Cane and rattan furniture - review

Cane is a traditional material for garden furniture. To sit on, cane is warmer and softer than metal, because it does not conduct body heat. Cane is a natural material for use in a natural setting. Cane has a warm soft colour and bends easily into elegant curves. Another property of cane furniture is its light weight, an advantage when you want to move furniture around and a disadvantage in windy conditions. Cane is used to make chairs, table, benches.

The most serious worry with cane garden furniture concerns its durability. Providing cane is well ventilated, it will in fact last a long time out of doors. Moisture keeps cane supple and prevents cracking. Many people therefore leave cane furniture outside during the summer and place it undercover during the winter months.

Another solution is to treat the cane with a wood preservative. Some cane furniture is pre-treated and sold for outdoor use. Other cane furniture is untreated and intended pimarily for use in conservatories. Paint makes cane attractive but does little for its rot resistence.

The material known as 'cane' in fact comes from two different plants: bamboo and rattan

• Bamboos is a tall, woody grass. Bamboo is light strong and durable.. A single bamboo clump can produce 15 kilometres of usable cane in the lifetime of the bamboo plant.
• Rattan is a climbing palm belonging to the genus Calamus. It has long many-jointed stems which are widely used to make 'cane' furniture. Rattan grows wild in forests throughout Southeast Asia. It is mostly harvested by women and children, sustaining the forests in which rattan grows and providing poor people with a source of income.

• 4 months ago Nick said

  You no longer need to worry about using this style of furniture outdoors.
  
  Many companies offer this style of furniture using a synthetic fibre, they call this furniture: 'outdoor rattan furniture.
  
  Like any product quality can vary, so it is very important to research the fibre and fabrics before purchase. If not you could find yourself with furniture that is not colourfast.