Your home is your castle, as the saying goes, but even the grandest of castles needs the right contents to make it liveable. After the year we’ve just had, 2020 has reiterated the importance of being comfortable in the place where we spend most of our time—the home.
Below, we’ll have a look at some of the best garden furniture options, from rattan to steel, to make your outdoor area as comfortable and inviting as possible.
Rattan garden furniture
Rattan is a plant that is native to tropical parts of Australia, Africa, and Asia, though the lush jungles of Indonesia account for 70% of its source. Rattan is not a tree; it has more in common with bamboo, and can grow upwards of 300 metres long. Once peeled, the core is used to make furniture.
The process of turning rattan into furniture is called wicker. This technique involves the twisting and folding of the long rattan stems into formation; it’s similar to knitting, except the end-result is furniture rather than sweaters. The practice has been traced back as far as 3000 BC in ancient Egypt, through wicker baskets discovered by archaeologists in tombs. Since the 1950s, rattan wicker has seen a resurgence in popularity in the West, especially with rattan dining sets.
Part of the appeal of rattan furniture is its chic, rustic style. It has a natural wood finish (despite being a vine, and not a tree), allowing it to blend perfectly with outdoor settings. The fact that it is often folded and woven into patterns also makes it eye-catching and visually pleasing.
Rattan furniture is both light and durable. Its weight is often such that any member of the family will be able to move it around the garden. This is important, because—as you may have noticed—it has found favour in the elderly community, and possibly even your grandparents.
As with any natural material, it’s essential to consider its sustainability. Rattan is a fast-growing and profitable plant, that depends on tropical rainforests to grow. Many loggers will opt for rattan, and its dependence on the rainforest incentivises them to preserve the lush greenery. In this way, not only is it sustainable, but it could help to preserve the rainforests.
Shoddy work practices can affect the life of rattan, but naturally it tends to be very durable. If you’re looking for some quality rattan products, then Furniture Maxi can provide for all your rattan needs. For a little inspiration, watch the following video to see how rattan may be used.
Wooden garden furniture
Wooden furniture is a popular choice for many outdoor spaces, and with good reason—the most glaringly obvious being the fact that it looks good. It also tends to be quite strong, and if the worst does happen (e.g. it suffers physical damage somehow), it can be easily repaired by a woodworker.
Having said that, there are fallibilities to wooden furniture; a common one is water, which can seep into the wood’s fibres, causing it to split. Also, it is particularly prone to damage from light, which can affect the chemical bonds and lead to decolouration. Both of these represent significant problems for outdoor wooden furniture.
Steel garden furniture
When updating your garden furniture, another popular material to consider is steel. People are attracted to steel furniture due to its ease of maintenance, requiring little more than a wipe down and a spray if grimy. Often, steel furniture is rustproof, which is particularly important for the outdoors; it’s also fireproof, which is ideal no matter the circumstances.
Practical aspects aside, wooden furniture does have its downfalls. It’s known for being quite hard and sometimes uncomfortable, and it can also damage or scratch outdoor tiles.
Plastic garden furniture
There is one major benefit that plastic furniture has over the others: price. The general cheapness of plastic is a huge incentive. It’s also easy to custom-design it to fit any environment or awkward space that you may have.
That said, out of all the garden furniture types listed here, plastic is by far the most environmentally damaging. Plastic is produced en masse, and is disposed of almost as fast. As it can usually be easily damaged, its expected lifespan is considerably shortened. Microplastics are increasingly entering our environment, being ingested by animals and even polluting crops, so plastic may not be the best option if you consider the environment to be a deciding factor. (3)
The verdict
There are various types of garden furniture to choose from, and each of them has qualities that make them stand out from one another. Wood and steel have some very beneficial qualities in their durability and maintenance, as well as wood’s unique aesthetic, while plastic creates an ethical dilemma. Rattan is often considered to be head and shoulders above the rest; its sustainability, chic design, and historical relevance make it an attractive and sophisticated option to decorate your garden.
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