Kerala Rattan Stool

47cm is seat height. That is what makes this more than a plant stand.

Dining chairs sit at 45cm to 47cm, so this lands squarely in the range. It works as genuine occasional seating, pulled up to a coffee table when people are over, rather than being a decorative object that happens to be stool-shaped.

As a side table, 47cm sits at or just below most sofa arms, which is where you want a surface for a cup. The woven top is solid enough to take a glass on a coaster or a small tray.

The 40cm footprint is compact. It slots into a gap beside a bath, at the end of a bed or in a hallway corner where a square piece would not go.

Round with no corners matters in a tight space. Nothing catches a shin, and it can be approached from any direction.

The open lattice is what turns a solid drum into something light.

A solidly woven stool of this size reads as a block. Here the body is woven in an open lattice, with vertical staves crossed by horizontal binding and daylight visible through the weave, so it has presence without visual weight. In a small room that is the difference between a piece that fits and one that fills.

The barrel silhouette swells gently at the waist and draws in at the top and base, which is a considerably harder shape to weave than a straight cylinder. It gives the stool a curve that reads from across a room.

The top is closely woven and solid, unlike the body, with a spiral pattern and a bound rim. That contrast between an open body and a closed top is both structural and the thing that makes it usable as a surface.

Natural rattan, undyed, in a mix of honey, straw and pale grey tones that vary along each cane. It is not a uniform colour, and it should not be.

• 47cm, proper seat height, unlike most rattan stools
• Open lattice body, so it has presence without visual weight
• A solid woven top that works as a surface with a tray or coaster
• Barrel silhouette, harder to weave than a straight cylinder
• 40cm footprint, compact enough for a bathroom or a hallway
• Round with no corners, so nothing catches a shin
• Light enough to move from room to room with one hand
• Natural undyed rattan, with tonal variation along every cane

Pulled up to a coffee table when guests arrive, or tucked into a corner the rest of the time. At 47cm it is a genuine seat rather than a perch.

Beside an armchair or at the end of a sofa, with a small tray on top for a drink and a book. The tray is what turns a woven top into a proper surface.

Towels, a candle, a book. The compact footprint is what makes this possible in a bathroom where floor space is short. Keep it away from direct splashing.

Lifting a plant out of the floor plane and giving a corner some height. Use a saucer, since rattan and water do not mix.

Place it where light passes through the weave rather than against a dark wall. Near a window or beside a lamp, the open body throws a pattern and the stool reads as a piece of craft rather than a container.

If it is doing duty as a side table, a small tray on top does two things: it gives you a flat stable surface, and it signals that the stool is furniture rather than storage.

Rattan is at its best against something soft or sleek. A wool or jute rug underneath, a linen sofa alongside, a glazed vessel on top.

A pair either side of a sofa, or two pulled up together as occasional seating, reads as considered where a single stool can look like it was left there.

One or two things on top at most. A stool crowded with objects stops reading as a seat, and the whole point is that it can be either.

Dust the weave with a soft brush or a vacuum with a brush attachment on low. An open lattice collects dust in the crossings, and a brush clears it far faster than a cloth.

Nothing wet on the rattan. A barely damp cloth on a mark, dried straight away, is as far as it goes. Soaking natural fibre softens and distorts it.

Use a coaster or a tray if drinks are going on top. A woven surface will not shed a spill, and liquid soaking into the top is the one thing that will spoil it.

In a bathroom, keep it out of direct splashing and away from a shower zone. It will handle normal humidity; standing water is a different matter.

Keep it out of strong direct sun, which lightens natural rattan unevenly over years.

What to expect. Tone varies along every cane and between pieces, since the rattan is natural and undyed. The weave will also settle slightly with use, which is normal.

It ships as a parcel rather than a furniture delivery. Current timescales and charges are set out on our delivery page.

Not sure whether the height suits your seating or your bath side? Send us the measurements and we will tell you. Reach us via our contact page or live chat.

If it is not right once it is in the room, our returns process is straightforward, and everything is covered by our guarantees and warranties.

Our price match promise stands if you find the same piece for less elsewhere. Kitting out a holiday let? Ask about trade accounts.