A £12 IKEA highchair has been transformed in 4 easy steps

Bye-bye boring IKEA highchair, hello Instagrammable baby furniture. An easy IKEA hack that we can get on board with...

Cove Baby IKEA highchair stickers, placemats and cushion inserts
(Image credit: Cove Baby)

Let us introduce you to this easy IKEA hack you can do to the IKEA highchair (yes, the £12 one!) that you might just fall in love with immediately. We have! If you are searching for a handsome highchair but don't fancy splurging hundreds of pounds, then we get it. It's no secret that we have a penchant for IKEA hacks, even more so now that we've seen this IKEA high chair DIY...

First of all, get yourself to IKEA and buy one of their Antilop highchairs for just £12. Then, here is where the fun starts. Head to Cove Baby's Etsy shop and get shopping for anything from stickers to placemats and cushion inserts for your boring – but soon-to-be fancy – highchair. This small business stocks everything you need, to transform this otherwise plain white highchair, turning it from drab to fab and colourful, for less than £100. 

We're talking placemats in all different colours, to make their tabletop a little prettier – and their dinners that more Instagrammable. Then, there are stickers for the highchair legs to transform them from silver to bamboo or another wood effect. Keep scrolling for cushion inserts for this cheap high chair, to not only make this a more comfortable seat for your little one, but to add some sort of pattern into the mix. They also stock adjustable footrests to hold teeny feet and stop them from hanging down. That and plenty more.

What are you waiting for? Gone are the days when highchairs were expensive, clearly. And this IKEA hack might just be the easiest of them all. No paintbrushes, loud drilling or extensive toolboxes are involved. Just the tough job of choosing colours and patterns to blend in with your home decor.

Don't miss our best highchair guide if you're no good at DIY.

Ikea highchair DIY in 4 steps

All you'll need ahead of this IKEA highchair DIY, is the IKEA Antilop highchair. 

1. Start with the placemat

The first (and easiest) way to spruce up this simple highchair is by buying a placemat from Cove Baby. There are several neutral colours to choose from, and you'll want to make sure this matches their wipeable cushion (next up!).

In terms of colour options, there's everything from Sage Green to Dusky Rose, Sand, Apricot, Clay and Graphite up for grabs. 

Cove Baby Placemat for Ikea Highchair (Apricot) | £20 at Etsy
Made from silicone for style and convenience, this placemat is easy to wipe clean while you can wash it in your sink after a messy meal time. It sticks to your IKEA Antilop highchair with ease, and it might be worth having two so that you can switch things up every now and then.

2. Then, the wipeable cushion

This wipeable cushion ticks all our boxes since it's pretty and practical. It will make this high chair smaller, so fit for tiny humans, as well as more comfortable. If you live with a messy eater, then the clue is in the name that it's easy to wash.

Available in several prints and patterns from floral to dotted and terrazzo, be sure to match this with your placemat.

Cove Baby Wipeable Cushion for IKEA Highchair, Dalmatian | From £20 at Etsy
These comfortable high chair insert covers come in a range of patterns and colours, while they are made of soft cotton. They are designed to be wipeable but you might want to spray them after each use if you are dealing with a messy eater – or very colourful food. These covers cost £20, or if you want the inflatable insert, £25. You can also buy this inflatable insert from IKEA, if you wish.

3. Next up are the legs

Cover those unsightly silver legs of this IKEA highchair with ease thanks to these stickers. Simply just wrap them around each leg and you're sorted. They come in lots of prints, from a bamboo effect to a beech wood effect plus more. This is the cheapest item you can buy for this IKEA highchair hack.

Cove Baby Leg Wraps for IKEA Antilop Highchair, Beech

(Image credit: Cove Baby)

Cove Baby Leg Wraps for IKEA Antilop Highchair, Beech | £12 at Etsy
Made from architectural film, these leg wraps are durable and they are also the perfect fit. They come pre-cut, so all you need to do is stick them on.

4. Last but not least, a footrest

Buy an adjustable footrest for this IKEA highchair to encourage them to sit upright, and to make this highchair comfortable for dangling legs. You'll secure it into place with two o-rings (included), and you can adjust the height as they grow taller.

This adjustable rest comes in bamboo wood or beech wood.

Cove Baby Adjustable Wood Footrest for IKEA Antilop Highchair

(Image credit: Cove Baby)

Cove Baby Adjustable Wood Footrest for IKEA Highchair | £19 at Etsy
A stylish and practical addition to this budget-friendly highchair, this footrest is a bargain. An accessory that you will be happy you purchased, for sure...


Will you be buying this IKEA highchair and giving it a personalised makeover? We say why not. What a brilliant IKEA hack, and an easy one, too.

Annie Collyer
Deputy Ecommerce Editor

Annie is Livingetc's Deputy Ecommerce Editor, and with a penchant for shopping and four years of ecommerce experience in her cart, she's more than equipped to advise when it comes to exactly the home decor you need to buy for your home. With a particular love of home fragrance, she always ensures her interiors emanate a luxurious scent to match her bijou residence. Annie and her team work to provide you with the best in-class content, whether you are searching for fluffy towels for your bathroom, clever drawer organizers for your kitchen or even a new dinnerware set for when guests come to dine. Whatever the season — or the latest trend — Annie and her team work to cover events for Livingetc, whether that be holidays or sale events, spanning Mother's Day to Black Friday.

Annie's knowledge has been sprawled across several homes websites, including Real Homes, Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens and Gardeningetc. She has also injected her ecommerce skills into the titles of Woman & Home and Country & Townhouse.

Annie lives in South East London in a sizeable two-bed apartment with her husband-to-be and her Pug called Doug. Annie's space, though surprisingly substantial, lacks storage space meaning that she's always on the lookout for things to buy to maximize space at home. She's currently redecorating this space whilst on a budget, and loves discovering a dupe or DIYing something to look triple its price tag. Next on her list of things to do at home are DIY crittal-style doors leading from her living room to her hallway.

You can follow Annie's home Instagram account at @athome.withannie.