids outgrew it, it became the guinea pig cage stand. Then the recycling basket holder. It has now retired upstairs to the attic- but I couldn't bear to part with it. The formica was gray on one side, white on the other and after we wore out both sides I painted the white side with high gloss paints- the kind that you can fire in the oven. (I didn't "fire" the table top obviously but those paints are super durable...) Towards the end I did have to reglue a joint on it- but we certainly got our money's worth!