Get boho chic with rattan furniture and accessories

Perfect to complement the botanical trend and maximalist boho vibe, rattan combines natural materials with retro glamour

Rattan is often used as an umbrella term for wicker, bamboo and rattan furniture, but whereas bamboo is a grass and wicker is just a term for woven material of ‘pliable twigs’, rattan is a climbing jungle vine, the stems of which can be heated and bent into furniture forms.

‘Rattan got really big in the 1920s and 1930s,’ says Harvey Schwartz, a former aerospace engineer who has been dealing in vintage rattan from his Beverly Hills shop Harvey’s since 1969 and has hundreds of pieces in his collection at any one time.

‘It started in Hollywood and was used in movies, so that’s when it got really popular throughout the world,’ Harvey continues. ‘It lost its appeal in the 1950s and the next major resurgence was in the 1970s and 1980s.’

Harvey provided all the glamorous rattan furniture for the 1984 set of American TV sitcom The Golden Girls, which was hugely influential and made rattan fashionable again. ‘Now, once again, people are in love with the simplicity and beauty of rattan,’ he says.

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Online vintage marketplace Chairish saw demand for rattan rise 70 per cent over the last few years, repro vintage-style rattan pieces are popping up in high-street stores and supermarket ranges, and antique rattan has never been so sought-after.

The current vogue for tropical, botanical interiors has a lot to answer for, as does the trend for maximalist boho style – rattan is the ultimate inside-outside material and looks fantastic with houseplants which, as we know from the prevalence of the hashtags #succulentlove and #plantshelfie, are busy rewilding our homes with aplomb.

Prices for vintage rattan vary dramatically. Signed pieces by well-known designers can fetch thousands; for instance, a pair of rattan lounge chairs by Audoux-Minet could cost around £6,000–£7,000. At the other end of the spectrum, you could pick up an anonymous 1970s peacock chair or magazine rack for £25 in your local charity shop.

Boutique rattan studio Atelier Vime, based in a small Provençal village, specialises in sourcing, styling and selling the sexiest rattan furniture. They devise their own vintage-inspired pieces crafted by local artisans and stock a huge selection of vintage 20th-century items too. Their current stock includes a 1950s rattan day bed designed by Louis Sognot, elegant 1960s armchairs and a kitsch 1950s Danish rattan and glass hostess trolley by Robert Wengler.

Rattan is incredibly strong. ‘With a varnish lacquer finish, it can last forever,’ claims Harvey. ‘Some of the rattan pieces I own are almost 100 years old and if they have been inside and have been well cared for, they look as pretty as when they were originally made.’ In fact, the appearance of rattan improves over time acquiring a beautiful honey-coloured patina.

Perhaps another key to rattan’s current success is that it’s light and portable – essential qualities for ‘generation rent’. It’s also a beguiling combination of natural materials and glamour. Anthony Watson, co-founder of Atelier Vime, says he ‘loves the mix of craft and extravagance’ that rattan embodies. It seems everybody else does too.

WORDS: ELLIE TENNANT