Rattan furniture is making a major comeback! The material has been used for a wide range of purposes for centuries, including as a furniture material.
The latest resurgence of rattan furniture was the second half of the mid-century modern era, the 1950s through the 70s. Given the popularity of MCM furniture today, it’s no surprise that rattan furniture is coming back too.
A quick note before we dive in: this guide includes affiliate links which means we might earn a small commission if you choose to purchase via some of the links below. As always all companies featured meet strict standards for sustainability and are brands we love, that we think you’ll love too!
Is Rattan Furniture Sustainable?
I’m typically not a fan of unequivocally calling a material “sustainable” because there are so many nuances to consider, but rattan if grown in its native habitat, harvested responsibly, and treated with minimal non-toxic finishes can certainly be a more sustainable option for furniture materials.
Rattan grows in tropical forests in places like Southeast Asia and grows like a climbing palm. So as with any other material sourced from rainforests, it is particularly crucial to ensure that sourcing it does not lead to deforestation and significant disruption of ecosystems.
Is There a Certification for More Responsibly-Sourced Rattan?
Yes! While imperfect, the Forest Stewardship Council is a certification body certifying more responsibly sourced wood, wood byproducts, and other forest products, including rattan.
Though while there are some case studies of rattan forests being FSC-certified, I have not come across rattan furniture that has the FSC certification. If you know of or run a brand with FSC-certified rattan furniture, do let me know!
Where to Find Vintage Rattan Furniture
As I mentioned, rattan furniture was popular in the latter half of the MCM era (1950s-70s). So you might just be able to find an authentic mid-century modern rattan piece! Here’s where I’d look:
- Local Estate Sales: I found a gorgeous set of wicker furniture at a local estate sale for an unbeatable price. Typically, in-demand mid-century modern furniture goes for obscene prices (it’s heartbreaking as an MCM lover on a budget!) but I have seen retro rattan and wicker furniture still available at a good discount when I go towards the end of an estate sale. Check estatesales.net to find estate sales near you.
- Chairish: If you’re looking for a more curated selection, Chairish is a great bet. Search for terms like rattan chair or rattan storage to find the gems you’ve been trying to hunt down. (And tell me about your finds so I can live vicariously through you!)
- Friends & Family: Check if your parents or grandparents have any rattan furniture laying around. Sometimes people don’t know what they have is valuable and they might be tempted to leave their older furniture at the curb.
You might also find vintage rattan furniture at a garage sale or resale shop, but it will probably be challenging to determine if it’s truly vintage or a secondhand modern-day rendition.
Our Top Picks for Rattan Furniture Companies
If you prefer to find new rattan furniture, perhaps with a more modern aesthetic, I have plenty of recommendations for that too. Check out these cozy finds!
1. Mojo Boutique @ Made Trade
Categories: Storage & Shelves, Accent Tables, Dining & Lounge Chairs
Price Range: $220 – $980
Ethically handcrafted by artisans in Bali and rural Indonesia, the woman-owned brand has unique Japandi and boho-inspired pieces to add warmth and elegance to any room. It’s impossible to pick a favorite, but I do have a weakness for stylish functional furniture like Mojo Boutique’s Japandi Rattan Shoe Storage and Bench. And their Iconic Rattan Lounge Chair takes my breath away.
2. The Citizenry
Categories: Lounge & Dining Chairs, Headboards, Benches & Stools
Price Range: $199 – $899
The Citizenry collaborates with artisan partners to bring customers handcrafted home goods made in a fair trade process guaranteed by the World Fair Trade Organization. Their rattan furniture is handcrafted in Indonesia in a workshop called Artisans of Cirebon using locally sourced Manau Rattan. Some of the pieces are also made with cane, which complements rattan beautifully.
3. Rattan Art Angels
Categories: Chairs & Swings, Sofas, Coffee Tables, Room Dividers
Price Range: $249 – $1299
The perfect addition to a laid-back living room, balcony or backyard oasis, Rattan Art Angels has rattan and cane swing chairs, sofas, tables, and chairs suitable for outdoor and indoor use. Rattan Art Angels also offers rattan sofas, headboards, lounge chairs, and coffee tables to bring in that natural cozy aesthetic in any part of your home.
