By JOAN BRUNSKILL, Associated Press Writer
\nNEW YORK \u00e2\u20ac\u201d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the season for moving summer furniture out onto porches or deeper into balmy back yards.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s furniture we may already enjoy year-round inside, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s often wicker \u00e2\u20ac\u201d or do we mean rattan, or bamboo?
\nOr how about, well, vinyl?
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\nWhen manufacturers say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wicker,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re referring to every woven furniture product, said Georgel Miloje, of the marketing department at Designer Wicker & Rattan, a furniture manufacturer based in Orangeburg, S.C. Rattan is one of the materials most used for natural wickerwork.<\/p>\n
However, demand for outdoor furniture made with synthetic materials is on the increase and manufacturers are keeping pace. Miloje said his company sees surging growth in the demand for synthetic wickerwork, which people like because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weather-resistant.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Five years ago, 10 percent of our sales were synthetic furniture, now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about 40 percent,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Miloje said in a phone interview. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re making more synthetic because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a demand for it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the hot product now, because people are concentrating more on their outdoor rooms.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Wicker furniture made with several kinds of woven synthetics is available in chain stores such as Restoration Hardware and the Home Depot.<\/p>\n
Mitchell Ross, owner of Connecticut-based Patio.com, said his company is now selling about 60 percent synthetic wicker and 40 percent real wicker. Four years ago, he said, they were selling about 90 percent real wicker and only 10 percent synthetic.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The synthetics, vinyl or whatever, now look very much more like real wicker,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, commenting on the product\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s improvement. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We recommend some kind of synthetic for outside, to put by the pool, for example, but there are natural wickers that can be used in somewhat covered places outdoors.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
A Restoration Hardware store in Manhattan stocks both natural rattan and manmade wicker and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to tell which is which without reading labels.<\/p>\n
Both are hand-woven with an airy look, come in natural-look finishes, and are sold with fitted upholstery cushions; the resilient manmade pieces woven on aluminum frames also come in dark-brown \u00e2\u20ac\u0153espresso.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The sturdy natural rattan collection, which includes beds, is built on mahogany frames.<\/p>\n
Sales manager Jason Goldberg said that customers who want to keep a consistent design look at their beach homes are buying both kinds: natural rattan for indoor use and manmade wicker for outdoors. Restoration Hardware\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manmade furniture tends to be higher priced than their natural rattan pieces.<\/p>\n
Miloje indicated a personal fondness for natural wicker because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a renewable material and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s durable enough, especially if you keep it sheltered, or under cover,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We use mainly rattan core for our wicker furniture, sliced by machine into strips, like spaghetti, in different diameters,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Miloje said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The rattan mostly comes from Indonesia and the Philippines. They make the furniture for us out there, we apply finishes and make cushions and upholstery in this country.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We still use the natural wicker for our indoor furniture lines, especially for bedroom furniture,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Bill Herren, marketing director of Whitecraft Rattan, Charleston, S.C. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rattan is so versatile, you can weave it in a million different ways, for everything from beds to chairs and dressers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His company also makes natural wicker treated for outdoor use under cover.<\/p>\n
The most popular wicker finish right now is a medium-brown stain, he said, but they notice that consumers are going more toward darker walnut and mahogany tones.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the \u00e2\u20ac\u212280s and \u00e2\u20ac\u212290s everything was whitewashed, but since the late \u00e2\u20ac\u212290s people are starting to go darker, even for outdoors.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Here are some definitions:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Wicker is a general description of material (traditionally thin, flexible twigs or woody strips, typically of rattan, bamboo or willow) woven to make wickwerwork furniture; the word is also often used for the furniture.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Rattan trees are tall palm trees, sometimes called vines. They have slender but tough stems, used straight or curved for rattan furniture, or cut into finer strips to be woven into wicker or cane furniture.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Bamboos are semitropical or tropical grasses that often look like trees, with jointed stems that are woody, springy and often hollow, growing as tall as 75 feet. The stems are used in construction, for furniture and for textiles.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Cane is made from fine, flexible stems of plants such as bamboo or rattan, split and woven into chair seats or decorative panels.<\/p>\n
Both rattan and bamboo are eco-friendly, renewable materials, since they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re cut from plants that grow back relatively quickly.<\/p>\n
Caring for wicker<\/p>\n
First, stop your natural wicker from drying out, warned Randy Keeling, who runs a business called A Cane Wood & Wicker Fixer, out of Tigard, Ore. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153One of the better things is just to take a mister and spray it, unless you live where there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of moisture,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said in a phone interview. Of course, if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s varnished or painted, spraying won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make any difference, he added.<\/p>\n
To clean your wickerwork, especially at the beginning of the season, again, use plain water. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just take the furniture out, turn it upside down and turn the hose on it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Or use an air hose to blow the dust off.<\/p>\n
What to avoid: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The mess you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll make if you try to use wax or oil on it. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never get it all off, out of the weaving, and it will get on your clothes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Also new<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This year, most of what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re selling is wicker that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usable both as indoor or outdoor furniture because of its durability and comfort,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Petey Fleischut, owner of Casual Furniture, speaking from her store in Hockessin, Del.<\/p>\n
Newer materials including vinyl-weave wicker on aluminum frames with fade-resistant acrylic cushions are now so attractive that people may be buying traditional wicker furniture for a sunroom \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re choosing is something that would be totally suitable for outdoors, too, because they love its comfort as well as its durability,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fleischut said.<\/p>\n
Among newly improved wickerwork items: Deep-seat swivel chairs, and gliders (chairs that glide back and forth) for outdoor use, Fleischut said.<\/p>\n
Marlys Baldree, owner of three RC Rattan & Wicker stores in Arizona, said that swivel rockers are a perennial favorite with her customers \u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153people like movement,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said, speaking by phone from the Phoenix store. She, too, mentioned the trend to darker colors in wicker.<\/p>\n
New materials she is selling this year include banana-rush, sea-grass and water hyacinth wickerwork with a natural finish, on wood framing. A swivel rocker in better-quality rattan would range in price from $550 to $650, and a natural wicker sofa could cost from $850 to $2,000, she said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.designerwicker.com<\/p>\n