Splat Mat recs?

[alison]

Dd is starting to be a VERY messy eater (much to dh's disappointment). The good thing about carpet is that it soaks up everything; the bad thing about carpet is also that it soaks up everything! I need a splat mat that doesn't look like a child has taken over our house, and is something I could actually keep out over the course of the day.

Any ideas for where to look for one that isn't an eyesore?

Thanks!

[alison]

Oh, and dd has this high chair in bright red:

http://www.stokke-highchair.com/en-u...highchair.aspx

And it's got a brown polka-dotted seat cushion. Totally badass.

[Amiens]

I don't know what the rest of your decor looks like. One idea is oil cloth-- easy to clean up spills and it doesn't soak anything up. I made a tabletop out of a black and white patterned oil cloth. It would be very easy to figure out how much you need, have a fabric store cut it for you and you would be done. The pattern also doesn't look like a child took over.

Here is what we have on our table:
paradiselaceblack.jpg


Here is a red with white dot
polkadotred.jpg

Faux Bois Birch:
fauxboisbirch.jpg

Faux Bois Walnut:
fauxboiswalnut.jpg
Mesquite Plank:

mesquiteplank.jpg

[SuzySunshine]

Go buy a vinyl table cloth that matches the high chair or is the look you want - splat mats are more expensive and a waste of money IMO.

[Amiens]

That's a great idea. Also, that is pretty much splat mats are, overpriced vinyl tablecloths.

[alison]

Is it ok to put a table cloth on carpet though? I mean, the bottom of a splat mat is meant to grip all sorts of different surfaces, no?

Is it ok to put a table cloth on carpet though? I mean, the bottom of a splat mat is meant to grip all sorts of different surfaces, no?

No - my splat mat didn't grip anything. It just crumpled up and anything the baby threw ended up missing it anyway.

[Amiens]

We had one splat mat, and it didn't have a gripper bottom. If you are worried about it slipping put a rug gripper thingie (I know such a wonderful description) under the oil cloth or vinyl table cloth.

[Vanquisher]

etsy has some oil cloth splat mats.

[Pollyanna]

Skip the splat mat, have vacuum and Spot-shot on hand and you're good to go

[Deebs]

There is a clear product (I think I got it from Bed Bath and Beyond) that is designed to cover carpets - like what they movers lay down when you move. One side is like a tape. At my MILs (who is dirt-a-phobic), I put down a huge area under the highchair. Most of the time, I just wipe up what has spilled with a paper towel after meals. After we visit, I pull the whole thing up and the carpet is fine.

[Vishenka69]

I was going to suggest a vinyl tablecloth too but not sure if they're much cheaper than splat mats, at least the nice looking ones I've seen aren't. Since by the time DD will be ready for solids, it'll be hot, I'm planning on doing all the feeding outside on the concrete porch and then hosing it all down.

[Vanquisher]

I was going to suggest a vinyl tablecloth too but not sure if they're much cheaper than splat mats, at least the nice looking ones I've seen aren't. Since by the time DD will be ready for solids, it'll be hot, I'm planning on doing all the feeding outside on the concrete porch and then hosing it all down.

That'll work for a month or two, but the mess will continue until they leave the house. When they first start out, the messes are inadvertant. Then, they will pick up the food and throw it on the floor and spit it out on purpose. Then, they will just become little piglets that get more food on their faces and in the hair and on the floor then they do in their mouths. I swear it to be true.

[alison]

Yup! Heidi's right... Dh and I are still making messes. I am wondering what the sense of carpet in a dining room is.
Ugh. 3 1/2 more months, and then we can look for a place with hardwoods, and have the problem of trying to make a softer play area for dd....

[HouseofWool]

I used a cheap vinyl tablecloth. DS was such a messy eater. We had vinyl flooring in the kitchen and I still used something with him because it was horrible to have pick off all of the dried on, crusted food from him every day.