Having a stylish and sophisticated garden has rapidly become as essential as your property’s interior decor, so for discerning individuals, rattan is the clear choice.
A natural-looking material which can be used both indoors and out, rattan has the ability to link up the style from the inside of your home to the outside.
However, there is a wide range of rattan garden furniture available and picking the right designs can seem overwhelming. Here are a few ideas about how to pick perfect rattan garden furniture.
No shelter required
You might be concerned about whether rattan furniture is right for your garden if you don’t have an area where it will be sheltered from the elements.
But the good news is that rattan is completely weather-proof and can be left out all year round, no matter what Mother Nature brings! Hot sunshine, plunging temperatures, snow, rain and ice are all of no consequence to rattan garden furniture.
Treated to prevent it fading in the sunlight or cracking in extremes of hot or cold, rattan furniture is incredibly resilient and doesn’t need to be either protected or placed in storage. The only exception are the fabric cushions and upholstery; these can be stored in a snazzy rattan storage box to protect them from the worst of the weather, and quickly be thrown back on when you’re ready to use your furniture again.
Size matters
Rattan furniture can be used in large gardens as well as small as there’s a wide range of styles to choose from.
If you only have a compact space, you might want to opt for a space-saving design such as a cube. This table and chairs slots away neatly together when not in use but folds open to provide comfortable chairs and maximum table surface.
But rattan dining sets come in large sizes too, with plenty of room to accommodate large groups of up to 10 people or more. There’s a range of styles to select from, with both individual chairs to stools and benches. The latter can provide a far more informal look and is great for those social occasions.
Don’t be tempted to pick a dining set which is too large for your garden; of course you need to have enough spaces for everyone to be seated but if it’s too big, your outside space will look stuffed and crowded. As a general rule of thumb, having around 60cm behind the seating will stop the chairs and table from being too squashed. If you don’t have this much room, you might want to consider an alternative style.
Colour
Rattan is now available in a whole host of different colours; you don’t need to stick to the natural “wood” colour, unless that’s what you want.
Soft greys, warm browns and even blacks are all available in the full range of rattan furniture so you can pick the colours you want to not just match the rest of your garden decor, but your flowers and shrubs too.
How will it be used and by who?
You might love the idea of a big formal table and chairs but if your teenagers are more likely to use the space for lounging around, perhaps a daybed would be a better idea?
If you have room to accommodate all of your ideas, then you’ve got no reason to hold back, but if you need to pick and choose your garden furniture, consider what is likely to get the most use and by who. There’s different styles of tables and chairs available so if that’s what you crave but the rest of the house want easy chairs, compromise and pick a dining set where the chairs can double up for both purposes.
Rattan is an incredibly versatile material in a variety of designs so there’s no excuse not to find what you’re looking for.
Conclusion
For a garden which is stylish and practical too, rattan is the obvious solution. By considering the dimensions, and the style of what you choose, you can make sure you get the most out of the furniture you buy.
