In interior design and home decor, bamboo and rattan are frequently used materials. But what kind of substance is this?
Natural materials like bamboo and rattan are good for the environment and people. The palm family includes the plant, which is indigenous to tropical and subtropical areas. Southeast asian nations like vietnam, indonesia, and malaysia have a lot of clouds. Trees are used in vietnam’s artisan villages to harvest and choose the best rattan fibers, which are subsequently treated against termites and made into various sheets.
A dense tree with a hollow trunk rather than a bamboo tree. Outstanding qualities include suppleness, firmness, and stunning brightness. This feature allows you to respond to the query “is rattan a durable material”?
Rationale for wicker’s success with rattan
Rattan is sturdy
The most common type of rattan used to make wicker grows vertically, but not like the types of wood you would be accustomed to. The wood simply grows up and up as it grows, rather than in horizontal rings, giving it a highly steady, sturdy basis that may be used as the base of many different types of furniture. It does, for instance, imply that even a thin rattan trunk, which is already the perfect size for many types of furniture, is as sturdy as it can be.
Rattan doesn’t fit into any of the stereotypes of “weak” materials, despite the fact that many people connect lightweight wood with frailty. Given the way it grows, it is actually incredibly sturdy; a small quantity of it can withstand a lot of weight. Although a variety of other strong woods can also be used to make wicker, it offers the best balance of pliability, strength, and lightness.
Rattan is quite flexible
Speaking of flexibility, this is one of rattan’s best qualities: after being steamed, it is simple to form into a variety of shapes and curves. But the thing about it that really shines is how well it keeps its shape after being altered. Rattan will maintain its new structure and strength as if it had never been bent in that way after the wood dries and the moisture disappears. This is particularly crucial for furniture that needs curves, as you could expect.
Rattan’s pliability ultimately results in a high degree of versatility for rattan furniture. In fact, spaghetti serves as a suitable analogy for the malleability of rattan because it is dry, strong, and retains its shape when left at room temperature. But as soon as you add heat and moisture, the pasta transforms into almost whatever you want. Rattan and noodles are different in that it will restore its shape and strength once the heat and moisture have subsided.
Rattan is portable
Rattan now possesses the “trifecta” of qualities that make it so perfect for use in furniture. Even when carrying the entire bodyweight of the people who have purchased the rattan furniture, the lightweight strength of rattan provides it a remarkable level of resilience. Rattan-made materials are quite simple to move; in contemporary furniture, you only need to remove any cushions for travel convenience and raise the rattan. Even if you’re not exceptionally strong, you can often lift the full piece of furniture by yourself.
Furniture is versatile since it can be transported so simply between two environments, allowing it to be utilized both indoors and outside.
Like many timbers, rattan is permeable
What makes being permeable unique? Actually, doesn’t a material’s porosity make it more vulnerable to the elements?
The solution is somewhat intricate. Yes, in order to preserve their form, color, and quality, natural resources like wood frequently need to be shielded from factors like uv radiation and rain. However, the porous nature of the wood also enables a number of really pleasant modifications to rattan. Because of their porous surfaces, materials like wood, for instance, take paint quite well; the large surface area readily accepts new colors. Rattan can also be sealed for a variety of purposes, such as weatherproofing it so that the age-old “rattan vs. Synthetic” debate isn’t necessarily that clear-cut.
Rattan is porous, so even after being coated and protected, it can still be harmed by rain and sunlight. If you want your natural furniture to endure longer, you’ll need to keep an eye on it and safeguard it. Your rattan will typically last a lot longer if you store it outside under cover, where it will only be occasionally exposed to sunlight and rain brought on by the wind.
Wicker weaving is best done with rattan
Many people forget that it can also provide the reeds required to construct the wicker weaving, even though many people only associate this with the sturdy wood rods it creates for wicker furniture. It is essentially an all-purpose wicker furniture material that serves to build a piece of furniture’s structure and supplies raw materials for the wicker weaving process. As a result, wicker producers have more control over the entire production process and are able to tailor the rattan that will be used in their products. Wicker producers can purchase wholesale it and process it totally in-house.
The rattan’s skin can also be employed to assist strengthen and solidify the joints of the bigger rattan pieces. When inspecting furniture, pay close attention to the joints because the skin of the material is frequently wrapped around them. This means that a lot of furniture is actually fully made of rattan, unless it has wood reinforcement (like many heavier, straight-line pieces of furniture).
Rattan is available in various sizes
It’s not too difficult to make furniture from rattan that comes in different sizes. This is accurate because it is available in a range of sizes. Some pieces will have structures that are “pencil thick.” to ensure that the entire piece of furniture withstands the stress of weight, others will need to use thicker rattan. But because it is so adaptable, the furniture and other items made from it might also demonstrate that adaptability.
Cushions go well with rattan
To avoid frequently readjusting your furniture for comfort, it’s crucial to have cushions on it that lock into place effortlessly in addition to being soft. It is simple to build furniture using rattan such that the cushions are locked in place. As a last resort, pillows might even be simply tied to the rattan to keep them in place. However, this is not usually necessary because it frequently complements cushions.
