[ad] A minimalist high chair – Nanna Ditzel’s ND54 for Carl Hansen & Søn

[This post is a paid partnership with Carl Hansen & Søn]

I’ve always believed that if you have children, it doesn’t mean that your style should suffer – and it’s especially true for me since becoming a mother last year. My ethos for simple design for everyday living hasn’t changed much since welcoming a baby into our home. I still want to make sure that I’m (very minimally and mindfully!) filling my home with considered, well-crafted pieces that will stand the test of time. I really believe that just because they’re babies doesn’t mean they need baby-ish things – children are cleverer than we think, and they too can have an appreciation of art, design and what makes a beautiful home, just like us. I really hope I can foster in my daughter a respect and love for her surroundings and the objects she owns.

I’ve managed so far to keep the plastic at bay, and while Ophelia can’t yet choose or state her preferences, I’ve curated a perfectly pleasing palette of soft neutrals. I don’t know how long it will last, but what I do know is that I’ve set a foundation for timeless design and enduring functionality.

A minimalist high chair is one of those items where you don’t want to compromise on style. It’s an investment piece, and if chosen well, can grow with the child. It needs to be practical and help support everyday life in the family home, but it’s also got to be aesthetically pleasing and look the part too. That’s what Danish design couple Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel had in mind when they conceived the ND54 High Chair for Carl Hansen & Søn. Designed in 1954 and relaunched in September 2020 (proving that good design really can endure), it’s possibly the most stylish high chair I’ve ever seen.

All images Cate St Hill

Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel came up with the idea for a functional yet beautiful high chair when they were in need of – not one but – two for their twin daughters, Vita and Lulu Ditzel, both born in 1954. At the time when it was designed, they were one of the first architects to have designed chairs especially for children. It seems remarkable to me that children had been so disregarded by design before – surely they too deserve good, thoughtful design in their everyday life.

Taking their daughters as their models, Nanna and Jørgen designed a minimalist, ergonomic chair to perfectly fit their form and shape. As well as taking measurements of the girls, they also factored in the dimensions of a dining furniture set that they had recently designed, ensuring the high chair was made to measure for their home. The ND54 High Chair has since been tweaked with a few adjustments to ensure safety and stability, but the core idea remains. It’s a simple, practical design that can adapt with a child, now available in beautiful FSC-certified beech with a non-toxic matt lacquer.

The ND54 High Chair has an elegant, refined form that fits seamlessly with the other wooden dining chairs around my dining table. Again, the idea that a child doesn’t necessarily need to be singled out – any new furniture for them should, I believe, fit with everything else in the home to help form a cohesive whole. The slender legs make the design lightweight, easy to move and not visually dominating in the room. The minimalist high chair blends in with its surroundings, while being a beautiful design object in its own right.

At the same time, the child is at the heart of the design. A moulded wooden insert can be slotted into the frame to help support young babies and provide a comfortable, curved back rest. There’s an adjustable footrest which offers three positions as the child grows, and a detachable safety strap in leather that can be removed when the child no longer needs it. The only thing missing from my point of view is a tray, but thanks to the angle of the legs and the slim profile of the front bar, the chair can easily be pushed right up to the dining table and it’s the perfect height to do so. It’s probably even better this way, as when the chair is not in use it isn’t taking up too much floor space. It makes for a more adaptable, moveable design.

From a practical point of view, which I know is so important when choosing design for children, this minimalist high chair is simple and most of all easy to clean. There’s no superfluous details and the matt-lacquered wooden frame is so smooth and well crafted, there’s no awkward areas for food to get stuck in – always the bane of every parents life, scraping off week old Weetabix!

The leather details help elevate the ND54 chair and add a sophisticated finish. I imagine they would patinate over time and just get softer and more beautiful with use. The curved back rest can be removed, allowing the chair to be used at the dining table until the child is four or five years old. The ND54 High Chair is of course at the higher end of the price spectrum, but when you consider the everyday use over five years, it soon starts to earn its keep.

Carl Hansen & Søn are also offering the new addition of three small stainless steel plates that can be engraved with a child’s name, creating a beautiful keepsake that can be treasured forever. I love the idea of a design like this becoming a family heirloom and being passed down from generation to generation. With children’s toys and designs, there seems to me to be a very throwaway mindset – children go through phases so quickly that it’s always onto the next thing. But some of my favourite things of Ophelia’s are the ones that my husband and I loved as a child too.

Nanna Ditzel’s ND54 High Chair is truly a design classic that has endured, both in the design sphere and now in homes across the world. This was sadly a press loan and will soon be making its way back to Carl Hansen & Søn, but if you’re looking for a minimalist high chair then this is definitely one to invest in. If it’s good enough for an architect’s daughters, you know it’s got the seal of approval.

The ND54 High Chair is priced at £369 and the Baby insert at £158, available from Carl Hansen & Søn stores and retailers online