On the banks of the River Tone, in the heart of the West Country, grow the long straight withies used to make Holloways exclusive English Willow furniture. The craft of willow weaving has been carried out for centuries and evidence of willow cultivation in England can be traced back to the Bronze Age. Today’s craftsmen still use traditional methods to produce fine quality furniture, which is a perfect choice for your conservatory. Willow is one of the toughest materials you can choose for woven furniture and can easily withstand extremes of heat and humidity.
Each piece of furniture is made individually for you, so you can choose the finish and the fabric. Our willow furniture is hand-woven onto steel frames for stability and strength and has webbed seats to give extra comfort. Deep cushions make it very luxurious and we can upholster your furniture in any fabric.
Willow armchair in weatherbeaten gold
After harvesting, willow bundles are boiled, then stripped through revolving brakes while still hot and steaming. This produces the traditional buff-coloured willow. Soaking buff willow produces the antiqued weatherbeaten gold finish. White (natural) willow can only be produced for six weeks in spring every year whilst the sap is rising, and the bark is laboriously stripped by hand.
We also offer painted willow furniture at Holloways - we can paint your sofa and chairs in a variety of charming heritage colours. This is done entirely by hand, and allows you to use soft pastel colours in your conservatory or garden room.
Large and comfortable with generously proportioned sofas and armchairs, the Heritage Willow has a deep seat and a front edge flush with the floor. It comes with supportive fixed back cushions, but we love to help you choose lots of smaller scatters for additional comfort and colour. The large box, used as a coffee table in the photo, opens to reveal useful storage space.
Owning hand-crafted willow furniture like this fixes you firmly in a long English tradition of garden room style. Loved by Edwardians, Victorians and the Arts and Crafts movement, it never goes out of fashion. You can be sure it will become a much-loved part of your home, and part of your family’s heritage too.