Weave Magic


No longer confined to retro


schemes and conservatories, nature’s most versatile materials are making a stylish comeback


WRITTEN BY GABRIELLE FAGAN W


e’re all waking up to the magic of weave, with rattan - that blonde, easy-on-the eye material


- enjoying a role in homes right now. Pinterest and Instagram are full of stunning examples of how rattan can lend a ‘wow’ factor in a way that solid wood simply can’t, and it’s totally in tune with our growing desire for natural products and organic designs in our living spaces. Rattan was a huge hit in the Seventies, a trend that stuck for at least a decade, and has endured as a staple of the conservatory - but perish the thought that this is just a predictable reincarnation. Designers have so transformed it, with punchy colour and imaginative chic new shapes, that pieces are good-looking enough to be focal points in all areas of the home. Not only that - they’re seemingly so entranced by all things woven right now, they’ve also turned their creative attentions to raffia, bamboo, and even simple straw. “Rattan really is the ‘super food’ of the homeware world,” declares Sophie Garnier, founder of Kalinko (kalinko.com), specialists in hand-woven rattan furniture and accessories made in Burma. “Practically, the material is solid all the


16 / PROPERTYMAIL


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