Are wicker and rattan garden furniture the same?

The answer to this is yes. Both the terms, wicker and rattan are used very often in home magazines that deal with rattan garden furniture. So common has the use become that people very often confuse one for the other. Learning to tell the difference between the two is the first step to making a sensible purchase for your home.

Rattan garden furniture

Furniture that bears this tag is made from a special type of cane called rattan. This cane is found in abundant quantities in parts of Asia. While this cane is similar to bamboo, it is hollow on the inside. Rattan is a tough material to work with. It is not even bendable in its raw form. The question that must cross your mind now is ‘how is rattan furniture made then?’

Converting rattan into furniture

It was discovered that rattan when heated becomes very easy to work with. It can be bent and woven around an aluminium frame. The process of treating and weaving cane in order to turn it into exquisite pieces of garden furniture is called ‘wicker’. Although this process sounds very simple, it is not. Once the rattan is heated, it has to be worked with immediately. Therefore the craftsmen who weave the cane need to be highly skilled. There is no room for error. Once the cane cools it toughens again and hence there can be no reworking.

Canning is an art

The process of making garden furniture that has just been described above is also called canning in many Asian countries. Being able to execute this process is considered nothing short of an art form. The process is tedious and it can take many years to perfect, therefore quality rattan furniture is more often than not the work of highly skilled artisans.

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