The rattan floor lamp, honestly: weave, light and the rooms it suits

Type "rattan floor lamp" into a search bar and what you're really after is a feeling: warm, relaxed, a little coastal, the kind of light that makes a plain room look lived in. Woven shades are good at that, because they don't just soften light. They pattern it.

So here is the honest version of that lamp. Our Rousseau Rattan Weave Floor Lamp reads as rattan from across the room. Up close, the outer shade is twisted paper rope, woven in an open zig-zag in a rattan style, and we'd rather say so in the first hundred words than have you find out when the carton arrives. What it does to a room is exactly what people want from rattan. What it's made of is worth understanding before you buy.

Every lamp here begins as a drawing in our Auckland studio and is made at our own factory. This is what the weave is, what it does to light, which rooms it suits, how to measure for it, and how it compares with the other natural-looking shades in the range.

What a rattan floor lamp actually is

A little vocabulary helps, because the words get used loosely. Rattan is a climbing palm; its solid stems get bent into furniture frames. Cane is the peeled outer skin of that same palm; the flat strips woven into chair seats and lampshades are cane, not rattan. Wicker isn't a material at all but a way of weaving, so a shade can be wicker-woven from cane, willow, seagrass or paper. Bamboo, which turns up in the same searches, is a grass, hollow and jointed. A shade sold as "rattan" might be any of these, or paper rope made to look like them.

The Rousseau's outer shade is in that last group: twisted paper rope in a warm tan, woven in an open zig-zag so light escapes through the gaps. There is no cane in it and no bamboo, and the listing says so in plain words. From the sofa it reads as rattan; in your hands it's paper rope. Underneath sits a white linen drum with a light grey trim band, and that second layer is the reason the lamp works, which brings us to the light.

Two layers, and why the weave alone would glare

An open weave on its own is a lovely object and a glary shade: every gap is a line of sight to the globe. The Rousseau solves this the way a good pendant does, with two layers doing two jobs. The woven band is about 32cm across and 15cm tall. Inside it, a linen drum 25cm across continues below the weave, giving roughly 20cm of shade top to bottom. The linen diffuses the globe so the core of the light is soft and even; the weave, sitting outside that soft core, throws a gentle warm pattern onto nearby walls. Soft where you look at it, patterned where it lands and, as the listing puts it, not stripey.

Two things follow. First, the pattern is a wall effect. Away from walls you get the glow without the pattern; near a plain plaster wall (the listing says nearby walls pick up the pattern) the wall starts doing the work, and, as with any shadow, the closer the wall, the clearer the pattern. Second, this is warmth more than brightness, as the listing says. If a corner needs a lamp to read small print under, the Rousseau is the second lamp in that room, and our reading floor lamps collection covers the first.

From the sofa it reads as rattan. In your hands it's paper rope, and we'd rather say so.

The arched arm, and where the light lands

The Rousseau stands 169cm tall on a slim matte black pole. At the top a short bridge arm curves over and carries the shade about 26cm sideways: a nudge, not a stretch. A rattan arched floor lamp, then, but not an arc lamp in the sofa-spanning sense. Our Orsay reaches around 46cm from the pole and the Cosmo about 70cm, which is what you want when light has to hang over the middle of a seat; our arc floor lamp guide has those numbers side by side. What the Rousseau's arch does is clear a slim chair arm and drop the light past your shoulder rather than straight down beside the pole. Park it beside your seat, not over it.

Measured off the listing, here is what to allow for before you order:

• Height: 169cm. Under a standard 2.4m Australian ceiling that leaves about 70cm of air above the arm, so it fills a corner without touching it.
• Floor space: about 48.6cm across, shade edge to base edge, and 32cm deep. Tape it out where you plan to stand it.
• Base: a round iron base 25cm across with a 2.5kg counterweight inside; the whole lamp is 5.6kg assembled.
• Reach: the shade sits about 26cm to one side of the pole, so decide which side your chair is on.
• Power: one E27 globe (not included), 240V and double insulated, a standard Australian power point, an inline foot switch on the cord where a toe can find it.

Natural-looking shades, side by side

The Rousseau is the only woven shade in our floor lamp range, but it isn't the only lamp that borrows from nature. Here is how the natural-looking shades in the collection compare, with the specs from each listing and what each is actually made of.

The linen is linen and the marble is marble. The look-alikes are the Rousseau's weave, the Aurelia's pole and the Chandelle's seams: a paper-rope weave, a wood-grain print on metal and stitched linen. None is the material it evokes, and we'd rather you knew. The mid-century piece goes further into the Aurelia's pole, and the fabric floor lamp piece covers what linen and pleats do that weave doesn't.

Rooms that suit a rattan floor lamp, and the ones that don't

The Rousseau's listing puts it well: lounges and bedrooms heavy on plain plaster and straight lines, anywhere the room needs warmth more than brightness. That describes a lot of Australian houses. A rendered wall, a pale timber or polished concrete floor, a linen sofa in oatmeal or white, a jute rug: the natural habitat of a natural-look woven floor lamp, and a tan weave against a plain wall is where the pattern shows to most effect. In a bedroom, put it in the corner or on the far side of the bed with the foot switch on your side; our bedroom floor lamp guide covers heights and glare from the pillow.

