When buying furniture, you don't just want your furniture to look beautiful. You also want them to be reasonably priced, and at the same time, easy to maintain. In general, almost any kind of raw materials you can think of can be made into furniture. You can easily find furniture that is made from wood, plastic or steel.



Each of these materials has got its own unique qualities and characteristics. For example, steel may be more durable than wood. But you can find more complicated designs and patterns on wood furniture because they are easier to work on.

A largely neglected raw material is wicker. Wicker is actually not a term that refers directly to the raw material. It's a term used to describe the manufacturing process. However, many people use this term interchangeably with the word "rattan" to refer to similar furniture. In this case, rattan will be a more specific word to use. But let's just stick to "wicker" for convenience and to avoid confusion.

Wicker furniture is made from cane. Cane is available in abundance in many Asian countries. The problem with cane is that it is very tough in nature. Try holding a piece of cane in your hand and you will find that it is almost impossible to break it. It has a certain elastic quality to it, making it hard to break. In this aspect, it has a quality that you can't find in any other raw material.

At first, being too tough seems like a clear disadvantage. You can't seem to use it for any practical purpose. The raw cane is coarse and tough, thus refusing to bow down to manipulation.

Fortunately, natives discover a way to manipulate the cane. The process involves heating up the cane with extremely high temperatures. The heat softens the cane, making it bendable. It is then weaved and wrapped around steel frames to form wicker furniture. When the cane cools down, it regains its original toughness.

And because cane is so tough naturally, you find that wicker furniture is very easy to maintain. If wicker furniture comes with cushioning, all you need to do is to remove the cushion, and wipe the furniture with a slightly wet cloth. The goal is to remove dust and grime that may have settled on the furniture. Clean the cushioning with a wet cloth and let it air dry. Use a little bit of anti-bacteria washing liquid if necessary. Replace when the cushions are dry. And that's it! You've just completed a round of wicker furniture cleaning.

In rare cases, the wicker furniture may appear old and ugly. That's inevitable for all furniture types. Due to old age, the appearance is affected. Even then, you can restore the appearance of the wicker furniture. Again, the process is a simple one.