Folding vs convertible learning tower: which one suits your kitchen?
A folding learning tower flattens so you can put it away after each use. A convertible learning tower stays built and changes shape instead, usually into a child-height table and chair. Choose folding if the tower has to disappear after every session. Choose convertible if it can keep a spot in your kitchen and you'd use the table. In a small kitchen, measure before you decide: a convertible can need less room than you'd expect.
We make a convertible tower, so we'll be upfront about where a folding one is the better buy. This guide compares the two side by side, works through the small-kitchen question with real measurements, and explains why ours doesn't fold.
What's the difference between a folding and a convertible learning tower?
The difference is what happens when your child climbs down. A folding tower collapses flat so you can store it, and many folding models also let you move the standing platform up or down. A convertible tower doesn't fold. It turns into a second piece of furniture, usually a table and chair, and its standing platform is often fixed at one height.
| Compare | Folding tower | Convertible tower | The Little Bunny tower (convertible) |
|---|---|---|---|
| After use | Folds flat and goes against a wall or into a cupboard | Stays built, or changes into a table and chair | Turns into a table and chair, or slides under the bench |
| Floor space in use | Check the open footprint, not just the folded size | Check the footprint in each mode | About 40 × 36 cm in tower mode |
| Between uses | Needs a spot that fits its folded depth | Needs a parking spot, because it stays out | 86 cm tall to the ear tips, designed to slide under most Australian kitchen benches |
| Standing height | Often an adjustable platform | Often a fixed platform, sometimes with an adjustable step | Platform fixed at 40 cm; the climbing step refits in three positions |
| Second use | Usually none | A table and chair, sometimes a chalkboard | A table and chair, plus a chalkboard |
| Moving it | Usually lighter, made to be carried | Usually heavier, made to stay put | 7.6 kg |
| Daily routine | Unfold, check it's locked open, fold it away again | Nothing to unfold; change modes when you want the table | Nothing to unfold; an adult flips the top half to make the table |
| Suits | Kitchens with no spare floor, or a tower that moves between rooms | A tower that can keep its spot, and a family that will use a small table | Kitchens with an overhang, corner or wall it can park against, and families who'll use the table |
The folding and convertible columns describe the usual design of each type, so check the details of any tower you're considering. The last column is ours, measured on the product.
Which is better for a small kitchen?
For a small kitchen, a folding tower is the clear winner only when there's nowhere for a tower to stand between uses. If you have a corner, the end of a bench or room under an overhang, a convertible can work too. So compare footprints and parking spots rather than assuming folding always takes less room.
"Will it fit in my kitchen?" is one of the questions parents ask us most. Ours takes about 40 × 36 cm of floor in tower mode. When you're done, turn the step side to the wall and slide it under the bench. At 86 cm to the ear tips, it's designed to fit under most Australian kitchen benches.
Turning the step side to the wall makes it harder for little ones to climb in on their own, which matches our care and safety guidance: when the tower is not in use, store it where your child can't climb into it without you.
3D animation: turning the tower to the wall and sliding it under the bench.
One verified buyer of our Fox design said the height is "perfect for toddlers to help with cooking, and then to tuck away under the kitchen island".
How do you check it will fit under your bench?
Measure at the exact spot you have in mind, usually an island or breakfast-bar overhang, and write down three numbers. First, the clear height: from the floor to the lowest point underneath, whether that's the benchtop itself or a rail or drawer that hangs lower. If it's more than 86 cm, the tower can slide under. Second, the width of the gap: ours is about 40 cm wide in tower mode. Third, the depth of the overhang: ours is about 36 cm deep, so a deeper overhang takes the whole tower, and a shallower one still tucks part of it out of the walkway.
Benches vary, so treat 86 cm as the number to measure against, not a promise for every kitchen.
When is a folding learning tower the better choice?
A folding tower is the better choice when the floor has to be completely clear after each use, when you'll move the tower between rooms, or when you want the platform itself to drop as your child grows. Be honest about the daily routine, though: the space saving only happens if someone folds it away every time.
