What is rattan - natural and artificial?

Cozy and original, but at the same ecological interior is a dream of many inhabitants of megacities. One way to achieve this effect without unnecessary complications and costs is to dilute the usual pieces of furniture with rattan. Wicker bookshelves, rocking chairs, lamp shades, mirror frames or flower pots made of this material will bring the brightest touches to the decoration of any room or other living space, such as an entrance hall. Rattan wicker furniture is so convenient and versatile that it will fit in with the interior of a country house, veranda of a restaurant or cafe and even in a recreation area in the office.

What is rattan?

Rattan is a plant material, which is actually an ordinary palm tree. In addition to the most famous name for this type of wood, you can find the synonyms "rattan" and "kalamus." They all refer to the peeled and dried stems of a tropical palm tree that grows mostly in Southeast Asia (Malaysia) and Indonesia. , Indonesian raw materials are valued above the Malaysian, since it is stronger.

The length of the described stems is able to reach 300 meters, so the aborigines gave her the nickname "damn rope".

Structurally, the rattan stems consist of three layers:

• Bark;
• A porous layer;
• Solid core.

The thickness and porosity of the stem affects the strength of the furniture produced. This principle of difference in stems is the basis for dividing it into classes in the production of furniture.

There are three of them: A, B and C, while the lowest class is C. The cost of such furniture is much lower than that of the other two. The price of the same piece of furniture class A and class C is usually 2-2.5 times.

Preparation of natural rattan

At the first stage of production, the trunks are cleaned of bark, polished and sorted by diameter and class of wood. And on the second calibrated rattan is processed by fire and steam, after which it is installed in templates to dry and preserve the desired shape. This technology gives the stems the highest degree of strength, making them very hard. That's what rattan is all about.

Usually the stems, which are thickest in diameter, go to the bearing and massive parts of various furniture, and the thinnest ones are cut into strips for braiding all corners, ends or joints. Rattan furniture is covered with natural thick skin or bark.

Beautiful openwork weaving is obtained from the strong core of the split stem, which gives the product not only decorative, but also the ability to withstand a constant load, without sagging, not bending and retaining its shape for many years.

The process of production of furniture from rattan is finished by varnishing finished products.

What is rattan synthetic and how is it made?

In addition to furniture and other design items from natural rattan, products from its artificial counterpart are also interesting. The latter is also called techno or polirotang - this is a particularly strong, high-quality and, importantly, environmentally friendly artificial material, the invention of which gave the opportunity to furnish not only the house and the dacha, but also garden verandas, arbours and landscapes with wear-resistant and beautiful furniture.

Innovative material was invented by German chemists in the 90s of the last century. Since then, such furniture has become popular both among buyers all over the world, and among designers.

Artificial rattan is obtained by extrusion, that is, punching the melted synthetic raw material through certain hole sizes. The resulting technorotang resembles a plastic tape or cord and can be of the following modifications:

• Tape with imitation of the bark;
• Round rod;
• Flat textured strip.

The length of such a workpiece can be arbitrary, which makes it possible not to have joints in the manufacture of furniture. This feature of artificial rattan makes furniture from it the most comfortable. Additional strength of the technotoranga is reinforced with silk or kapron threads. Such material can be of various colors, which allows you to create furniture for any interior of an apartment or a country house that attracts designers from all over the world.

Artificial rattan: pluses

Furniture made of artificial rattan is now at the peak of popularity. But the main question is, what is better - an artificial or natural option - often remains for those who want to buy wicker furniture for the first time.

The most important plus of the artificial variant is the price of finished furniture. Only a small percentage of the population in any country can afford to choose interior items without looking back at the price tags, and artificial rattan is much cheaper than its natural counterpart.

The flexibility of rattan, which makes it attractive for furniture production, provides the demand for it. Magnificent samples of woven designer furniture are obtained due to this feature. And artificial rattan has flexibility higher than that of natural rattan. In addition, due to the arbitrary length of the starting material in finished products from artificial rattan, there can be no joints at all.

According to their characteristics, furniture made of artificial rattan is generally higher than that of natural rattan, because it uses unique technologies that increase strength, and it can withstand more weight and more sitting, for example, on the same couch. In the course of time, the state of such furniture remains almost unchanged.

It is also important that furniture made of artificial rattan can be installed under the open sky, which makes it possible to decorate it with country houses, greenhouses and homesteads - after all, it can tolerate changes in humidity and temperature, sun rays or precipitation longer. Such furniture lasts much longer and is not so capricious in care, like natural wicker lacquered furniture, although it's not recommended to leave it completely without leaving it.

Advantages of rattan natural

At first glance, natural rattan furniture loses artificial, but still there are not any more fans of everything natural in the world. If the funds permit, it is better to give preference to natural material. It is environmentally friendly, safe and simply more pleasant to use.

In addition, furniture made of natural material can be made without metal structures - rattan bars are so strong that they can withstand loads, for example, a person's weight. And the unique flexibility of the plant can never be recreated by synthetic analogs, especially for chairs. The rattan curves, taking the shape of the human body, providing the most comfortable fit and relaxation.

Where appropriate rattan furniture

Everyone imagines what rattan is and how it looks, but in the minds of many people it is associated only with a wicker chair on the veranda. However, wicker can be not only furniture.

The braid can look very stylish in the form of a screen for a heating battery and flower pots for flowers. It even creates a design picture. Poly-rattan is used in the manufacture of accessories not only for the home, but also for women and men. They decorate pieces of furniture, balconies and loggias, weaving fantasy hedges out of it.

The largest and most popular group is woven rattan in outdoor garden furniture. She looks very impressive and respectable. Artificial rattan is good for a dwelling in combination with metal, leather, textiles, glass, ceramics, stone and wood, which makes things from it irreplaceable and unique in any interior - from the Middle Ages or classics to the modern cold loft that softens such details.