Wicker Furniture Guide
by Sasha
With a history almost as rich and aged as human history itself, wicker furniture provides a wide variety of textures, styles and colors to decorate your home, indoor or outdoor. This simple resin weaved furniture can work into your home in more and more clever ways.
Ironically, because of the wide variety of materials and styles, selecting the right wicker furniture can actually be a bit of chore. So with this site I’ll help you appreciate the beauty and history of wicker furniture and I will help you navigate the many choices you’ll confront as you try to find the best deal and the nicest wicker or wicker rattan furniture.
What Exactly Is Wicker Furniture?
Where Do You Want Your Wicker Furniture?
Outdoor Wicker Furniture
Wicker Furniture Durability
Wicker Furniture Cost
Selecting the Right Wicker Furniture for Your Needs
What Exactly Is Wicker Furniture?
To answer the question some may still have despite already looking for wicker furniture… wicker is not an actual material (though some mistakenly think so), so much as woven type of furniture made from natural materials (traditionally).
Common materials for traditional wicker furniture include rattan, willow, reed and water hyacinth. But modern wicker furniture is often made from resin and synthetic materials to improve longevity and durability when combating the climate.
Where Do You Want Your Wicker Furniture?
Bedroom Wicker Furniture
The very first and most important variable you must define is whether you intend your wicker furniture to furnish an outdoor area or an indoor area. In most cases, wicker furniture is used to decorate outdoor areas or bright, casual rooms such as patios, sun rooms and pools.
If you select wicker furniture for the outdoors, you need to be certain it is finished and sealed properly to survive the weather. You’ll find resin wicker furniture used extensively in outdoor wicker furniture. Wicker patio sets are very popular and you can often find several different brands competing for your business, keeping the price down.
In recent years, however, more and more people are using wicker furniture to convey a casual and fun atmosphere indoors. Because indoor wicker furniture doesn’t need to be as tough as outdoor wicker furniture, you’ll find a wider variety of textures and you’ll even find some hybrid furniture with wicker elements. Bedroom wicker furniture can be an inexpensive way to infuse your bedroom with a little more character.
Outdoor Wicker Furniture
Outdoor Wicker Furniture
Wicker furniture works very well for outdoor furniture because of its open weave and casual ambiance. When people attempt to set a casual yet classy mood out on the patio or by the pool, they often turn to outdoor wicker furniture.
Wicker furniture may not feature the plush feel and sturdy support of higher quality pieces of traditional furniture. But that is okay for outdoor furniture where people are usually sitting and lounging while engaged in specific social or outdoor activities.
As I mentioned earlier, you’ll often see resin wicker used as outdoor furniture. You’ll find that resin wicker furniture may be incredibly durable and wears well over time.
Wicker patio furniture is common and thus the market is competitive, keeping prices down for high quality wicker options.
Wicker Furniture Durability
Wicker furniture often isn’t the most durable furniture you can select for a living space, so if you have rowdy children or some frisky pets, you might not want to use wicker in that area.
However, if you buy a well-made modern resin wicker furniture set with appropriate furniture covers, you may be able to work this classic style into more living environments than you expect.
But if you’re looking for furniture your kids can bounce around on, wicker furniture is probably not your best bet. A wicker table may not stand up well with that 6-year-old jumping up and down it.
Wicker Furniture Cost
The relatively low cost of wicker furniture makes it more appealing to more consumers for a wider variety of purposes. In recent years, you’ve started to see more and more wicker used in primary living sets than in decades past.
Wicker Furniture Set
A set of wicker furniture is sometimes several times less expensive than an equivalent traditional furniture set. And if you maintain it properly it will last you a very long time, providing you excellent value for your dollar.
It is best to buy your wicker rattan furniture in a set to get the biggest benefit on price and for the best appearance. Otherwise classy looking wicker furniture can look a little cheap if placed right beside large, plush furniture pieces. So buy in sets to keep the price down and make your room look better.
Selecting the Right Wicker Furniture for Your Needs
There are two sets of three questions which help steer you towards the right wicker furniture for your needs. The first set is a direct set of questions regarding the intended use of the furniture:
1. How will you use this furniture?
Do you plan to slip it into a breakfast nook? Will you use it by the poolside? Will it strictly be outdoor furniture? Answer these questions and other intuitive questions as to how you intend to use it and you’ll better understand which sets will work best for you.
2. Where will the wicker furniture go in your home?
This is related to the previous question, but you must cater the furniture to the room no matter its use. For example, a casual sitting area will require different wicker if you’re inside or outside.
3. Who will use this set of furniture?
If you have a teenager around, you’ll want to consider how that wicker lounge chair will work with his or her attitude. If you want to keep wicker furniture in an area where kids will run about, you definitely need to keep that in mind when evaluating the build of a particular wicker furniture set.
Additionally, you need to consider these three questions regarding the design of the wicker furniture set itself:
- How does the weave work with your current decor?
- Wicker furniture design can vary from ornate and classic to modern and simple, so keep the exact design in mind as well.
- What color, texture and thickness of cushion and cover fabric will work best with your intended decor for a room or outdoor area? Wicker furniture cushions can completely change the look and function of a wicker furniture set, so consider this one carefully.
In the following video, you’ll learn how you can rejuvenate old wicker furniture with some new style:
I hope this helps you get started in your search for just the right wicker furniture for your home. Please return as I expand this site with more specific information on the wicker furniture phenomenon and some more detailed tutorials and reviews on the various wicker furniture sets available on the market.