Often mixed up with bamboo or willow, rattan belongs to the palm family. It attaches itself and climbs to the biggest trees in the rainforest. Some rattan vines can reach up to 300m long. There are more than 300 different varieties with different colors, sizes and localizations. Some can be found in Africa (Cameroun), Amazonia, but Asia is its favorite continent, and Indonesia particularly, where the nicest varieties can be found. The specificity of rattan is its ability to be curved when steamed and, once it has cooled down, to keep the shape that was given. Rattan is the ideal material for curves, curls, rings and is much appreciated for its resistance to humidity and temperature changes. On a single armchair, 3 or 4 rattan varieties can be found, each of them with special features : the structure will be built in a strong rattan, with large diameter, the weaving part in a fibrous rattan, the ligatures in a knot-free variety etc...
Rattan in its natural environment
Rattan ready to be used
Curving rattan manually
Most rattan varieties grows or are cultivated in South-East Asia, mainly in the area around the Borneo rainforests. Farmers go to the jungle everyday and cut all kinds of rattan. The collected vines are weighted and paid every night then brought by boat to a sorting site. The women that often work in these companies wash, cut and sort all kinds of rattan that will later be sold to manufacturers across Indonesia.
The richness of soil in this area made it possible to let grow hundreds of varieties, each of them with special features, that we can use for our furniture and baskets. Depending on the place where rattan grows, it can be very dense in the inside, which is perfect for structures, or very soft, which is perfect for weaving or decoration. Diameters range from 2 to 50mm... with numerous possibilities. The natural color also range from straw-coloured yellow to dark brown, also depending on the area where it grows. Nonetheless, rattan skin can be removed, peeled. The core absorbs al kinds of colors and lacquers, allowing all kinds of designs.
Bamboo is often mixed up with rattan when it comes as sticks. Same yellowish skin color when dried, round knots... The main difference is that bamboo has a hollow trunk while rattan is solid. Bamboo is very stiff, it is even used to build scaffolding in Asia, but it is impossible to bend. It is also usually wider than rattan. Some furniture are also made in bamboo, but only with straight designs.
Bamboo = straight and stiff vs. rattan = curved and flexible.
Willow tends to grow in colder climates. Even when it comes from China, it comes from the north of this immense country... It is mainly used as a weaving material for basketry or armchairs, and it takes a great deal of skill and know-how to create furniture made entirely from willow, as we offer at KOK MAISON. When bleached and woven, it can be mistaken for rattan core, but it is naturally darker (buff when it has retained its bark), shinier and stiffer. It is quite difficult to find the same tight weave as a rattan basket or furniture with all its curves and volutes. In France, it is traditionally found in Haute-Marne, Touraine and the Somme, but it can be grown anywhere that is damp and cool.
Cutting rattan from the rainforest
Hot bath where parasites are killed
Open air drying
On arrival at the factory, a machine peels the rattan cane
The cane is placed in steam ovens...
And so it can be bent and shaped
It takes a lot of skill to bend properly
Templates are used for adjusting the curves
Assembling...
... and we've already got the structure of a chair!
Bindings are added
On tisse directement sur la structureWeaving directly onto the structure
The same technique is used for rattan baskets
Final check
For regular maintenance: remove dust with a cloth or hoover.
To clean rattan baskets or seats: brush gently with warm salted water. Rinse thoroughly in cold water and leave to dry.
After being stored in a garage all winter, rattan furniture often gets dirty. Brush it with black soap diluted in hot water after wiping with a damp cloth. Once dry, apply a coat of linseed oil with a brush. Your garden furniture will be as good as new. To match your garden accessories or give it a more contemporary look, opt for a paint that holds the material well. If your furniture is varnished, brush it with hot water mixed with "Saint Marc" detergent and a few drops of ammonia. Rinse and leave to dry before nourishing with linseed oil and polishing with a cloth.
Natural rattan is in no way guaranteed for outdoor use. It is a natural material. It discolours in the sun and will suffer from micro-fungi and mould if left in the rain all the time, or even worse if exposed to frost. It can, however, spend the summer outdoors and will withstand a little light rain, especially if it still has its bark on. Like Parisian cafés, you should always take your seats inside in bad weather and store them in a dry place.
However, it can cope very well with changes in humidity and temperature indoors, making it ideal for conservatories, winter gardens and sheltered terraces.
The unbleached fabric used for our baskets is 100% cotton. We recommend washing at 30°C maximum.
For furniture cushions, please refer to the instructions on each item description. The vast majority of our cushions are removable and machine washable at 30°C. To make it easier to fit the cushion covers, it's best if they're still slightly damp. Always fold the cushion foam over well when covering to avoid damaging the zips.
Rattan core is the name given to the inner part of the rattan cane, which is solid, unlike bamboo. This inner part is drawn into several filaments, several meters long and of varying cross-sections, most often round and with diameters ranging from 2mm to 8mm, using a very powerful machine that pushes the rattan cane through a pre-calibrated grid, a bit like a spaghetti machine. These ‘ strands’, gathered into bundles, are then used as the raw material for weaving armchairs or baskets. They are sometimes sold in small 250g coils. As it is the inside of the rattan cane, by definition rattan core has a fibrous appearance and no skin. It is easy to varnish and stain, just as you would with untreated wood.
'Tohiti’ rattan comes from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Its diameter varies from 10 to 32 mm and its length can reach 200 metres. Its main characteristic is its density. Its skin is very hard, while its fibre is very flexible. It is steamed around a mould to give it the desired shape, which it retains as it cools. This is a very beautiful variety that we like to use for our seating structures.
We use ‘tohiti’ rattan to make the rattan furniture and seats in the Gingko collection, making the most of all the properties of the material.
Rattan strand is the name given to the ‘lace’ obtained by peeling a rattan cane, still with its skin. It is used for binding or for beautiful flat braids, because the silica contained naturally in the rattan skin gives the strands unrivalled strength. The very fine qualities of strands, taken from rattan varieties with very few knots, are used for the ‘French caning’ of stylish chairs.
Our Saigon collection features open and closed straight caning, made entirely from rattan strands.
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