Last summer I dragged our black PE rattan ottomans out to the courtyard for a barbecue, fully intending to bring them back in before it rained. It rained. I forgot. Three days later I hosed off a bit of dust, sat down, and the woven seat hadn’t sagged, cracked or gone patchy in the sun. That’s the moment I stopped thinking of them as “outdoor furniture I sometimes use inside” and started treating them as the one ottoman set that genuinely goes anywhere in the house.
If you’re looking at a rattan ottoman set of 2 and wondering whether it’s actually practical for an Australian home—patio, living room, the lot—here’s what I’ve learned from living with one for over a year.
What PE rattan actually is (and why it matters)
PE rattan is synthetic, woven from polyethylene fibres over a frame, usually aluminium or steel. It’s not the same as natural cane or wicker, which dry out, splinter and discolour after a season outside. PE rattan is UV-stabilised, so it doesn’t fade to a chalky grey the way cheaper woven plastics do, and it doesn’t absorb water the way natural fibre does.
That’s the whole appeal of the Black PE Rattan Ottomans Set of 2 with Cushions: the frame and weave can live outside through a Melbourne winter without complaint, but the black tone and the cushions are neutral enough to sit next to a linen sofa without looking like patio furniture that wandered in by mistake.
Where they actually work in a home
- Pulled up to a coffee table as extra seating when friends stay for dinner and the dining chairs run out.
- Under a console table in the entry, tucked away until someone needs somewhere to sit and put shoes on.
- On a balcony or courtyard as a plant stand or side table when you’re not sitting on them.
- Paired either side of an outdoor lounge as footstools, cushions removed if a shower’s forecast.
Because you get two, they don’t have to match. One can sit at each end of a sofa, or both can be pushed together as an impromptu coffee table when you’re eating in front of the telly, which happens more often here than I’d like to admit.
Cushions: what to expect and how to look after them
The cushions that come with the set are the bit people worry about most, and fairly so—rattan survives weather, fabric doesn’t always. Ours live outside from spring through autumn and get brought in or covered when a proper storm’s coming. On a normal Melbourne day of light drizzle, they’re fine left out; it’s driving rain and weeks of damp that shorten the life of any outdoor cushion.
A few habits that have kept ours looking decent:
- Give them a shake and a brush-off weekly if they’re outdoors, just to stop dust settling into the weave.
- Spot clean with a damp cloth and mild soap rather than soaking them.
- Stand them on their edge occasionally so moisture doesn’t pool underneath.
- Bring them inside over the coldest, wettest stretch of winter if you’re not using the space anyway.
If you’d rather not think about any of that and want an ottoman that’s purely indoor, that’s really the deciding question before you buy.
When a rattan set isn’t the right call
Rattan has a texture and a look—open weave, slightly industrial, best with warm timber tones or greenery nearby. It’s not for everyone’s living room, and it’s genuinely not built for a spot that gets soaked and never dries, like an uncovered deck in constant rain.
For a bedroom, a reading nook, or a lounge room that wants something softer underfoot, I’d point people toward the Grey Ottoman Footstool with Microfibre Upholstery instead. It’s plush, low to the ground, and the microfibre cover is easy to keep clean without ever going near weather. Good for propping tired feet up after work, which rattan—being a firmer, more structured seat—doesn’t do quite as well.
And if your style leans more collected-and-cosy than woven-and-structured, the Square Patchwork Pouffe with Handmade Construction brings in colour and pattern that a black rattan set deliberately avoids. I’ve actually got one of these in the study, and it does the job of a footstool while adding the kind of texture a plain ottoman can’t.
Sizing and how they sit in a room
Ottomans this size generally sit low—around knee height when you’re seated on a standard sofa—so they don’t block sightlines across an open living space. A set of 2 gives you flexibility a single large ottoman doesn’t: push them apart for two separate footrests, or together for one wider surface when you want to rest a tray of drinks or a stack of magazines.
Because the frame is rattan rather than solid timber, they’re lighter to move than they look, which matters if you’re the one dragging seating in and out for a weekend gathering. I can pick one up with one hand; a timber-framed equivalent usually needs two.
A quick honest take before you order
Black PE rattan ottomans work best for people who want furniture that doesn’t need babying—something you can leave on the patio through most of the year, bring in for a dinner party, and not fuss over. They’re not the softest seat in the house, and the woven texture won’t suit a strictly plush, all-upholstered room. But for anyone furnishing an indoor-outdoor space, or wanting one ottoman set that does double duty without a second thought, they’ve earned their spot in ours—rain or not.