You should have hung on to your rattan furniture from the '80s

Lightweight and durable, rattan is a tropical material with endless appeal, writes Roberta Thatcher

Looking back at photos of my third birthday party, I was struck, not by the 1980s hairstyles, Barbie ice-cream cake or copious tins of Mello Yello on the table. Call it an occupational hazard, but my eye was drawn to the furniture in my parents' living room. A sleek rattan lounge suite upholstered in a green and white palm print that would have been completely at ease in any 2017 design fair.

Unfortunately, said lounge suite is no more, but so inspired was I by my parents' forward-thinking design sensibility that I decided to read up on the eternally popular material that is rattan.

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Rattan has long been used to create furniture and accessories, especially in tropical locales such as the Philippines, from where it hails. It made its way to the UK during the height of the British Empire in the 19th century as families stationed in the tropics returned home with their exotic furnishings.

By the early part of the 20th century, rattan furniture began to show up in the US as travellers brought it back on steamships. But it was only after World War 2, when thousands of GIs took a shine to the tropical furniture while posted in the Pacific, that the craze really hit the US.

Responding to the increasing request for rattan garden furniture, designers such as Paul Frankl began to experiment with the material, coming up with, among others, the popular pretzel-armed chair, which helped take rattan mainstream.

A practical material, rattan is highly sought after in the furniture industry, both for its strength and its ease of manipulation, which gives it its signature curving forms. Add to this its light, golden colour, and you have a material that brings a tropical whiff to any suburban room.

Rattan is also lightweight and durable, making it easy to move and able to withstand extreme conditions. Look after it properly, and your furniture could last 50 years. So, if you have a set, and are thinking of tossing it out ... think of your kids, who in 30-odd years' time may be cursing that flippant decision.