Hooray for rattan

Rattan is like Marmite. You either love it or hate it. I’m firmly in the adore-it camp.

Used as far back as Egyptian times, this plant – native to tropical regions of Australia, Asia, and Africa – has over 600 species. As the whole plant is used, it’s versatile, and very sustainable if harvested correctly. Win-win in my book.

My love of this climbing vine comes from a headboard that my parents had in the Seventies. As a child, I would stare lovingly at it for hours and trace all the curls and twists with my grubby fingers. To my six-year-old self, it was like magic. How could something bend into these most fantastic shapes? Why didn’t it snap? And why couldn’t my Dad make me a chair for my dolls house?

At the end of the Eighties, my parents decided to update their decor. Top of the list to go was the headboard. I put my case forward to save it, tears included. But the lure of faux mahogany was just too strong for them. To the rubbish tip it went.

Years later, when I was old enough to buy my own flat in London, I decided that the decor would be eclectic. No faux anything for me. Oh no. I would take my time. Things would be found at flea markets, second hand stores and during my foreign travels. Seventies rattan would be discovered, restored and take pride of place in my new home.

My grand plan quickly turned sour. Flea market furniture is generally rubbish, and it smells. London second hand store prices wouldn’t feel ashamed at Harvey Nics. I came across the odd sad, broken peacock chair at car boot sales, but just couldn’t bring myself to buy something I couldn’t sit on, never mind mend.

The plan had failed. My quest for rattan was over. Or so I thought.

Fast forward to the end of the Noughties; me and my husband decided to make the move to Europe. Not just any old part of Europe, either. We moved to a lovely place in Spain, where the local speciality is all things rattan. 

Every bar, restaurant and shop has it in abundance, in hundreds of different styles; from Seventies flamboyance to understated Scandi. 

Be still, my beating heart!

And if that wasn’t enough, it was the interiors trend for 2019, from Harrods to H&M and everywhere in between. Rattan is back on the décor map and it’s not going anywhere soon. A mesmerising headboard will soon mine.

Photo by Taylor Simpson on Unsplash