Tropi-cal Seating
Known for traditional Chinese designs with a California style twist, furniture manufacturer Tropi-Cal elevated rattan and wicker furnishings to modern and timeless interior art from the 1950s to 1970s.
The company was founded in 1954 by entrepreneur and designer Danny Ho Fong who was born in China in 1915 and moved to the California coast in 1936. His son, Miller Yee Fong, was born in Los Angeles in 1942 and started an architecture practice after graduating from the University of Southern California in 1964. He would later join his father to become Tropi-Cal’s principal designer.
In the 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Tropi-Cal was popular nationwide for its sleek, mid-century modern designs. They combined natural materials with a unique, refined style. The furniture — from high-backed, cane dining room chairs and triangular-based rattan dining tables, to comfortable, basket-weave club chairs — was lightweight, functional and sculptural in form.
Tropi-Cal’s furniture garnered considerable critical acclaim with several pieces now in museum collections. The Wave lounge chair, designed by Danny Ho Fong in 1966, is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Miller Yee Fong’s Lotus chair, designed in 1968, is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Today, Tropi-Cal is known as Fong Brothers Company. It continues the firm’s legacy of producing high-quality, traditional furniture with modern, sophisticated designs.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Tropi-Cal seating, tables and more.
1970s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Cane
1970s Philippine Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Wrought Iron
1960s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Cane, Mahogany
1970s Philippine Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Wrought Iron
1970s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Metal
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Tropi-cal Seating
Leather, Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Wrought Iron
1960s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Iron
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Fabric
1970s American Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Steel
1950s American Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Upholstery
1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Organic Modern Tropi-cal Seating
Upholstery, Rattan
Mid-20th Century Organic Modern Tropi-cal Seating
Rattan, Polyester
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Tropi-cal Seating
Steel
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Bohemian Tropi-cal Seating
Steel
1960s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Cane, Mahogany
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Tropi-cal Seating
Iron
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Iron
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Iron
1960s American Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Iron
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Rattan, Wicker
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Steel
1970s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
Rattan, Cane
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tropi-cal Seating
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Tropi-cal Seating
Fabric, Cane