It is a material that works well with cushions in many ways. For example, it’s simple to make furniture that holds the cushions in place. You can also easily paint rattan to match the color of your cushions. There’s a considerable probability that you can adapt rattan to meet your wants and preferences, no matter how your space should look.
Natural wicker: the benefits
Naturally, “natural” wicker refers to any wicker product derived from a natural resource. Although there are many other materials to pick from, including bamboo, willow, and other natural fibers, wicker is a prominent example of natural wicker.
Natural wicker has a lovely “elasticity.” if you’ve ever sat in a chair made of natural wicker, for instance, you can feel the material’s cozy “give.” it never seems like it’s going to buckle, but it does feel somewhat as if the material is giving in to the pressure you’re exerting. The end product is a natural wicker “crunch” sound that is light and pleasant and feels as nice as it sounds. But there is only one benefit of using natural wicker.
Natural wicker has the additional benefit of typically feeling cool to the touch, even on hot summer days when it is best used outdoors. You can unwind thanks to the cooling sensation instead of worrying that you’re sweating on furniture that’s just soaking up the summer heat.
Furthermore, because natural wicker is porous and simple to paint and modify, it has all the benefits of wood. It’s quite simple to paint natural wicker, and you can usually be sure that the paint will stay on the wicker for a very long time. The outcome is a thick layer of paint—or even sealant—that adheres to the wicker and maintains the material’s color nicely.
Natural wicker detriment
Although there are several benefits of natural wicker that we could list, you should be extremely mindful of the fact that natural rattan is a green material and as such is subject to deterioration. To retain its quality, you must either keep it inside or cover it outside.
After all, common varieties of wood, which aren’t unbreakable, are used to make natural wicker. For instance, excessive rainfall can cause wood to swell and rot. Additionally, prolonged exposure to uv radiation can cause wood to turn discolored. If kept outside for an extended amount of time, natural wicker furniture may suffer similar negative effects to those the sun may have on your skin.
Due to this drawback, folks who own natural wicker furniture may need to spend a little more time maintaining it. Sometimes, all it takes to avoid this is to remember to bring your wicker inside before a heavy downpour or after spending a lot of time outside. Another crucial aspect of keeping your furniture in good condition is having a cover available for your natural rattan.
On the other hand, most of these drawbacks become moot if you want to keep your wicker inside. You won’t have to worry as much about the upkeep that wicker kept outside requires since your home is giving the natural shade from sunlight and rain. But if you do decide to put your wicker outside—and on those lovely summer days, you’ll feel tempted to—you should be mindful of the weathering difficulties that natural wicker has.
Process for producing rattan wicker
Harvesting
Particularly in locations with little to no forest cover, it can be harvested and used as a great alternative to lumber. The first stage in producing rattan items is harvesting. This requires a lot of work, and frequently, villagers work in groups to harvest their gardens in shifts with the aid of adjacent farms.
The rattan plant is first cut, the stem is dragged out of the canopy, the leaf sheaths are pulled back to reveal the cane, the cane is cut into lengths, then it is packaged, and finally it is brought out of the forest to the main processor.
Basic processing
To ward against fungi and insects, hasten drying, and improve color quality, the harvested rattan canes should be oil-cured or boiled. Typically, the ideal range for diesel boiling is between 60 and 150 °c. Immersion and boiling times range from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the particular types and diameters.
The wickers are air dried in the open air after the oil curing process by lying them vertically or horizontally on wooden frames (end-racking). The amount of time it takes for oil-cured rattan to dry might vary between 10 and 14 days, depending on the rattan species and the weather. They are deemed ready to be placed to a shed when the stem surfaces start to turn yellowish and become light in weight.
Various boring insects can attack rattan poles that are both fresh and partially treated. They must therefore receive chemical treatment in order to stop the pest invasion.
Subsequent processing
Straightening, peeling, polishing, dividing, and sorting are all aspects of secondary processing. Rattan should be straightened to make processing easier in the following stages of manufacture.
Peeling is the process of removing the outer layers in order to get the inner core. This is frequently carried out manually with conventional knives or with the use of crude machines.
It is divided into many grade and diameter categories by the process of sorting. Any damaged canes, such as those that are soiled or have cuts and bruises, must also be removed during this procedure. The young parts of the cane are also removed.
Final processing
When it comes to rattan baskets in bulk, local weavers frequently weave them by hand. Usually, they weave the goods in their homes, after which the manufacturing firms gather them and inspect them for quality.
The method of manufacturing handcrafted furniture in vietnam often entails numerous phases, ranging from bending, dowelling, drilling, binding, and finishing. Now let’s delve even deeper!
For the purpose of creating furniture made of rattan for sale, bending is a typical method. Moulding benches with fixed molds are used for various types of bends.
Making dowel holes is a crucial construction technique that is regularly used to join the pieces of rattan furniture.
Drilling may be necessary to prepare sub-assemblies for furniture’s final assembly. Following the joining of the parts, binding is completed to increase the furniture’s strength and aesthetic appeal.
The cane’s parts are then given a basic coat in a spray booth using turntables. They are sanded to smooth out the surface while the base coat is drying in order to get ready to apply the final coat.
Through this article, you must understand better why it is always the material of choice for furniture design. And where rattan material always exists and has a certain place in the world.