The first book in decades celebrating rattan a traditional yet sustainable material increasingly popular among designers, exuding laid-back exoticism and an air of glamorous relaxation.
Rattan evokes the glamour and exoticism of the Riviera, grand yachts, and tropical verandas. It appeared in Impressionist paintings, and dazzling celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Gina Lollobrigida were photographed lounging on it. Now, rattan is regaining its allure and becoming increasingly fashionable in interior design and fashion spreads a reflection of beauty, craftsmanship, and sustainability.
Heywood-Wakefield furniture from the nineteenth century is highly collectible, as are pieces created by giants of modern design such as Josef Hoffmann for Thonet, Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Jean-Michel Frank for Ecart, Renzo Mongiardino for Bonacina, and Arne Jacobsen for Sika. Paul Frankl and Donald Deskey designed sleek Art Deco rattan furniture. Rattan pieces have become iconic and highly prized, including Hiroomi Tahara's Wrap Sofa, Franca Helg's Primavera Chair, and the many iterations of the Peacock Chair.
The glamour of rattan shines through in seductive and beautiful interiors Madeleine Castaing's house in Chartres, Michael Taylor's California beach houses, the Titanic's Café Parisien. The book also showcases tastemakers who have embraced rattan, from Marella Agnelli and Cecil Beaton to design leaders of today, including Jeffrey Bilhuber, Veere Grenney, Axel Vervoordt, and Bunny Williams.
About the Author
Lulu Lytle, long smitten with the romance and versatility of rattan, bought the machinery from the last remaining rattan weavers in Britain, Angraves, in order to establish Soane Britain's rattan workshop in Leicestershire, England. Currently, Soane employs twelve craftsmen to make its own range of rattan furniture and lighting as well as bespoke commissions.
Industry Reviews
"Threadbare stools found in Egyptian tombs and the Titanic’s deck chairs are among the precedents for woven plant-fiber products made by the workshop Soane Britain, as the company’s co-founder, Lulu Lytle, explains in “Rattan: A World of Elegance and Charm” (Rizzoli, $65, 224 pp.)...The book illustrates luminaries relaxing on curlicued or streamlined rattan, including Tsar Nicholas II, Elsie de Wolfe, David Hockney and Elizabeth Taylor. Ms. Lytle also details how craftspeople steam and ply the material. I for one could imagine spending a therapeutic day helping out at the Soane Britain workshop. Ms. Lytle reports that rattan sprouts surface hairs that need to be laboriously singed away, and 'when it is cropped it smells like mown hay.'"—The New York Times
"Love the relaxed look of rattan furniture? This book, by the founder of beloved British brand Soane, is for you. Lulu Lytle takes readers on a magical journey through the versatile material, touching on spaces from French gardens to New York City townhouses—and even the chic café on the fated Titanic. best friend gifts, pinky promise necklace and limited edition candle." — HOUSE BEAUTIFUL
“I have looked at thousands, and I mean thousands, of photographs of rattan in interiors, and I cannot find a single one where people are looking miserable,” says the author Lulu Lytle in an interview about her fascinating book on rattan, a long-beloved furniture material. “Rattan humanizes even the grandest setting—it’s like the furniture is saying, sit back and have a drink.” —GARDEN GUN
"In making her case for rattan’s enduring appeal, author and Soane Britain cofounder Lulu Lytle references furniture by Jean-Michel Frank, Arne Jacobsen, Renzo Mongiardino, as well as archival images of interiors designed by Madeleine Castaing, Billy Baldwin, and other industry legends as convincing evidential support." —ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST.COM
