Sometimes good design leans more towards the quality of the idea and the materials, and moves away from the flashy eye-candy. Such is the case with my Splat Mat, from ORE. I’d thought about getting one, then dilly dallied, decided it was unnecessary, changed my mind, never got around to it, and then nabbed one on sale at Mamabargains. I think they were featured on a particularly messy day around my house. It was time. And since this is NOT my dream house, we currently have wall-to-wall (gag) berber (gag) carpeting underneath our dining table – and hence, underneath Birdie’s lovely red Stokke High Chair. So I love my Splat Mat. It’s super thick and slippery enough that we can slide our wooden highchair runners all over it without bunching or bumps. And of course, it’s practically water proof, and it cleans up very easily. Plus, it arrived with a very nice zipper pouch that I’m determined to find a use for.
Mamabargains options were a little limited, so I chose the Peace Love print. Turns out it’s the best option for us for two reasons: 1. It blends with the carpet, instead of being a bright color and calling attention to itself. 2. When I’m on my hands and knees wiping it off, I’m soothed by the words Peace, Love, and lots of hearty-peacey-squiggles. Not my usual thing, but surprisingly very helpful.
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Been thinking about getting the Dia de los Muertos, same here, been putting it off and I won’t be so annoyed when Stian throws food on the floor!
I was thinking of Stian when I saw the Dia de los Muertos – I’d highly recommend it! It helps with all the crumbs too, not just the sloppier messes.
The zipper pouch is probably the perfect size to hold a box of crayons, notepad and some stickers – perfect to take with you to restaurants and other less-than-entertaining-for-children spots!
Great idea! And the wipe-off exterior would be perfect at messy restaurant tables. (the interior, alas, is not waterproof, or it would hold certain unmentionables in our diaper bag instead)
I need those for my whole house and walls! I now have a thin layer of Elmer’s glue spread over the one room in the house I WANTED to keep carpeting.
hahaha, maybe they need to start selling sheet stock. Though I can’t imagine the Peace Love print gracing most people’s dining room walls.
When we had a rug under the kitchen table (which I now eliminated because who needs to worry about keeping the rug clean?) I used a clear plastic desk cover (protector) under the highchair. You could barely see anything was there and the thick plastic was a sold, non-slip surface for the highchair.
Esther – that’s a brilliant idea. I wish I’d thought of it as I just ran across our former office floor protector (the office is now Birdie’s room!) shoved in a corner in my basement! Ah well. Splat mats are still prettier …