The history and the present of Rattan garden furniture

As far as one’s memory can stretch, it is not difficult to remember the yesteryear craze of rattan furniture being used for everything right from couches, dining tables, and chairs to those big swings in our backyards. Having close to 600 types under it, rattan is available in countries of Philippines, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. Having a strong production base of rattan gives the furniture manufactures a distinct advantage which puts them a step ahead to meet the increasing demand in the market.

Rattan in itself has various categories. One category is according to the length, divided as long and short climbers. Others are single stemmed or clustered. Each of these categories give greater opportunities for designers and manufacturers to produce pieces in bulk. Rattan, a material predominately sourced from tropical rain forests, presents itself to be a wonderful resource as it can be easily harvested, is much easier to source than timber, is easy to transport across nations and grows at a faster rate than other normal trees. Rattan is popular as a material for furniture both indoor and outdoor due to its innate nature to be able to bend and curve at unimaginable places, being able to take on wonderfully curving forms and shapes. The light golden caramel color is its advantage, brightening the environment. It is also impervious to extreme conditions, lightweight, and easy to shift around. All these advantages stack up to make this material a reliable source of raw material for the furniture industry.
The process of making the raw rattan furniture ready involves often drying it in the sun or smoking it with the aid of sulfur. The larger canes go through a process of being dunked in oil and then dried to protect them from pests.

Rattan, since its inception to modern furniture scene, has grown into areas where researchers have found better and new ways to treat cane which can in turn produce better by-products in the form of pieces of furniture.

Rattan is a strong material that protects from and against heat, water, and even dirt. If it gets dirty, it can be easily cleaned and washed thoroughly with water if the need arises. It does not reflect heat back when kept under the sun, and it also does not allow itself to decay when brought in contact with water. Rattan garden furniture has become a household name today, with people going in for rattan patio furniture when designing the outdoor and patio areas of their homes.

"Image for representational purposes only"
Furniture