Wicker & Rattan

Wicker is the island's oldest textile. The lightship keepers wove it out of boredom and thrift a hundred and fifty years ago; the summer people picked it up in the 1920s and never put it down. Today it is everywhere — a rattan tote strapped to the back of a bicycle, a seagrass basket by the back door for kicked-off flip-flops, a wicker chaise on the porch that has lived through nine hurricanes and looks better for it.

What woven pieces do for a room is give it warmth without weight. A rattan pendant over the dining table softens hard plaster and hard floors in one hanging. A pair of wicker nightstands beside a linen bed keeps the whole scene from feeling too formal. A woven tray on the ottoman turns it into a table and back again. Every one of these pieces is doing quiet, indispensable work.

The other thing about wicker is that it ages beautifully. A tote that starts out honey-colored will settle over five summers into a soft gray that looks even better than the day you bought it. A lightship basket becomes an heirloom. A rattan chair, re-caned once every twenty years, will outlast the room around it. Buy the woven piece. It will still be with you long after the trend is not.