Rattan and wicker furniture

Rattan and wicker furniture

The use of the wattle with wicker to build baskets is a very ancient practice, while only afterwards this material was used for the craftmade production of chairs and small furniture.

Traces about woven chairs have been found in some Roman bas-reliefs, as well as some models made of cane and papyrus were found in the tombs of ancient Egypt.

But it was only since the end of '800, however, that the mass production of woven furniture becomes a noteworthy reality in the furniture industry, and to the wicker of European tradition soon the cane, or rattan, was added, imported from South East Asia, especially Malaysia and Indonesia.

Even the Great Personalities of Modern Architecture appreciated the versatility of this material and proposed wicker or rattan elements in their buildings.

The main feature of wicker and rattan is the flexibility, combined with strength and lightness, much more than other materials. The extreme resistance to damages caused by weather makes this material a good choice to make outdoor furniture, although this type of furniture is also often chosen for indoor.

Wicker and rattan: construction techniques and natural colors

As regards more closely the construction technique: the structure of these items is made using the cane of a larger cross section, while for the plot itself is used that of smaller section that is easier to work with and the result is much more aesthetically elegant. From the wiredrawing of cane derives the rush, used for weaving.

The cane itself can have different names depending on its place of origin and therefore it can have different shades, so we will have the light color cane, the most common, the Manila cane, or the spotted nuances of the Manao cane, or even the typical burnished red type of Malacca .

Willow and cane

But it is the willow or wicker the most used material in Europe, recently replaced by rush, easier to work for his constant section.

The cane or rattan, instead, is typical of the regions of the Far East, and was initially imported raw and then processed in the West. The best varieties are those from Malaysia, Java, Borneo, Burma and from Indo-China.

Woven furniture

The company DOLCEFARNIENTE was born in the seventies, at first specialized in the production and distribution of rattan furniture for indoor spaces, all over Europe. It is produced in 2006 the first collection for outdoor spaces: Outside & In.

Just over a year ago, there comes the new chapter in the history of the company, leading Dolcefarniente to be part of a holding company for the complete realization of real estate transactions, with the care of the whole project, and that means from building to designing interiors.

The name of the company, Docefarniente, that could be translated into Pleasant-idleness, denotes the philosophical thought, the same concept of lifestyle that is the basis of the entire production: relaxation at home as the main premise of the concept of classical and contemporary luxury in harmony with the use of natural materials , processed by traditional methods and hand-woven.

With Dolcefarniente it then becomes clear the change about thinking of this kind of production only for outdoor furniture, typical of the first realizations in wicker or rattan. In fact, you can use this style (because, ultimately, it is a real style) for the realization of fully furnished indoor spaces of undisputed elegance, not only chairs, thanks to the different colors of the materials as well as the wide range of fabrics available.

This is why are designed rattan collections such as Jade, in different types of articles such as chairs, pouffs or sofas, in different colors, ideal for waiting, leisure, rest, or simply for the sake of owning it.

Very unusual is the chair Calla Rattan, unique and original, with the typical shape of the flower from which it takes its name, while keeping its elegance. It is made by hand, and you can add a cushion to customize it, or cover it with a housse coverage.

Daisy represents the ultimate demonstration of what can be achieved with this material, emphasizing its lightness, versatility and flexibility to obtain a sinuous shape, made even more original by using different colors simultaneously in a single piece, with the result in shades otherwise impossible to achieve.

Rose is the collection for the bedroom made of webbing rattan, woven in order to obtain the typical Scottish patterns on the head of the bed. The bed are also combined with bedside tables and chest of drawers in the same finish.

Wicker: from basket to pieces of woven furniture

It is from the experience of working with willow to build baskets in the Enza Valley that inspiration comes for the company CASTAGNETTI to create its own sales network, in order to hand out these typical products in the warehouses of Europe and Northern America.

Since that time, ancient and modern styles have alternated in the products offered in various collections, which were only chairs at the beginning: from reproductions of articles of '800 to the creations of modern style products, without ever neglecting the qualitative aspect typical of artisan production.

Over the time, together with chairs, other types of wicker items were added, such as cabinets, cupboards, sideboards. In addition, even other collections of purely Oriental taste, a choice that gave rise to the birth of the Ethnic World collection, which includes examples of fine wood handcrafted furniture.