Decorating Your Home with Rattan

Tips from Studio Jasa Arsitek Jakarta for beautifying your home with rattan.

Rattan is one of the many plant varieties that thrive in Indonesia. There are up to 300 types of rattan, with some popular ones in Indonesia including susu rattan, irit rattan, red rattan, lambang rattan, sega rattan, batang rattan, and many more. Its harvest time depends on the type being cultivated. Sega rattan, for example, can only be harvested at 25 years old, while irit rattan is ready at 7-10 years. Across many home design and architecture services, rattan application is already widely renowned for bringing a classic, beautiful feel to homes and furniture alike. In fact, nearly 80% of the international market imports this material from Indonesia.

The rattan plant comes from a climbing vine in the palm family, growing widely in the forests of Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan. This plant adapts remarkably well and can survive in swampy, dry, or even mountainous soil. It climbs and winds around other plants, reaching heights of up to 2-2.5 meters. It also has jointed stems similar to bamboo and thorny fronds, requiring a special technique to harvest.

Characteristics of Rattan

Rattan is widely used as a decorative and craft material that enhances a room’s aesthetic. It can also be used for practical purposes, such as tableware, chairs, and more. Some characteristics that make rattan an excellent material include:

• Eco-friendly, with high resale value and abundant supply in Indonesia, at an affordable price, yet its beautiful craftsmanship can make it look expensive. This is exactly why so many architects and home designers love integrating rattan decor into a home.
• A natural color that radiates a tropical, natural aesthetic, while also absorbing paint perfectly, letting paint colors stand out to their fullest.
• Flexible placement in any room, whether indoor or outdoor.
• Top-tier durability — strong, flexible, and easy to shape for furniture and household items. Many local home-scale and factory-scale industries specialize in rattan handicrafts using weaving techniques, such as making chairs, tables, mats, beds, sofas, and tableware. Even some distinctive Indonesian musical instruments use this palm-family plant, such as the marimba, tambo, and gedombak, and it’s also used in the design of acoustic guitars and an ITB-innovated electric violin.

Applying Rattan for Home Decor

With the characteristics Studio Jasa Arsitek Jakarta has laid out above, you can imagine how unique a home would look with rattan elements added to beautify its empty corners. Here’s a roundup of rattan decor that home designers often include in their plans, making a home feel more alive and rustic.

Wall Decor, or Accents for Mirrors and Lamps

Wall decor with a rattan touch can add to its aesthetic value, evoking the feel of tropical villas in Bali. Various decor pieces can be given a rattan layer, such as mirror frames, lamp bases, and woven plate ornaments mounted on the wall to form a harmonious arrangement.

Vases and Baskets

If you enjoy keeping ornamental plants, rattan vases can make the perfect pot base for room decor — whether as a hanging pot, a table-corner accent, or a room-corner accent. If you want something more practical, you can use a rattan basket for laundry, or as extra storage, such as for tissues. Besides keeping the room tidy, it also looks elegant.

Sofas or Chairs

Sofa and chair furniture made from this material gives a room a warm, cozy feel. The neutral wood tone of rattan chairs pairs well with a few white, beige, or other soft-colored cushions. It’s also often chosen for outdoor beds and sofas, thanks to its strong, cool material.

Rugs, Mats, and Tablecloths

This material is also widely used for making rugs, mats, and tablecloths. A room also looks warm and charming, especially when the color has been matched to your home designer’s or architect’s overall design, keeping it in harmony with the home’s overall theme. Rattan mats are a great fit for tropical environments since the material stays cool and doesn’t absorb heat easily.

Tableware

Some uses of this material in tableware can be found in plates. That said, these are only suitable as a base for wax paper or banana leaves. Other applications include coasters, various trays, and something we often find used for a floating breakfast setup at villas.

Cabinets or Shelves

Rattan cabinets and shelves are also beautiful as storage for clothes in a bedroom or guest room, or for small items like your hobby collection. You can satisfy both your visual taste and practical function at the same time.

Studio Jasa Arsitek Jakarta’s Rattan Decor Care Tips

That said, compared to bamboo, this material is quite prone to termites. Follow our tips to help preserve this material so it can beautify your home for a long time.

• Don’t use chemicals to clean rattan furniture — just use a dry cloth to remove dust that’s settled on your furniture.
• Repainting is a great alternative for restoring rattan’s beautiful color once it fades. This is especially true if you’ve placed it somewhere exposed to direct sunlight and rain, which will speed up the furniture’s color-fading process.

Get more interesting insights on room design by following us on Instagram @studiojaj. Interested in giving your home a fresh new redesign? Studio Jasa Arsitek Jakarta can help bring your dream home to life and create a standout tropical element that holds its own against the luxurious villa designs in Bali. Contact us for a consultation via email: info@jasaarsitekjakarta.com or 081 222 437 888 (WhatsApp/call).