4. King Cases Store
Categories: Shelves & Bookcases
Price Range: $65 – $260
For affordable rattan storage furniture, King Cases Store has you covered. The Etsy Shop’s arched wicker rattan shelves would be a dream for books, plants, or decor items for a living room, office, bedroom, or reading area. One reviewer even photographed their rattan shelf in their bathroom, using it as towel storage.
5. West Elm
Categories: Dresser & Media Console, Side Tables, Dining Chairs
Price Range: $229 – $2299
Furniture retailer West Elm has a strong selection of elegantly designed contemporary rattan furniture. Most of the pieces incorporate several materials like wood (including reclaimed mango wood and some FSC-certified wood options), cane, or even glass. This makes West Elm a great option if you’re looking for that boho touch but don’t want to commit to full-on rattan.
6. The Rattan Studio
Categories: Chairs & Daybeds, Coffee Tables, Headboards
Price Range: $225 – $2,000+
Based in Australia, The Rattan Studio creates made-to-order custom rattan pieces.
The pieces are intricate and incredibly detailed — they come with a higher price accordingly but if you’re looking for a special heirloom rattan piece, The Rattan Studio might just be the place for you.
7. Healthier Homes
Categories: Chairs & Stools, Swings
Price Range: $370 – $1100
Healthier Homes is a site bringing you all-things non-toxic home from furniture and decor to paint and wallpaper. They have a few rattan pieces like their sunset hanging chair and Koi counter stool made with rattan frames and in the stool’s case, rattan wicker as well.
More Conscious Furniture Guides
21 Sustainable Furniture Brands for an Eco Home
The Best Sustainable Outdoor Furniture Brands for Your Backyard Oasis
Eco-Friendly Chairs to Take a Sustainable Seat In
The post 7 Beautiful Brands With Rattan Furniture to Bring a Touch of Boho appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
7 Beautiful Brands With Rattan Furniture to Bring a Touch of Boho
Curating a conscious home is a thoughtful process involving much consideration — who made my products, how they were made, and what are they made from — and this guide aims to support you on your journey towards finding ethical and sustainable home decor you truly love.
What is Sustainable Home Decor?
Sustainable home decor includes any home decor that is made in a way that takes into consideration both the makers and the planet. Sustainable home decor will be ethically made using eco-friendly and natural materials. Eco-friendly decor will also be produced using sustainable supply chain practices. This includes using renewable energy and recycled or compostable packaging.
While there are numerous sustainable home decor brands, some of which are featured below, first consider what’s already been made in order to prevent contributing to new waste. Secondhand, used, or DIY home decor options are typically more sustainable than buying new.
What is Ethical and Fair Trade Home Decor?
Ethical and Fair Trade home decor is produced in a way that adheres to Fair Trade standards and is, ideally, Fair Trade Certified. Fair Trade means paying artisans and makers a fair, living wage and providing ethical working conditions. Ethical home decor also includes supporting goods made by artisans using traditional heritage techniques and art forms. Many cultures around the world are at risk of losing their age-old artisanal crafts forever in the age of mass manufacturing.
It’s important to note that sometimes a major brand may use an “eco” fiber while still supporting irresponsible labor practices, and excessive production amounts that inevitably lead to a lot of waste. This is not true sustainability in my mind!
Most artisan-made home decor is ethically produced and directly supports the makers. However, it’s important to check if a brand or marketplace is transparent about their business practices to ensure they are ethical or Fair Trade.
Where Can You Find Sustainable Home Decor?
In terms of environmental sustainability, looking secondhand and vintage is always a great first place to look for sustainable home decor.
But if you’ve scoured those options and haven’t found what you’re looking for and/or if you’re looking to financially support artisans and traditional crafts around the globe, this shopping guide is designed for you. You’ll discover many brands with artfully designed and artisan handmade goods for furnishing any space among this list of decor brands.
All of the brands in this guide use natural and/or recycled fibers and avoid the use of virgin synthetics like polyester; however, some brands do use materials that are not the most environmentally-friendly option on the market, such as conventional cotton.
And of course, I wanted to choose brands that followed slow, thoughtful production practices, prioritizing artisan handmade over factory labor and quality over quantity.
So without further ado, here are my favorite small-batch, artisan-made, and ethical home decor brands.
Note that this guide includes affiliate links — as always, we only curate brands vetted for sustainability that we love (and that we think you’ll love too).
