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Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}

by | May 11, 2016 | Decorating Inspiration, Gather

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Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Studio McGee – Woven Pendants

Rattan and bamboo pieces are both classic and a trending look for the past couple of years. Some people are currently really getting INTO them and some people (ahem, like myself) always knew they were cool :).

Maybe this is one of those cases where I was so out that I am now back in (or something like that), but in or out it doesn’t matter to me, I consider woven, rattan or bamboo furniture or any natural pieces a classic staple you can always add in to your look even in a single accent.

Rattan is natural, flexible and can be woven and bamboo is rigid. They each have a different look, but similar vibe.

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Rattan Bed Source

I’ve had rattan and bamboo pieces as far back as I can remember, I think they add so much character and texture to a room. My mom has had rattan for years, it’s always been around our house!

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}

You might remember my two woven rattan dining room chairs from our old house, and the steal of a deal I found on a flea market bamboo shelving unit for my office (currently in our dining room), the bamboo chairs I painted white many years ago, the real bamboo we added to our custom stove cabinet in our English Tudor back before I started blogging! I even have a vintage bamboo dresser, an outdoor settee, and a bamboo style brass mirror (not yet shown!). And of course, my newest piece, the rattan day bed.

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Serena and Lily / Rattan Chair Source

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}IKEA

While these types of natural materials might conjure up images in your mind of certain styles you may or may not prefer, bamboo and rattan accents are really not limited to only one type of home or style. I think the style is all in how and where you use it! Overdone or decorative rattan can be a bit kitschy for my taste, but I think a few classic pieces tucked in here and there work well with many styles.

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}The Inspired Room

I picture the rattan pieces I tend to like as having a bit of a breezy tropical-coastal-island or even British Colonial vibe, but styles of rattan or bamboo can also be a mid-century or Bohemian look. And whether you pair it with your basic upholstered or slipcovered pieces, include it in your garden room, incorporate it into a farmhouse or cottage style or combine it with antiques or in a modern space, it will add a collected element, which of course brings even more dimension and interest and warmth to any style of home indoors or out.

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}The Inspired Room / Rattan Day Bed / More Daybed Sources

That’s the beauty of it, I think. You can really use it however and wherever you’d like to jazz up a room and add a little texture. Rattan or bamboo pieces don’t have to define a style or limit it to a look, but can simply be an additional element to the style you already have.

Don’t feel pressured to get rid of them when the trend police tells you they are out. As with anything in moderation, you can make it work and be on the cutting edge of what’s happening (either coming or going, it’s a classic!).

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Photography by Simon Watson for T magazine / via Coco Kelley

To dip your toes into this look, pick up  a new or vintage rattan or bamboo accent chair, a set of woven dining chairs, add a woven basket-style light fixture, hang a bamboo mirror, use a bamboo shelving unit, a trunk or side table, dresser, daybed, or a footstool. The options are endless!

Use several pieces throughout your home or just include one accent piece, whatever suits your look. You can paint bamboo, too, so you don’t have to stick with the natural colors. Go bold or soft, either way, a painted bamboo piece will look great.

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}The Inspired Room

Today you’ll find a round up of photos with various types of woven and bamboo pieces for inspiration and a collage of items you can find online to bring a touch of rattan to your home!

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}
Australia House and Garden / Homes to Love – Styling by Janet James – Photo by Chris Warnes – Rattan headboard via Naturally Cane

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Dining Room Design Caitlin Creer  Millhaven Homes & Alice Lane Home Collection Photography Hiyapapaya

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Serena and Lily / Rattan Bed

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}
Serena and Lily / Rattan Bar Cart

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}SF Girl By Bay

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}
Williams-Sonoma Home / Rattan Arm Chair

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Emily Henderson

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}
Lonny / Jenny Wolf Interiors

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}
Serena and Lily / Hanging Rattan Chair

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}Williams-Sonoma Home

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}

Sources (contains affiliates): 1. Rattan day bed // 2. Round rattan mirror // 3. Turquoise rattan mirror // 4. Rattan Chippendale dining chair // 5.  Rattan Basket // 6. Rattan day bed (in our living room) // 7. Rattan chair // 8. Rattan Bar Cart // 9. Lanai mirror // 10. Rattan stool // 11. Rattan round arm chair // 12. Rattan wing chair // 13. Rattan bench // 14. Riviera bar/planter

Do you have any rattan or bamboo pieces?

Rattan & Bamboo Accent Furniture {Classic & Trending}

18 Comments

  1. Tracie

    I love the black IKEA chair! All the photos are inspiring, and I can see why you chose the daybed. It definitely has the kick back and relax vibe that works well with your home.

  2. Andrea M. Schnapp

    I have had at least one piece of rattan/bamboo piece of furniture in my home for the past 42 years. My first piece was from Pier One, back in 1975. An etegere that had all my house plants on it. Our bed is bamboo, Tommy Bahama from Lexington. I tried to post a picture, but your posts don’t allow it. ?

