Happy Birthday to me! I’ll be saying that a lot in the next few weeks, as my upcoming birthday is a perfect excuse for fun stuff. Like this fabulous Tropitan vintage rattan set by Ritts Co of Los Angeles we just got!
(The coffee table is technically a Calif-Asia piece I picked up for $5 at a local garage sale last year- fits in perfectly, huh?)
My parents had a couch and chair similar to this when they first got married and I spent many a fond time reading in the chair when it later was moved to my grandmother’s screen porch (or piazza, as she called it). I’ve been looking for a set like theirs that was in good condition, reasonably priced, and on the east coast, off and on for 20 years.
When I saw this set online- and this chair in particular- reasonably priced and within driving distance, we rented a truck and off we went!
It needs a little bit of polishing and at some point maybe some new covers for the original cushions, but it’s in good condition, clean and solid. I thank the folks at Tiki Central (one of my fave message boards) for the suggestions on how to clean it up, and it seems to be pretty easy.
I love this crazy side table- never seen anything like it!
We learned by doing a little bit of research and also from the folks we bought it from that the Ritts Company was owned by the father of famous fashion photographer Herb Ritts, and his mother Shirley Ritts designed many of the rattan pieces (and according to her Wikipedia page she assisted in doing the set design for the Elvis movie Blue Hawaii.
We were told by the folks we got the set from that the Ritts Company was one of the first to use the same construction methods as mattresses that’s why the support is so good, even after all these years.
Of course we can’t keep it out on the patio – even when I was snapping these photos I saw the rainclouds approaching. But I promised to let Uncle Atom see the set, and couldn’t resist reclining on the couch and reading a book (My Fave Thing To Do) for a few minutes before the raindrops started to fall.
Now all we have to do is build a screen porch 🙂
Uncle Atom
July 24, 2011 at 10:40 pmWOW! Nice find Mod Betty! That looks great and comfortable too. We found our wrought iron/wicker set years ago and didn’t have a good place for it either, but we stashed it in an extra bedroom and after we moved to our current house we had the screened-in porch to use it. Enjoy, and happy birthday!
Mod Betty
July 25, 2011 at 5:56 pmI figure I’ve got the furniture now, the porch is bound to happen! And with the rain fast approaching here in PA (it’s about time!) it just reinforces that the patio is no place for this furn. You know I’ll keep everyone posted when we find a permanent home for this stuff. Even if we set it up in the dining room!
Elizabeth Thomsen
July 25, 2011 at 8:52 pmHappy birthday! I wish you many years of stylish lounging on that beautiful rattan!
Mod Betty
July 25, 2011 at 11:20 pmWhy thank you! I hope to spend many years stylishing lounging – or better yet, flopped down on the couch with a book. One of our family’s favorite pasttimes!
maggie
July 26, 2011 at 1:32 pmI’ve been collecting vintage rattan for 15 years and I’ve never seen that side table with the circle supports before — it’s fabulous.
Gorgeous Ritts set — congratulations on the score!
Mod Betty
July 26, 2011 at 10:43 pmMaggie- I have been looking at vintage rattan for about as long and I too had never seen a table like that – Thanks for the congrats, it’s in a good home for sure!
maggie
July 27, 2011 at 12:59 pmIt just dawned on me that you could store your magazines standing up, in the big circles on the bottom shelf of that table! Like those old coiled metal mail racks people used to have on their desks.
Mod Betty
July 27, 2011 at 1:05 pm(for comment below) – Maggie- that’s a brilliant idea! I was thinking I’d have to put the mags inside the barrel of the rings, but that would mean they’d get curved. I’ll have to try it out and let you know how it goes – thanks so much for the tip!
roadsidewonders
July 26, 2011 at 8:29 pmGreat score!! That is the coolest side table EVAH … and I would never have known that the coffee table wasn’t part of the set.
A very Happy (early) Birthday find, indeed! 🙂
Lizzie
July 27, 2011 at 7:42 pmBeautiful!
It looks perfect there, so why don’t you do the screened porch for HIS birthday?!
Mod Betty
July 28, 2011 at 8:26 amAh, he’s more of a “roof deck” kind of person, I’m the one clamoring for the screenporch! We’ll see how things progress (c’mon Powerball!)
Charlott Owens
July 17, 2012 at 3:03 amI have 3 pieces of the same furniture. In great shape!
Mod Betty
July 17, 2012 at 8:06 amThat’s so cool! We need to spruce ours up a bit, but I love it still!
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