Today there are many ways to decorate a home with exotic furniture for a unique design. Whether you prefer Asian or Western d'cor, you may be interested in using bamboo or rattan furniture or flooring to give your home a unique look and feel. A member of the grass family, bamboo is a slender hollow stock that has been used by Easterners for their home furnishings for centuries. Rattan, on the other hand, is more of a vine-like structure, although quite sturdy. It has an outer skin, unlike bamboo, which makes it more suitable for welding or screwing furniture and flooring pieces together. This is why many customers nowadays ask for rattan rather than bamboo furnishings.



Bamboo grows in Asia, parts of Africa and North America, and northern Australia. However, neither bamboo nor rattan has been significantly developed for commercial purposes. Still relatively new and cost-effective, both bamboo and rattan add gracious touches of Eastern culture to a carefully cultivated home. You can start with a little to see how you like it, and later add more to round out the comfort and beauty of your home's design and decorating scheme.

Bamboo rugs, mats, and flooring provide an essential foundation that is less costly than traditional woven carpet. However, some people don't care for the look or texture of these materials. However, in the hands of a careful decorator and in a home where modernity is not the be-all of existence, one might do a lot with either product to create a comfortable, attractive environment that savors oriental themes. Since largely young women and children harvest bamboo, using these products helps to provide regular work and income for individuals involved in the industry.

For light, elegant touches throughout your home or in selected key areas, you may wish to shop for bamboo settees, tables, or even baskets to create a faint but discernible Eastern presence in the bathroom, den, sun room, or other area. Decorator wall fans of oriental design, an Eastern sari draped over a sea chest, and a framed art piece of shells or pearls can give the impression of a faraway fantasy world as well as a home that is simply furnished in high style.

A room that contains large rattan furniture conveys the impression of comfort and style with simplicity in design and modesty in cost. Silk draperies, linen throws, and a host of other added accents help to finish the display of Eastern art and ingenuity. Shop the latest catalogues from website sales firms that offer a wide selection in bamboo and rattan products at competitive pricing. Be careful that your rattan furniture purchase does not clash with the other items in a given area, or indeed, the rest of the house. Everything should coordinate not only in size, style, and color, but in d'cor, theme, and taste. Rather than use bamboo for the sake of using bamboo, look for ways to make it fit with your furnishings rather than forcing a look that your home is not ready to accommodate.