Obsessed with: Lattice Caning

I’m taking a break from all things book -related today and indulging in an imaginary online shopping spree. On my wish list: Something—anything!—made with lattice-woven cane.

This material is nothing new, but definitely seeing a bit of a resurgence. (Just search for the Cesca chair, a midcentury design by Marcel Breuer, on Pinterest.) Here's a pair looking fine in fashion designer Erin Fetherston’s home in Hollywood, courtesy of D omino.

I recently spotted a Breuer-esque (or maybe it’s original?) cane-back chair peeking out from behind my colleague Jackie Grandon’s dining table, and it’s so cute as a one-off mixed with other types of chairs.

I remember in detail the caned chairs that encircled my parents’ wood-veneer kitchen table in the `80s. My sisters and I would poke our little fingers through the hexagonal holes in the lattice for fun, occasionally causing the material to fray and always drawing the ire of our mother, who shooed us away with a quick swat whenever she caught us in the act.

But caned seating isn’t just for casual, midcentury-style seating. It can be ultra-traditional and formal, too, and cane lattice was frequently used on traditional European furnishings like French settees and Bergere chairs for hundreds of years. While midcentury designs usually feature it in blonder tones, antiques usually boast caned surfaces in deeper walnut and mahogany shades.

RH sells a rendition of traditional Louis-style caned dining chairs:

Can you believe this armchair from the UK’s Graham and Greene? So pretty.

Whatever your tastes, modern or trad, cane can bring such a gorgeous subtle texture and interest to your space. Here are some pieces featuring cane that I’ve loved lately.