It's likely to suit you if:
- there's no corner, bench end or overhang where a tower could stand;
- the kitchen doubles as a walkway or dining space that needs to be clear every night;
- you'll carry it to the bathroom or another room;
- you want to lower the standing platform as your child gets taller.
If you go this way, check the folded depth so you know where it will live, check how it locks open, and ask which safety standard it was tested to.
When is a convertible learning tower the better choice?
A convertible tower is the better choice when it can keep a spot in or near the kitchen, and when a child-height table and chair would actually get used for snacks, drawing or play. You get two pieces of furniture in the footprint of one. The trade-off is that the standing platform on many convertibles, ours included, stays at one height.
One box, three ways to use it: a tower at the bench, a table and chair, and a chalkboard.
Ours is made for ages 1 to 5, always with adult supervision. At 7.6 kg it's built to stay put rather than travel from room to room, and an adult flips the top half to turn it into a table and chair. One verified buyer told us their grandson "uses it daily as both the learning tower and table!"
Know the trade-offs before you buy. The standing platform is fixed at 40 cm from the floor; the climbing step refits in three positions instead. The chalkboard faces in towards the bench while the tower is in use, so an adult turns the tower around for drawing time. More on the three modes in what 3-in-1 really means.
Why doesn't The Little Bunny learning tower fold?
Ours doesn't fold because we chose a frame that holds one fixed shape. There's no fold hinge to lock open before each use, and that fixed shape is what lets it flip into a table and chair. It's a design choice we made, not a verdict on folding towers. Plenty are well made, and if you choose one, check it locks fully open every time.
We're often asked why it doesn't fold flat. Steadiness is what decided it for us. A frame that never has to collapse can be built as one solid unit, and our 2026 edition added wider feet and anti-slip pads.
What it can't do is pack away flat, so we designed it at 86 cm tall to slide under most Australian kitchen benches between uses. In use, it's a 7.6 kg frame on about 40 × 36 cm of floor.
Our factory also filmed a simple check on the 2026 tower, with a 16 kg weight hung from a bar clamped to the top edge of the frame about 15 cm out past the side, and the tower stayed standing; you can watch it on our care and safety page.
Our towers are lab-tested to AS/NZS ISO 8124 by Eurofins, and the safety label gives a 75 kg maximum load. You'll find the testing details on the product page. None of this makes a folding tower the wrong choice: if you need the floor back every night, it may well be the right one for you.
Which one should you choose?
Choose by the problem you need solved. If the tower has to vanish after every use, go folding. If it can park in a corner or under a bench and you'd use a small table, go convertible. Either way, the setup is the same: a flat floor, nothing sharp or hot within reach, and an adult within arm's reach, actively supervising for the entire time.
- No parking spot at all: a folding tower.
- A corner, a wall or room under an overhang: a convertible can work, so measure first.
- You want the platform to drop as your child grows: a folding or adjustable-platform tower.
- You'd use a toddler table and chair: a convertible.
If a convertible sounds like your kitchen, you can compare the Fox and Bunny designs in our Learning Tower range. Same tower, two designs: choose the look your family loves. Still comparing other types as well? Our guide to choosing a learning tower in Australia covers adjustable towers, bench height and safety testing.
Common questions: Folding vs convertible learning tower
Quick answers to what usually comes up next
Does The Little Bunny learning tower fold?
No. The Little Bunny tower doesn't fold. The frame turns over into a table and chair instead, so plan a permanent spot for it: it needs a 40 × 36 cm patch of floor and stands 86 cm tall. If you need a tower that packs away after every use, a foldable model will suit you better.
Is the platform height adjustable?
No. The standing platform is fixed at 40 cm from the floor. What does adjust is the climbing step, which unscrews and refits in three positions, and the platform is fixed because the frame has to hold one geometry to turn over into a table and chair.
Will a learning tower fit under my kitchen bench?
It depends on your bench, so measure first: the clear height from the floor to the lowest point under the island or breakfast-bar overhang, the width of the gap and the depth of the overhang. The Little Bunny tower is 86 cm tall to the tips of the ears and about 40 cm wide and 36 cm deep in tower mode. It's designed to slide under most Australian kitchen benches, so a clearance of more than 86 cm lets it tuck in. Turn the step side to the wall when you park it.