Designed by Bo Ekstrom of Sweden and manufactured in Belgium from European bent beech wood, this beautiful, functional and space-saving device takes diaper duty seriously. It is certified through a rigorous inspection process by the independent Technical Research Institute of Sweden to withstand a baby up to 33 pounds. Though Bo reports that he tested the strength up to a 110 pound capacity, in case your worst potty training fears are realized and your kid is still in diapers as they’re heading off to college.

While style and elegance may not be the first words you think of when considering diaper duty, this pretty piece may just have you altering your stance on the matter, quite literally – since it’ll spare your posture compared to it’s traditional floor-standing counterparts.

When I first spotted this item making the blog rounds a few years ago, US was, as usual, lagging far behind the design market as it was only available for sale in Europe. We’ve finally caught on! It is now widely available on line and can be had in a price range of $600 – $750, depending of how good you are at finding your bargains. The wall-mounted changing table comes with a choice of green or ivory changing pad and even has a matching diaper dispenser for an additional $150.

The rubik’s cube may have a competitor. This toy isn’t only educational and stimulating, it’s the recipient of whole bunch of design awards in Europe and sits in the Deutsches Museum of Modern Art! Not bad for a play thing.

Designed by Jean-Phillipe Rossinelli for Naef Toys, the Quadrigo is made in Switzerland of safe, non-toxic materials. It is available in three sizes and two color options, white (above) and multi-color (below). The sizes are mini ($79), medium ($149), and large ($679!).

You can get it at Grow Modern, a site that claims, “You will be amazed by the level of creativity that these apparently purist components allow you to reach.” I’m sure you’re also amazed that such a thing can be created for $679 bucks!

John Michael Linck is a toymaker who’s carrying on his family’s tradition in woodworking. With a degree in Forest Science and Design from the University of Illinois, Mr. Linck uses Wisconsin Hardwoods to beautifully and artfully craft his pieces into durable and timeless toys that serve from one generation to the next. This craftsman does not rely on mass production, each item is made solely with his own hands in the basement workshop of his Madison home. These toys are made not only with skill, but with a lot of heart.

There are a select few toys that Mr. Linck makes, available on his website. But I am particularly in love with this walker/wooden block wagon. Containing 100 wooden unit blocks and made of Black Cherry wood which starts with a medium red color and darkens over time to a deep red, this toy could quite possibly be the only one your child needs! The removable block units are made of different shapes and sizes to fuel the imagination while the wagon serves as a great walking tool, storage solution and ride on toy! Not to mention the durability of the item will make for a heartfelt heirloom from your child to theirs.

In my book, that’s one toy that completely deserves it’s $315.00 price tag.

You can read more about it and order it here.

Although relatively new on the market, the Max push car by Wolfgang Sirch has already become a modern classic among toys. Made in Bavaria, Germany of steam-bent, blond Ash wood and “whisper quiet” rubber wheels, this is definitely heirloom material.

These kids today got it all! When I was a kid, we didn’t have sleek designs like this. My ride-on toys didn’t even have wheels! They were stationary horses that occasionally rocked. Some of us weren’t even lucky enough to get the entire horse, we had to make-do with a horse’s head impaled by a stick! We had to learn to get somewhere on those! Uphill both ways. And it was always snowing.

Sirch has been a family-owned woodworking company for almost 400 years. The current Sirch, Wolfgang has teamed up with designer Christof Bitzer to create a line of childrens toys that have gained immense popularity and significant recognition in their original design, quality, and craftsmanship.

The Max Push Car retails for $185.00 at Twilite Moon. The Lorette Trailer (see image below) is also available as an attachment to the push car for $199.00 at Nova 68.

Here’s a doll that will likely appeal to adults just as much as to children. Remember the stick-figure drawings of your youth? Well that’s exactly the inspiration for these precious little things as the artist based them on her own childhood drawings. Good thing too, ’cause if they were based on my childhood drawings these would be better served as voodoo dolls.

As if they weren’t already sweet enough, they are handmade in the Netherlands from felt, cotton, fleece and terry-cloth. Now, the 2-dimensional friends of your childs imagination can be cuddled with.

