Mid-Week Muse- Wicker & Rattan; Spot the Difference

Summer is right around the corner with warmer temperatures and longer days to spend outdoors. Spending time outdoors = entertaining outdoors which brings a big focus on outdoor furnishings. It’s hard to think summer and outdoor entertainment without thinking of wicker and rattan furniture. These outdoor heroes are very popular for outdoor entertainment, especially here in the tropics. Often used interchangeably by customers it’s easy to see how these two can be confused. So are they one and the same?

What’s the Difference?

Broadly they describe the same thing. Distinguishing in simple terms: Wicker is used collectively to refer to any type of woven furniture/decor featuring materials like cane, reed, bamboo, grass, rattan etc. While rattan is just that; a material used in making furniture.

Wicker = The technique used in the act of weaving. Also refers to the finished woven product obtained from weaving different fibres or materials to produce a piece of furniture or accessory.

Rattan = The material or (fibre) being woven in wicker style. Predominantly found in Southeast Asia, it’s known to be one of the most flexible yet strongest woods available, making it ideal for the production of durable home and commercial furniture.

Wicker describes the process while Rattan is the product.

My Five for this Wednesday…

Since this is a rattan-wicker-Wednesday, my five to inspire and entice are….

1. Those Rattan Drum Stools in gorgeous earthy shades
2. I could spend hours on end just sitting and reading in this Ravena PE Rattan Hanging Chair. Come on!
3. This adorable LiLu Large Wicker Basket, even babies love wicker!
4. Zulu Light shades in bright colours, giving me serious tropical resort vibes.
5. Stylish and rattan-sleek, this rattan bench seat! Need I say more?