Nuna ZAAZ

As a new mom, one of the few things I dreaded was purchasing a highchair. Walking through baby stores, I would cringe when I saw the huge, plastic contraptions with hokey animal prints and bright patterns that would just change the whole make up of my dining room—not only drastically changing the décor, but also taking up precious space in our not so large room. Well, my Nuna ZAAZ arrived and I could be happier. When I opened the box, there were merely three pieces—the base, the chair, and the tray—and they were so sleek and sharp looking! The chair reminded me more of a dining room chair than a highchair. But could it also be practical and safe?
A few thoughts on the ZAAZ:
Assembly: With the help of the simple instruction manual and illustrative drawings, we had the chair assembled in about 10 minutes, no tools required. The chair fits onto the base, and the tray very smoothly pops into place. All three pieces were of great, sturdy quality, but that also reads—a bit heavy. The chair is indeed a reminder of the company’s Dutch roots with its sleek European design, but it is also smaller than most chairs—taking up no more room than one of our dining chairs. One warning—the instructions talk about how easily the chair just slides right onto the base for initial assembly. This was not the case for us. We struggled for a few minutes to figure out why something stated so simply should be so hard. After a few more minutes of struggle, we slid the chair all the way down to hear it click into place on the base. After use a few times, it has become much easier to do, so do not be disheartened at first, just keep trying!
Use: The ZAAZ is built to last and adapt as your child grows. The chair is intended for children over 6 months and the very soft foam seat and arm bar can be removed when you need to turn the seat into a toddler chair (or even a chair for adults up to 220 pounds!). The seat can change heights with just a small lift of the footrest, allowing your baby to be closer to your table, and without the tray, your toddler can find just the right height for any table. The 5-point harness system is easily turned into a 3-point harness for children no longer requiring shoulder harnesses. The harness is also removable—which is great for cleaning purposes as well as adjusting the chair later for an older child who no longer requires any strapping in. All pieces of the chair are beyond easy to wipe down and clean and there are no cracks and crevices for food to hide except for the harness slot in the seat, which cleans easily once it’s removed. A true dream to clean, really! The large tray has one position, which does not allow for sliding closer to your baby. The tray is dishwasher safe, an added bonus.
Downsides: I would be remiss to not include its few downsides. First of all, while certainly not the most expensive chair out there, this chair is also not the most inexpensive. The chair does not fold up or consolidate in any way. For those of us with small houses, it’d be nice to have it be a bit more compact to hide if needed. It is also very heavy so would be difficult to move it from room to room.
Bottom Line: This is an unbelievably easy to use, easy to clean chair that has adaptability for growing with your family. A great looking, sleek and modern highchair that provides an alternative to some of the animal-printed, bulky plastic chairs. If you are about to give up hope on finding a highchair that has as much practicality and ease of use as looks, this is the chair for you!
Price: $250
To buy: shopnuna.com