The shape leans mid-century, though it needs no themed room. It sits as happily at the relaxed, coastal end of things, among cane dining chairs and a timber sideboard, as beside a black steel-framed sofa in a newer apartment where it's the only soft texture in sight. The matte black frame is the bridge: it stops the weave tipping into full beach-house and lets it sit next to black window frames and dark timber.

Where it doesn't belong: over a desk, beside a reading chair as the only light, or anywhere you need to see fine detail after dark. It's an indoor lamp whose care note says never soak or immerse, so we'd keep it away from bathrooms, covered decks and anywhere damp; paper rope and moisture are not friends. And if what you're picturing is a white rattan floor lamp, note that the Rousseau's weave is warm tan; the white in it is the linen drum showing through the gaps. For an all-white shade, the Flore's fine linen drum, currently on pre-order, is the closest thing in the range.

Globes, warmth and the paper-rope care rule

The Rousseau takes a single E27 globe, the standard screw fitting in Australia, and it isn't included. Go warm white, which on a globe box usually means around 2700 kelvin, to bring out the tan of the weave: the listing's advice and ours, because a cool white globe works against a warm colour. Frosted or clear is less critical here than on an open-shade lamp, because the linen inner drum keeps the bare globe out of view. On wattage, read both labels: the holder is marked E27 max 60W, and the listing's spec table lists a maximum of 10W LED. Fit a warm white LED at or under 10W and you're inside both. The switch is an inline foot switch on the cord; there's no dimmer. Our E27 globe guide covers the rest.

Care is where paper rope parts company with cane. The listing's care note is a soft damp cloth and never soak or immerse. On the paper weave itself, our general advice for any natural-fibre shade is to go drier still: a soft brush for dust (not a lint roller, which can catch an open weave), no sprays or household cleaners, and the lamp switched off and cool first. Keep it out of long, direct sun, as you would any tan fabric or fibre.

How to choose between these

• You want pattern on the wall and a warm glow, not a reading light. Rousseau, placed within arm's reach of a plain wall.
• You want the natural look and there's no floor space. Chandelle: a 20cm base and a linen column with bamboo-look seams that glows along its whole 40cm.
• You want timber warmth and a shade that tilts toward the page. Aurelia, knowing its pole is a wood-grain print on metal.
• You want texture, but the room is all squared-off lines. Marceau's linen drum on its right-angle arm, or the Vienna on pre-order if a stone base is the point.
• You want light hanging over the middle of the sofa. Not the Rousseau's 26cm arch. Read the arc guide and look at Orsay or Cosmo.
• You're between two of these. Our floor lamp guide walks the whole decision, size and shape included.

The Rousseau's single verified review so far, five stars, reads "Great quality, easy to install and comes in a very handy package." The "handy package" part is checkable: it ships flat-packed in a double-wall carton with foam corner protection, 41.5 × 33.5 × 19cm and 6.1kg, and assembly is around five to fifteen minutes with the included hex key.

To see the Rousseau beside the other textured shades, the fabric and linen floor lamp collection sits side by side online, and the full floor lamp collection has every lamp we make.

A few questions, answered

Is the Rousseau real rattan?

No, and the listing says so. The outer shade is twisted paper rope, woven in an open zig-zag in a rattan style, over a white linen inner drum; there's no cane or bamboo in it. From across the room it reads as rattan; up close it's paper rope. You get the warm, patterned light a woven shade is bought for; our advice is simply to keep the weave itself dry.

Is a rattan floor lamp bright enough to read by?

Treat it as mood light. The linen inner drum diffuses the globe and the weave patterns what escapes, so the light is soft and even rather than focused; the Rousseau's own listing calls it warmth more than brightness. For a chair you read in, pair it with a lamp that puts light on the page, starting with our reading floor lamps.

Is the Rousseau an arched floor lamp or an arc lamp?

Arched, on a short arm: the shade sits about 26cm to one side of the pole, enough to clear a chair arm and drop the light past your shoulder. A full arc like the Orsay or Cosmo reaches far further, and is what hangs light over the middle of a seat. If "arched" or "curved" floor lamp is what you've been searching, our arc floor lamp guide sorts the shapes out.

What globe should I put in a rattan floor lamp?

A warm white E27 LED, which is what the Rousseau's listing suggests to bring out the tan of the weave; on the box that usually means around 2700 kelvin. Check both labels before you buy: the holder is marked E27 max 60W, and the spec table lists a maximum of 10W LED, so an LED at or under 10W sits inside both. The globe isn't included, so have one ready for the evening it arrives.

How do I clean a paper-rope or rattan lampshade?

Start with the listing: a soft damp cloth, and never soak or immerse. On the paper weave, our general rule for natural-fibre shades is drier still: switch the lamp off, let it cool, and lift dust with a soft brush rather than a wet cloth or a lint roller, which can catch the open cord. No sprays or household cleaners, and keep the shade out of long, direct sun.

How much floor space does a rattan floor lamp need, and is it hard to assemble?

The Rousseau uses about 48.6cm across and 32cm deep, shade edge to base edge, on a 25cm round base, and stands 169cm tall. Tape that footprint on the floor before you order, on the side of the chair the arm should reach toward. It arrives flat-packed, and assembly takes around five to fifteen minutes with the included hex key.