British Colonial Cane Bed

Typically made of mahogany, teak or bamboo and featuring a range of fabrics and prints with botanical patterns, antique British Colonial furniture and decor varies as it involved local materials and techniques and spanned centuries of design styles.

As the British Empire expanded from the 16th to the 20th century, its conquest and control of colonies around the world bolstered its wealth through the extraction of resources. Including colonies in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia, this spread of often violent subjugation imposed British culture, language and faith on Indigenous peoples. The design of homes was included in this expression of imperial power, with government officials, merchants and military officers creating homes mimicking the luxuries they were used to in England.

Local artisans were commissioned to replicate British designs, resulting in versions of Regency, Chippendale, Sheraton and other styles of furniture being crafted from mahogany, rosewood, ebony and teakwood as opposed to beech and oak, which were more common in Europe. Whereas the colonial furniture for the Portuguese and Dutch regularly had motifs of indigenous flora and fauna, the British tended to want more exact reproductions of their home country’s designs.

To escape the summer heat in places such as India and the Caribbean, British colonizers relocated to airy houses in the hills or plantations, leading to foldable chairs and collapsible desks in the style of military campaign furniture. Rather than upholstery as they might have in Europe, chairs and sofas in the British Colonial style had rattan and cane seating for these higher temperature climates. The contrast between the light textiles and the dark colors of the sturdy furniture became a defining aesthetic of British Colonial interiors.

Find a collection of antique British Colonial outdoor furniture, seating, bedroom furniture, decorative objects and other items on 1stDibs.

If the interiors people have been saving on Instagram lately are any indication, we’ll be seeing a lot more antique, new and vintage cane furniture in the years ahead.

Cane — the material of the moment that is inspiring a new generation of designers — has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, side tables and desks.

In case you’re wondering, cane refers to the peeled-off bark of rattan, an Old World species of climbing palm, while wicker may be used to describe natural or synthetic materials that were woven into a pattern. Raffia, another term thrown around when discussing woven furniture, refers to a palm tree native to tropical regions in Africa.

Of course, designers’ obsession with traditional artisanal techniques is nothing new. Marcel Breuer’s tubular Cesca chair, a design originally conceived in the 1920s, has drawn renewed attention in the past few years. And the popularity of materials like raffia and wicker reflects our desire for all things handmade.

Find a wide range of antique, new and vintage cane furniture on 1stDibs.