The way we light our living spaces makes such a huge difference to the feel of a room – the ambience, the cosiness, the warmth! Arguably it’s one of the most important aspects of interior design. The style, the textures in the materials, the colours and the bulbs we choose all contribute to the personality of a living space.

Clever use of lighting can make a dark, small space appear open and airy and a large, open space feel cosy. After all lighting can even affect our mood. Bright lighting is more likely to make us feel alert, whilst soft ambient lighting is more likely to make us feel calm and relaxed.

The experienced buying team at Fairtrade Lifestyle takes all these factors into consideration when choosing the table lamps and floor lamps that make up our extensive lighting ranges.

Our lighting ranges include table and floor lamps made from wood, metal, mosaic, ceramic, shell & bamboo and rattan. But here we’re going to explore more about our fabulous range of Rattan and Wicker Table and Floor Lamps.

So, what is Rattan?

Did you know there are nearly 600 different species of rattan? Most rattan is vine-like structures, climbing through and around other vegetation. Although similar in some ways to bamboo, rattan stems are solid (making them strong and durable), Most need structural support from other trees or plant life as they’re unable to stand on their own. Rattans have been known to grow to hundreds of metres long and 70% of the world’s rattan originates from Indonesia – home to the skilled artisans who hand craft our collection of rattan table and floor lamps.

How is Rattan different from Wicker?

Often a source of confusion…wicker is not a material. It’s actually a style of weave. It’s a technique for making products woven from a variety of plant materials such as reed, bamboo, willow and rattan. Said to date back to Ancient Egypt, today, wicker remains popular and antique wicker products are highly sought after by collectors.

What makes our Rattan lamps collection so popular?

We think they ooze character and natural charm. There’s something about the rustic appeal of rattan, captured by its inherent texture and natural properties that lends itself beautifully to lighting. When lit, the warmth of the light that exudes creates a lovely, inviting glow that adds warmth to a living space. Feedback from our customers suggests that the appeal of our rattan table and floor lamps is a combination of:-

• Ethical Provenance – all our rattan lamps are ethically sourced, fair trade pieces
• Material – rattan is hugely versatile and its neutral look and feel means it blends effortlessly into most living spaces
• Quality – all our rattan lamps are meticulously hand crafted by skilled artisans
• Choice – many of our lamps have matching sizes available
• Cost – our rattan lamps are excellent value for money

And finally…

Most of our rattan lamps are available in matching sizes with table lamps and a choice of 100cm or 150cm floor lamps. Many are also available in light or dark finish. You can view our collection of rattan table lamps and rattan floor lamps in the lighting section of our web site.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the provenance of our rattan lighting range. If you have any comments or questions, we’d love to hear from you.