Wicker is Back! (Again)

All things Victorian had quite a resurgence in the late 1960's and 1970's. Used in a new way, Victorian wicker and rattan made it's way from the front porch into sitting rooms and bedrooms. Given a fresh coat of vibrant paint, the extravagant curves and curlicues had a pop sensibility and created an exciting juxtaposition when paired with antique or modern furniture. Not to be confused with the later Shabby Chic (much too sentimental and contrived for my taste), in the 60's and 70's the pieces, though functional, were used a bit like sculpture.

Living room with painted wicker, circa 1972.

Sometime in the 1970's my mother had redone a second floor bathroom. The wallpaper was an almost psychedelic concoction of black, white, yellow and red oversized and stylized flowers--it sounds awful, but was actually quite spectacular (I've searched for the wallpaper since, but to no avail). In one corner she had painted a four-tiered Victorian étagère fire-engine-red; it held the towels. The bathroom never failed to impress, even many years later. I never forgot it.