Choosing the right wicker furniture can be an exciting adventure. Homeowners need not suffer the perils of shopping for indoor or outdoor wicker furniture if they give it a little thought and advanced planning. First, consider where the furniture will be placed and used. If the furniture is used primarily indoors, natural or resin wicker will work equally well.
Indoor Wicker Furniture
Historically, indoor wicker (natural wicker) was made from natural materials. Natural wicker was generally available from wicker dealers without any finish, with a stain and seal coating or painted finish. Some typical finishes are natural, white, whitewash, and brown stain finish. But natural wicker is being replaced with more modern forms of wicker. If you like the idea of using natural wicker indoors, go for it. There is nothing wrong with it. Quality A-grade natural wicker is the highest-grade wicker available. If you prefer owning and using natural wicker furniture over resin wicker furniture indoors, that is what you should do. Taken care of properly, it will last for decades.
Outdoor Wicker Furniture
Modern Outdoor wicker furniture is perfectly acceptable for use indoors. In fact, the majority of people today buy outdoor furniture for indoor use. The reasons are many. The appearance of resin or Lloyd Loom wicker is considered equally as elegant as natural wicker. It has a smoother finish and does not have the little fibers that catch and scratch fabric on your skin. The abundance of different finishes for outdoor wicker compared to the limited number of finishes of natural wicker meets the needs of decorators and different home décor situations.
Outdoor wicker furniture is available in as many as ten or more finishes choices from certain dealers. Maintenance of synthetic wicker is significantly easier than natural wicker. It is easy to dust, and dirt and grime are easily removed with common liquid dish soap, warm water, and a little elbow grease. Outdoor wicker never needs to be painted. The color of the finish is throughout the material. Even if it were to get scratched, the color beneath the scratch is the same as on the surface.
Finally, if you don’t want to use it inside anymore, you can move it directly outside to the patio without worry. Many parents purchase resin wicker furniture for their children at college. The children then have the beginnings of their resin furniture when they start out on their own. Not all homeowners have the same taste.
Luckily, the wicker industry has a lot to choose from. Consider where you will be placing the furniture inside your house. Choose furniture that will fit properly within the room you plan to use it in. Typically, your choices for matching furniture include a wicker chair, rocking chair, loveseat, sofa, coffee table, chaise lounge chair, ottoman, coffee table, and end table.
Standard wicker designs don’t require cushions, but tufted cushion seats can be added for comfort and elegance. Deep seating wicker furniture requires 6-inch high-density foam seat cushions and thick pillow or tufted-style back cushions to sit on the furniture comfortably. Your choice here is simply preference. If you want to go for extra cushion comfort, you want deep seating. Otherwise, the conventional standard wicker design is very satisfactory. Don’t worry; deep seating wicker furniture is very acceptable for use outdoors, providing you have chosen outdoor fabric for the cushions.
If you are planning on starting with only a few pieces, make sure you deal with a vendor that will continue to stock the design you started with so that you can expand your collection in the future. Most importantly, choose a design that you like. It’s not important what you think others might think of the design of your furniture; you have to live with it and sit on it every day. It’s most important that you are satisfied with what you buy. Feel free to mix and match different pieces. Many people enjoy the diversity and uniqueness of each piece of wicker furniture.
Finally, choose custom-made cushions with a choice of quality indoor or outdoor fabric. The fabric pattern can make all the difference in your room’s décor. Good cushions will last and wear for a long time. Stay away from inexpensive cushions with Dacron fillers. A tufted cushion is generally a good choice and generally much more desirable for conventional wicker seating than foam cushions unless it is deep seating wicker furniture. For deep seating furniture, you have to use thick foam seat cushions—otherwise, whats the point? Consider buying cushions from the same place you bought your wicker if they are quality. If they are not quality cushions, don’t waste your money; find a quality dealer. The cushions should be made to fit well. Also, when you need to replace them in several years, you should be able to go back to the same place and buy replacements that fit or buy standard shape and size cushions from another reputable vendor.
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