The above doll is called Naomi, there is also a Sophie doll (see image after jump) available at Romp for $45.00 .

Do you want to get your kid a rocking horse, but hate the horse part of it? Well then this is for you. This sleek, ultra modern toy is one you’ll be proud to display in your sleek, ultra-modern pad. Created by Dutch designer Chris Slutter whose work, according to his website:

“…can best be described as a search for the simplified form through design, and the ongoing investigation of how the process of design affects the final product.”

I’m not sure I fully understand what that means, but apparently that’s how his work can best be described. So this is an object of high design by an up and coming new architect/industrial designer. All fancy-shmancy talk aside, it sure is perty. If you’re into that whole “unfurled paperclip” thing.

Chris is currently seeking a US importer so you’d have to contact him directly if you want this bobbel rocking horse. Prices are also not listed on his site so you’d have to contact him for that too.

Via Baby Gadget

Kit+Lili specializes in very retro looking children’s clothing. All of their pieces are very bold and very cute without the frills and bows. I particularly like this soft, pleated corduroy skirt with the adorable and simple owls making up this unique pattern.

Available at Black Wagon for $58.00.

Via Baby Gadget.

One of my favorite children’s companies, Haba, not only creates fantastic, creative and safe toys for the little ones, but also dabbles in some equally creative and safe furniture for them. Taking the most elemental childhood desire to play, Haba creates furniture that’s not only functional, but fun! Let’s face it, a bed like this will fare much better at luring the feisty ones in for bed time.

This bed is reconfigurable. Use it as is in the picture you see above, or remove the bed and just set up the walls and canopy to serve as a cabin play fort (see below). This is certainly a piece to spark the imagination. Available at Silly Goose Toys for $1460.00

Let’s face it, most baby clothes readily available on the market are as generic as the companies that produce them. Sure they’re cute, in that “I’ve seen all that pastel before” kinda way. Mostly, they’re cute because they’re small, and miniature versions of anything always takes the cuteness factor up a few notches. And lets not even mention the stereotypical way they color code those little outfits to distinguish genders. Well let me assure you, generic baby clothes manufacturer, that my little girl will be no less a girl if she’s wearing, oh, I don’t know – green, or even *gasp* blue!

Anyway, all that cutsey-wootsie stuff is all well and good – until that child grows up with no taste and the poor thing is reduced to shop the likes of Gap and Abercrombie & Finch; overpaying for ugly, mass-produced clothing all just because they don’t know any better instead of rightly overpaying for proper couture like good little fashionistas!! Is that what you want?! I didn’t think so.

So start developing their fashion sense early and here’s a great place to start: Dragon Tail Baby is a designer and manufacturer of Asian inspired clothing for the little ones and they’re absolutely adorable and very original. This Flower Kimono One Piece is particularly appealing with it’s colorful print and intricate detailing. It’s also made in the USA with fabric imported from France. That makes it even fancier! And with it being mostly cotton (93%) and machine washable, it’s couture that’s still practical for baby.

Available at Cute Little Clothes for $40.00

With a brand new baby in the house, I can finally justify all the toy purchases I’ve been craving!

Call me old fashioned, but the less bells and whistles a toy has, the more I am drawn to it. I love this incredibly simple concept of watching a pretty marble roll down a simple wooden banister into a toilet-like bowl and get “flushed” away down the center.

You can also purchase the Ball Track Master Building Set (see photo after jump) for $199.99 that allows the little tyke to build any configuration of paths for the marble to travel. Ok, so maybe there’s a bell included – but no whistles!

The European brand that manufactures this product, Haba, is known for it’s simple, elegant and imaginative children’s line and you can rest assured that all the materials and finishes used to make their toys are non-toxic and not manufactured in sweat shops.

So this whirlwind of excitement is not only stimulating, safe and educational, as an added bonus, it will also look much less horrifying scattered all over your living room. AND, it doesn’t make obnoxious noises. That’s much more than can be said for Fisher Price!

Safe for ages 3+ and can be purchased at Oompa for $49.99