Here's a dirty little secret of the furniture business: most of what sells as rattan these days has never met a rattan plant. It's a veneer wrap over softwood, styled to look tropical, built to last about as long as the trend.
Real rattan is a different animal, and once you know what to look for, you can't unsee it.
How can you tell real rattan furniture?
Look at the joints. Traditional rattan construction uses mature rattan poles joined with what's called a fish-mouth joint, where one pole is cut to cup around the other like an open mouth, then fastened with wood screws and dowels and wrapped in natural rawhide bindings. Those leather wraps at every junction aren't decoration. They're the structure, and they've been doing the job for a century.
That's the exact construction Alexander and Sheridan publishes for their pieces, which is why they're the rattan line on our floor. The company started in Toronto in 1974, is based in Florida now, and builds from mature natural materials out of Southeast Asia, where rattan actually grows. They'll spend over a year designing a single piece before it ships.
Does rattan hold up in Florida?
Rattan has been furnishing tropical climates for generations. It likes it here. Living room groups, dining sets, barstools, occasional tables, and yes, even cabinet beds. The look reads Florida without tipping into tiki bar, which is a harder line to walk than it sounds.
Come inspect the joints yourself, that's genuinely the fun part. Run a thumb over the rawhide wraps at 1024 S Harbor City Blvd in Melbourne. More on the company on our Alexander and Sheridan page.
Eric