  3. Linda Stoll

    Can’t say I’ve been a fan, Melissa.

    But after this little visit filled with light and pillows and color, I’m voting ‘yes, please!’

    ;-}

  4. Linda Tucker

    You are spot on! I have been coveting rattan pieces for years, even when not “trending”! Your daybed is wonderful; just the right piece for that area. I use it all over…it’s not just for sunrooms anymore!

  5. Kathie Briggs

    I have a wonderful dark finish rattan chair & ottoman that was on my sun porch in my last house. I may use it in the living room or my studio when I move into my new house. Wish I could add a photo, Also a rattan table that was my grandmother’s. It was on my covered front porch and will likely serve the same roll in the new house as the new house is craftsman style with a great covered porch. It needs repainting and I’ll use Annie Sloan chalk paint. I love the colors and the ease.

  6. Candice from Georgetown, Ontario

    Yup, Rattan and wicker are great. I bought a pair of indoor outdoor wicker chairs from Pier One Imports and found them so comfortable and cute that I bought another pair for the breakfast table seating. There are another two on the front terrace and another two on the balcony off the master. In total, 8!!!

  7. Dawn

    My sister recently passed a wicker framed mirror down to me which is perfect in my entryway. I’m not sure what material it’s woven from. And I had been looking for a stool for extra seating in my kitchen and found a vintage bamboo one in perfect condition. Both pieces add needed texture to our living area!

  8. Carolyn

    I just scored a rattan sofa from my neighbor’s trash! It only needed minor repairs and new cushions which I found at Target! So excited about my “new” piece for my gazebo!!

  9. Terri

    We have several pieces of rattan and wicker (live in SW Florida) and use them on the lanai and front porch. I do find that our heat and high humidity make for a lot of problems with the usual end of summer mildew, etc. I would like to know more about proper cleaning and care of these pieces. Also, I love the bromeliad wall hanging in the Australia House you posted!

  10. Melinda Young

    Love the vibe rattan gives off. Light, cool and comfortable with a cozy warmth. Great write up on how it will last through the ages.
    As for our home, when picking out pendant lights for above our island, we fell in love with a wicker/bamboo type. It added a lot of warmth right away. Love the feel they have. I knew we were “in style”. :)

  11. Lisa

    My mom always believed that a bamboo, especially ‘burnt bamboo’ and/or rattan/wicker piece added interest and charm to any room. The examples here all stunning!

  12. sandyc

    I’ve always loved rattan and wicker and, though I enjoy looking at white beachy cottage scenes, my leaning is toward the British Colonial vibe as you described it, maybe partially because from childhood, being an avid reader, I’ve always had a fascination with British Colonial history and probably because there’s always the green of the jungle and forests that my heart craves. I think your new daybed is perfect and wonderful and, with all the plants you’ve brought in, you have achieved that slightly British Colonial in a relaxed and comfortable way. Right now I have a simple but surprisingly comfortable chair from Pier 1 in a medium brown/tan – didn’t use it for the purpose I bought it and it doesn’t have a designated place but it’s staying because it can go anywhere. I could be very happy with that turquoise mirror in my guest bath – unfortunately I could get a new stock vanity and a fairly basic American Standard toilet from Lowe’s for that same price – however, inspiration, a bit of searching and a can of paint could be just as effective and be in the spirit of The Inspired Room.

  13. sharon / tpt

    still dreaming of the very high-backed vintage (even then) rattan chair stolen (frowny face) from the porch of our then apartment decades ago. #rattan4ever !!
    as per usual ~ you pics rock.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      GAH, no…that’s very sad :( I hope you’ll eventually stumble upon it or one like it somewhere, someday…

  14. sharon / tpt

    oops. … ‘your pics rock’ (guess I’ll go ahead and use proper English…)

  15. Rebecca Turner

    I love this post! I think of my personal style as British Colonial, but incredibly, I do not have any bamboo, rattan or wicker furniture. I have always wanted to own a few special pieces. In fact, I looked longingly at a wonderful pair of rattan Chippendale chairs (at an antique mall that I frequent) for months and months, but they are gone now. Sadly, a person can only have so many chairs in her home. You see, I have a thing for chairs. (And lamps!) I guess I was worried about what my husband would say…because I already have furniture in storage, and I’ve also farmed out one chair to my mother. I simply cannot get rid of my antique French chairs, (or the good reproductions either) and I cannot get rid of “his” Victorian inherited chair, or the comfy English style gentleman’s chairs that we sit in every day, so I simply don’t have room. I need to look for an occasional piece that I can tuck in somewhere. Thanks for filling my head with ideas! Ha!

  16. Gretchen Mercer

    I’m drunk on all of this wonderful furniture! It has an emotional appeal. Beautiful collection.

 

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