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What Do You Need to Know Before Buying Rattan Patio Set?

When it comes to rattan, the main thing that confuses people is, is there a rattan plant or tree? Well, yes, there is. You can be sure that this is a natural material. However, there almost no chance that you will find it at some nursery in your town, or that you will grow it in your garden. We are talking about palm that can be described as a vine-like palm.

Rattan trees can be found in Asia. Mostly in the tropic jungles of Philippines, China, and Malaysia. After harvesting rattan, it needs to be left in the sun for a little drying process and stored in a room of a certain temperature so that it can be preserved. Introduced to Europe as an export product of a British Empire, rattan is now one of the most popular material today.

Naturally, before you acquire some furniture that is made from rattan, there are few things you should know about the material itself.

The Attributes of Rattan

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As we said in the introduction of this article, rattan is one of the most popular materials for furniture, both indoor and outdoor. Probably the best thing about this material is its ability to be curved and bent. That way you will be able to get an impressive shape for your furniture. Also, the color of rattan is something that impresses potential customers throughout the world.

Using this material for your furniture will surely brighten your outdoor environment, or a certain room, and give a somewhat tropical feeling to your surroundings. One more thing about rattan that makes it very popular is how light it is. Moving it around your home is something that will not give you much trouble. Also, the tree itself has natural protection from various types of insects.

Are Bamboo and Rattan the Same?

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Mostly on the internet, we can see that rattan and bamboo are sometimes mixed up as one thing. No, they are certainly the same thing. Bamboo was a very popular material for furniture in the 19th and 20th century, especially for tropic parts of the world. This is something that can be seen on the various pictures from that time, and in movies, of course.

Maybe the reason that they are mixed is that some manufacturers used rattan poles to strengthen and smooth their bamboo furniture. For example, it is impossible to use bamboo to smooth out and strengthen your rattan patio set. They are not the same.

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Uncertainty AboutRattan`s Future Supply

The rattan is used for the manufacturing of a wide array of products, but the furniture business is the most important one. This material is a base for an industry that has a value of a couple of billion dollars per year. So, you see how important it is. The majority of harvested rattan is exported to foreign countries and markets.

However, in the 80s, Indonesia presented a world with a ban of exporting rattan overseas. That way they wanted to encourage their local manufacturers to be more competitive in the furniture industry. Because of the high amount of harvesting rattan, the future shortage is on the horizon. In order to prevent that from happening, a certain number of Asian countries came up with preserving and growing large amounts of rattan.

The Conclusion

Having rattan furniture in your home is probably the best choice for you. However, it is not cheap, and it isn`t available everywhere. You need to look in more specialized stores. Also, with the future shortage of rattan, maybe your chaise longue should be made from some other material. Nonetheless, we are talking about one of the best materials out there. We hope that we made a good presentation of rattan.