Wicker's look is timeless and classic

I mark papers for the Open Polytechnic Interior Design Course.

One of the assignments is to discuss a room in a home they are familiar with or from a magazine. The student discusses the principals and elements of design and then has to take one piece of furniture and exchange it for something they feel would work better in the situation.

This particular room was from a magazine article on a New Zealand architecturally designed home, a lovely contemporary country house with a touch of rustic charm. In the corner of the room by a huge stone fireplace there are two leather tub chairs and a wicker footstool, inviting you to enjoy the views or the roaring fire in winter.

My student mistook the footstool for a coffee table and decided this piece of furniture was going to be her replacement piece because the "wicker looked to tropical for the rustic setting". Her piece was a lovely New Zealand designed timber coffee table, simple but intricate and worked well in the setting. Either piece of furniture was right in the setting, she made a good choice.

The comment about wicker looking too tropical made me think about how we as individuals see things. The tropic isn't what spring to mind when I think of wicker. For me it is wide sweeping verandas or traditional conservatory filled with luscious green plants also makes me think of wicker.

The use of wicker furniture dates back to ancient Egyptian and Roman times. For hundreds of years wicker baskets were commonly used by European sea traders to carry their wares from country to country. With the discovery of large quantities of rattan (which is probably what most of us associate with wicker furniture) in the mid-19th century in America, this paved the way for one of the largest wicker furniture manufacturers in America to become established. And in more recent times the arts and crafts movement heavily influenced the artistic detail of the furniture.

Wicker furniture is timeless and classic with some of the pieces still being made today. The designs have varied over the years with techniques and raw materials changing to suit our changing needs.

We are probably most familiar with the brand name Lloyd Loom when it comes to this style of furniture. Lloyd Loom was an American company established in 1917 and patented a new system of manufacturing of wicker furniture. It took America by storm and then Great Britain, boasting more than 1000 individual designs and selling more than 10 million pieces of furniture before 1940.

This wicker furniture was promoted as being impermeable to damp and dirt, hygienic, wasn't affected by the sun or moisture, therefore didn't warp. This new product wasn't wicker or cane but paper, promoted as a woven fibre because it was felt that paper furniture wouldn't have the same selling point. The paper was finely twisted and reinforced with fine stands of steel wire. It was smooth to the touch and didn't have any of the rough ends or harshness that rattan or cane furniture had.

With the invention of the Lloyd loom in 1922, Lloyd Loom pieces were sold to the best houses in the country to the modest homes, restaurants, hotels to beautiful ocean liners. Designs came in baby carriages, occasional chairs, rocking chairs, sofas, tables, planter boxes, cabinets, baskets and many more. Paper was twisted and strengthened then woven on looms creating flat sheets that were then fixed onto the classic frames. The furniture is hand crafted not machine made, but parts of the process machines are used. Rights and machinery were sold to various countries with HC Tucker purchasing in 1920 to supply to the Australian and New Zealand markets. Factories were located in Melbourne and Auckland.

Easy chairs are probably the most popular of the ranges. These were classic designs, comfortable and in many case compact so could be fitted into a variety of situations. The original colour range was extensive from soft blues to dark, bright yellows and gold, silver, bronze, orange, pink, mossy greens to deep dark tones, browns and various tones of red. If treated with respect and well looked after, the furniture will last for years and some of the original pieces are still being used today. You will see the odd piece popping up in second-hand shops. The pieces have become very sought after, so are usually pretty pricey, but if you have some Lloyd Loom look take good care of it, it will most likely outlast you.

If you have any questions about issues discussed or product supply give me a call on 0276023298 or

drop me a line on terry@terrylobb.com www.terrylobb.com (website under construction)