Many of us now a days have conservatories built on the back of our homes, we use them as an in between space to relax or entertain between the artificial lighting of the main part of the home and the elements of the Great British climate. But, what ever we use our conservatories for, whether relaxing with a coffee and a good book or having friends round for a meal, we all insist that the furniture we fill them with is comfortable and stylish. So, what have the manufacturers made for us for this year?
Traditionally we fill our conservatories with cane wicker furniture but with today’s busy lifestyles convenience has to be a consideration; is our furniture easy to clean? Is it hard wearing? Is it multi purpose? So how does modern synthetic rattan conservatory furniture compare to traditional cane furniture?
There are many manufacturers today using synthetic rattan woven over welded aluminium frames to make their furniture. The synthetic rattan gives the look and feel of natural wicker weave and the welded aluminium frames allow designers to create the sharp clean lines of contemporary furniture while keeping it very light weight. The synthetic resin, made from organic materials and minerals, used to make the rattan weave, is also weatherproof and UV resistant you can use the rattan furniture indoors or out.
The choice available has also increased with modern furniture materials and manufacturing techniques. The aluminium frames can be moulded or welded into many more shapes than natural cane and it retains greater strength. The result of this ability is that we have a choice of designs from traditional all the way through to the modern sharp lines of modular furniture, and all made from light weight weatherproof materials.
Colour and texture options have also increased. During the moulding process of the synthetic resin, colour and texture is added so we are no longer limited to furniture in the round beige weave of traditional cane. The synthetic rattan weave is now available from flat to round weave and in colours from black to white. The seat pads and cushions haven’t been overlooked either; these are also made from spot clean, shower proof, UV colourfast and washable fabric.
There are also more options for the use of the furniture. Even if you don’t have a conservatory to house a deep seating lounge set, or are just looking for patio furniture or a small set to fit on a balcony there is a wide choice to choose from. Dining sets are also made from the same material and come in various options from round rattan tables to seat 4 up to rectangle teak top tables capable of seating 8.
So, back to my lead question ‘what have the manufacturers made for us for this year?’ Well, synthetic rattan furniture isn’t a new break through technology, it has been around for a while, and it does have the benefits of being easy to clean, the furniture can be pressure washed and the cushions are spot clean and washable. It is hard wearing, some manufactures offer 5 year guarantees. And it is multi purpose, it’s weatherproof and can use it outside. So the real answer is ‘new designs and more choice’ that fit in with our busy contemporary lifestyles.