There is one type of furniture that reminds you of being on vacation in one of the popular holiday destinations, the wicker furniture. Read on to know more about this popular material for outdoor furniture.
When people think of holiday vacations, the images that come to mind are typically of cheerful, tropical weather, laughter and the great hospitality of people. The tropical-themed decor often associated with vacationing tends to focus on the bright colours of orange, lights and comfortable furnishings. One such furniture is those made of wicker.
How Wicker Furniture Came To Be
The history of rattan wicker furniture is closely linked to the history of the Polynesian culture, as the two share many of the same symbols and stories. For centuries, the Polynesian people would weave the rattan into beautiful sun dwellings, many of which still stand today in Borneo, Tahiti, and Indonesia. Rattan and wicker have been used for decorative and functional purposes for hundreds of years. They were even originally crafted to be woven into pieces for ships.
Today’s Wicker Furniture
Today wicker furniture is woven by hand and the basic wicker weaving techniques have been passed down through the generations. However, the traditional wicker furniture that you see in most Polynesian homes is made from either a tropical hardwood or a tropical softwood. Wicker is often used as a primary material in building the more ornate Polynesian style furnishings, such as those found in homes and gardens. The craftsmanship involved in creating wicker furniture is legendary. Today there are furniture makers who are creating new designs for both residential and commercial use, they are now considered to be traditional art forms. You can visit Bare Outdoors for a glimpse of fine examples of wicker furniture.
Materials To Create Wicker
The woven rattan and wicker pieces are created from natural materials, from all sorts of fruits, such as banana, acacia, papaya, mango, pineapples, persimmon, tamarind, and even eucalyptus. Each natural material used is unique in its own right, with processing and manufacturing process to create a uniform, sturdy piece of furniture that can easily be customised to fit one’s specific tastes.
Most of the wicker furniture pieces are made using resin wicker, which is created by soaking natural coconut husks in water. After the husks are softened and pliable, they are then shaped into the desired shapes, including bowls and others. Each piece of wicker furniture is then hand sewn with a special seam that only the manufacturer has the knowledge of. Each piece of wicker furniture is then finished with a natural powder exterior, which helps it to withstand the elements. A natural powder finish is often used to help the wicker furniture last for years to come.
The manner it is created, among others, is what sets wicker furniture apart from most other types of construction material. In fact, there is an entire industry devoted to the art of weaving the rattan and wicker furniture items that can be seen in homes from small beach houses to large city apartment complexes.
