A Must-have coffee table book for rattan lovers + WAYS TO BRING this timeless material into your home

Open any shelter magazine and you’ll find bamboo, wicker and rattan furniture and accessories adding warmth and texture to homes of various styles and in locales ranging from mountains to beaches and everywhere in between. While rattan is certainly on trend, it’s also true that decorating with woven and natural materials has been en vogue for decades. My feelings about rattan as a mainstay in traditional decorating were reinforced by Lulu Lytle’s book Rattan A World of Elegance and Charm. I also came away feeling that I can confidently select “Rattan for $1,000,” in a round of Jeopardy.

After spending a rainy afternoon completely immersed in this beautiful book, I can tell you that it’s as informative and educational as it is gorgeous! Rattan offers a history of the material, its various manufacturers and applications, as well as an overview of its popularity throughout the ages. Lytle delves into rattan’s origins dating back to the Asian and Egyptian empires, illustrating that our current fascination with rattan is more than a passing decor fad. She writes, “Although rattan’s popularity has ebbed and flowed over the years, it retains a certain allure that few other materials possess. Immediately evocative of warmth, relaxation, and laid-back elegance, rattan is associated with exotic travel and the glamorous lifestyles of Diana Vreeland’s “beautiful people,” imbuing it with great romance.”