Wicker Garden Furniture

The selection of Wicker Garden Furniture includes a range of weave patterns and styles to suit any taste.  Choose durable and beautiful wicker for many years of enjoyment and relaxation.

What is Wicker and why does it make the best garden furniture?

Wicker is not a material -- it is a very versatile weaving process.

One of the main materials often used for wicker garden furniture is rattan.

Rattan was one of the first natural materials used to make furniture.

Like the more widely known bamboo, rattan is a vine that grows in the tropical rain forests of Indonesia and South-East Asia.  However, unlike bamboo rattan is solid, not hollow. 

Expert furniture makers us large, strong pole-sized pieces to fashion the strudy frames of the furniture.  Steam is used to soften the pieces so they can be shaped into beautiful curves we see on many pieces today.  When the ratten cools, it retains the shape.

When shopping for wicker garden furniture -- especially large pieces like sofas and tables -- be sure to look for a frame made of strong, solid, "broom handle" sized poles.

To finish the furniture, the weavers attach smaller size pieces (the "wicker") onto the outside of the frame. This process of weaving and attaching the smaller pieces to the outside of the pole rattan frame requires much raw materials as well as expert skill and labor on the part of the weavers.

That is why most woven ("wicker") furniture is more costly than mere pole rattan furniture.

However, natural wicker furniture does not weather well and is not appropriate for outdoor use.

Treating the wicker with resin can make it suited for patio furniture. Resin treated wicker is UV, heat, and frost resistant and are virtually maintenance-free.

Today's Wicker Garden Furniture 

Most pieces of wicker garden furniture today have frames made of powder-coated aluminum. Pole rattan is porous and will absorb moisture and eventually deteriorate. Aluminum does not rust and can be finished to match the color of the furniture and will give you many years of use and enjoyment.  Due to their increased durability, powder-coated aluminum frames are the most desirable for wicker patio furniture. 

Also synthetic, non-pourous, vinyls and resins are often used over these aluminum frames. You will see this referred to as synthetic wicker.  Since wicker is the weaving process and not the material, this is a not false or misleading description.

Although not quite as pretty or "organic", these synthetic pieces should last much longer than their natural counterparts.

One more thing -- Although indoor wicker furniture will quickly deteriorate outdoors, outdoor wicker furniture is perfectly acceptable for indoor use.