1. Urban Natural
Categories: Accent Pillows, Tabletop, Lighting, Wall Art & Mirrors, Blankets & Throws
Eco-friendly home retailer Urban Natural is on a mission to curate high-quality furniture (and other home goods) built with quality and free of toxic chemicals. Urban Natural carries several sustainable home decor brands, including artisan brands Ethnicraft and Jaipur Living as well as ethically USA-made brands Farmhouse Pottery and East Fork.
2. GOODEE
Categories: Pillows, Lighting, Wall Decor, Planters, Baskets, Blankets, Candles
GOODEE is an ethical marketplace featuring numerous sustainable artisan brands and designers. You’ll find a variety of beautifully crafted home decor goods to suit a wide range of styles. Goodee is a Climate Neutral and B Corp Certified company. They publish an annual impact report so you can easily ensure their business practices align with your values.
Our favorite brands on Goodee are Texidors, Baba Tree, Makaua, and Tensira.
3. Healthier Homes
Categories: Rugs, Lighting, Tabletop, Baskets, Wall Decor & Wallpaper
Founded after years running an award-winning healthy home building firm and publishing a book by the same name (Healthier Homes) this retailer is a go-to online destination for finding non-toxic home goods. The eco-friendly home decor on Healthier Homes is primarily made with natural materials like clay, cotton, seagrass, mango wood, and bamboo,
4. Will & Atlas
Categories: Baskets, Tabletop
Will & Atlas is a women-owned small business making most of their homewares from plant materials like jute, palm leaf, and hogla grass. Their natural fiber baskets are flexile but sturdy built to hold blankets, pillows, laundry, magazines, toys, or just to stand alone as a decor piece. You’ll also find jute coasters and placemats in their tabletop collection.
The brand is committed to ethical practices, partnering with nonprofit fair trade artisan groups in Bangladesh and craftspeople in the U.S. to build long-lasting production relationships.
5. Ten Thousand Villages
Categories: Baskets, Pillows, Throws, Candles, Wall Art, Planters & Vases
Founded 80 years ago, Ten Thousand Villages is the original fair trade store. Throughout the decades, the nonprofit business has continued their commitment to fair wages, safe working conditions, as well as sustainability.
As a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization, with artisans around the world from under-resourced communities. Most of the products they carry are made from recycled, upcycled, and natural materials.
6. MagicLinen
Categories: Curtains, Kitchen Linens
Linen is an exceptional material for home decor — there’s a reason we say “kitchen linens!” It’s natural, beautiful, and is often high quality.
I purchased a set of linen curtains from Magic Linen one year ago and they remain one of my favorite home decor pieces. The fabric they use meets the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, meaning its been tested for harmful substances.
7. Passion Lilie
Categories: Pillow Covers, Table Linens
Passion Lilie is a fair trade fashion and lifestyle brand with ethically made home decor, too. The Fair Trade Verified brand has handwoven cotton blankets, organic cotton kitchen linens, unique ornaments, and hand-dyed throw pillow covers.
Each piece is made by Passion Lilie’s partners in India who pay living wages and ensure a safe working environment. Beyond this, the brand supports efforts to enable artisans to continually develop their skills and creates opportunities for community development.
8. 54kibo
Categories: Throw Pillows, Wall Hangings & Artwork, Mirrors, Baskets, Rugs, Lighting
A destination for modern African artisanal decor, 54kibo curates a stunning selection of ethically made home decor. The pieces on 54kibo are made with time-honored techniques using locally sourced materials with rich histories. The designs are exceptional, but the stories behind them make the pieces beautiful additions to your home beyond the surface.
9. The Citizenry
Categories: Baskets, Planters & Vases, Tabletop, Wall Decor, Mirrors
The Citizenry partners with artisans around the world, ensuring safe conditions, fair wages, and offering grants to their artisan partners so that they can expand their businesses.
Their online collection features small-batch artisan-made home goods made from locally-sourced and natural materials like palm leaves and indigo dyes.
More Sustainable Home Guides:
Sustainable Furniture Brands to Furnish a Conscious Home
Best Eco-Friendly and Zero Waste Kitchen Products
Easy Swaps for a Low Waste, Sustainable Bathroom
The post 9 Beautiful Places to Source Ethical and Eco-Friendly Home Decor appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
9 Beautiful Places to Source Ethical and Eco-Friendly Home Decor