Malaysian Made Rattan for the Patio

We finally bought the patio furniture. We decided on Malaysian Rattan. I mentioned before that the man making rattan near our house could make large Malaysian Coil Chairs for us, but when I went back to the store with R we both decided we liked the traditional size chairs, so we bought a set of four.

The chairs were more expensive than the coil chair (pictured a few images below) listed on Mudah. But I wanted to support the local guy. When the chairs arrived and I looked at them compared to the photo on Mudah, I noticed that this local guy’s chairs are better made and have 24 round ‘coils’ around the chair, in the Mudah photo I count 16. I think these chairs we bought look much better and more stylish.

We have placed the set with a simple white table from Ikea. I like the look of this table with the rattan chairs as it has a 70s vibe. But we might buy another table later. We saw one made out of wood which was nice (hard to explain it, it was large and square and made out of small faded grey driftwood pieces with glass on top). Or we might go for a rattan table (ottoman) for the center.

I love going out on the patio and sitting since we got the patio furniture. It is great. If I can find some simple cushions, I might buy them for the base of the chairs, because while the chairs are comfortable, after awhile, it base gets a bit hard. Oh one other thing, after we got the chairs it rained huge amounts for a couple days, the chairs got wet and then dried off quickly; I’m go glad we didn’t get big cushioned furniture.

Above is the 16 Coil Chair that was listed on Mudah.

Above is another round chair I found online other than the popular Papasan Chair. This chair was being sold in Vietnam, the design is different from the Malaysian coil chairs

Initially, I saw what I thought was a really great round rattan table large in size at an old shop in Seremban. I thought I could use it as a table if we bought rattan for the patio. I should go back and see it again and see what it looks like exactly. But further research online already tells me it is a Rattan Ottoman because it looks like the ottomans made by Franco Albini (or these have been attributed to Albini) the Italian designer known for making really radical rattan pieces in the 1950s and his pieces have since become classics.

Ottomans attributed to Albini in different sizes

I’m not sure if the squared-off-top ottomans above are true Albini or just inspired by Albini designs. The beautiful Rattan ottoman I saw in Malaysia was rounded. I’m thinking now about keeping the Ikea table and buying that ottoman for another piece of furniture on the patio or asking the local rattan maker if he can make an ottoman version which will go with the chairs he made us, maybe with more 'coils' if that is possible. I’d get two of them as it would be nice to put our feet up on something.

Another Ottoman attributed to Albini

Franco Albini Rattan Chairs

Above is a children's chair supposedly by Albini. Has a similar shape to the Vietnam round chair

Lastly, a chair and ottoman set by Albini (note here the stool looks flat on top with space for a round cushion)