A clever design detail makes this kids’ table and chairs set almost impossible to tip over

A child-size table and small chairs make up the centerpiece of a playroom. It’s where children do crafts, host tea parties for their dolls, play hide-and-seek, and build forts. So it makes sense that people buy a lot of them: By 2030, Americans will spend an estimated $12 billion on play tables.

The market is flooded with sets, ranging from inexpensive ones like Ikea’s $50 version to more design-forward varieties like Lalo’s $300 set. Still, husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Lynn and Cassidy Rouse believe there’s room in the market for a better-designed version. More specifically, they wanted to create a set that was indestructible, easy to assemble, usable indoors and outdoors, and even portable. And they wanted to create chairs that were almost impossible to tip over.

The Rouses—who have two young children—spent two years designing a play table and chairs, exploring hundreds of prototypes and materials, until they arrived at their final design: a whimsical-looking set made from recyclable plastic. The product has already won an iF Design Award. This week, they’re launching a $649 play table and chair set through their new brand, Bauen. Over time, they expect to redesign other children’s furniture.

A Packed Market

Child-size furniture has been around since the 18th century, when well-to-do families wanted to give their children opportunities to play and develop. Today such items are a staple of childhood.

But when the Rouses scoured the market for a play table for their kids, they found most options lacking. Thanks to the rise of cheap, mass-produced furniture, you can find many affordable options from Target, Walmart, and Amazon. The problem is that most of them are made of inexpensive materials that break easily. “When we spoke to experienced parents, they said that they had gone through several sets of play tables,” Cassidy says. “It’s become a norm to get an inexpensive play set and expect to throw it out after a few years. If you have a second child, you just buy a whole new set.”

Outdoor play sets are slightly more durable, since they are made using heavy-duty plastic, but they’re often designed like picnic tables, and don’t look good indoors. “So you end up buying two sets—one for indoors, and another for outdoors,” he says.

Today, thanks to improved child-safety laws, companies need to follow regulations when designing furniture for kids. After receiving reports of injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission established a rule that chairs marketed for children younger than 5 must go through a stability test issued by a third-party testing agency. The test involves putting the chair at an incline to show that it will not easily tip over if the child sits too far back or leans to one side.

But in focus groups, the Rouses heard parents say their kids frequently tipped over in play chairs, partly because often they often sit quietly at the table, instead playing vigorously and leaning backward at an unsafe angle. “We didn’t think the standard accommodated the way children actually interact with this furniture,” Lynn says.

Redesigning a Classic

So they set out to create a better product, starting by designing a chair that is more tip-resistant than others on the market. When you first see the chairs, their proportions look a little comical. They have a very wide seat, a very short 8-inch back, and thick legs (a now patent-pending design). All of this creates a low center of gravity, which makes them harder to tip over.

“Most children’s chairs are designed like smaller versions of adult chairs,” Cassidy says. “But we had a breakthrough when we realized that toddlers don’t need a large, supportive back; their bodies are often leaning forward to see what is in front of them. By creating a wide seat and a low back, the chair is much more stable.”

Rethinking the chairs led the Rouses to rethink almost every aspect of the set’s design. They wondered whether it was possible to create furniture that would look good indoors but also be practical outdoors. They ended up using polyethylene, a type of durable plastic that’s often used to construct outdoor furniture. They sourced it from a company whose products are deemed toxin-free by the EU, which has higher product safety standards than the U.S.

Despite being plastic, the set doesn’t look like a traditional picnic table and chairs meant for the backyard. The furniture has interesting curves. Depending on how it’s styled, it can look fun and cartoony in a kid’s bedroom, or sleek in a modern home. But when the sun comes out, you can easily carry the set out to a deck or garden, so kids can eat and play outside.

After trying out many other products on the market, the Rouses discovered things they disliked and avoided them in their own design. For instance, they didn’t like the way liquid would spill right off tables, so they designed raised edges so spills would stay contained. Lynn found it annoying that many chairs were not large enough for adults to sit on. “We wanted it to fit an adult bottom,” she says. “That way you can sit with your child at the table. But you can also bring it to the bathroom and sit on it while giving your kid a bath.”

Finally, they wanted to make the set easy to assemble. The chairs don’t require any assembly. For the table, you only have to attach the legs. It doesn’t require any tools, and it takes less than two minutes. Importantly, the table is designed to be disassembled easily so you can store it and transport it. “You might want to bring it on holiday with you,” Lynn says.

The Bauen set is certainly thoughtfully designed, but it’s also much more expensive than other kids’ furniture on the market. At $649, it is more than double the cost of the Lalo set, which is already considered expensive. The table will likely be appealing to affluent, design-conscious parents. But the Rouses are also trying to make the case that their product is much more durable than others on the market, so it’s a good value for money.