Rattan furniture is a big, long term investment which makes a price comparison site a critical tool in the search and costing of this all-enhancing garden furniture.

It is recommended to compare different furniture features such as prices, styles and materials used as they can guide you to select the best set for you. Understanding these features and how to choose the best rattan furniture requires you to have adequate knowledge about these growing area of outdoor elegance.

This guide will give you some tips on what you need to know about it and help to make an informed decision when purchasing your furniture.

1. Material Used for the Rattan.

The type and quality of material used in the manufacturing process determines how durable the rattan weave will be. Naturally, materials of higher quality increase the cost of making this furniture. For instance, outdoor wooden rattan furniture requires the use of waterproof materials.

This makes the price of much higher in comparison to the indoor version. A quality Synthetic rattan furniture does not require preservatives, painting, or even oiling unlike wooden furniture, thus making them cost-effective in the long term.

Care needs to be taken when cleaning your wooden rattan furniture, to avoid scratching the weave work or snagging it. Covering your steel rattan furniture almost a necessity though as it will guarantee your Rattan furniture lasts far longer.

If your rattan furniture gets dirty, it’s recommended to spray off or use a wet cloth to wipe out the dirt as vigorous pressure on the weave can actually stretch it over time, leaving you with unsightly sags in some areas of the furniture piece.

2. Weather stability of the material used.

Does the equipment require UV stabilizing? You may decide to use your wooden rattan furniture outside after originally purchasing it with the intention of it being an internal set.

UV radiation may damage your wooden rattan furniture over time and so it is prudent for this type of rattan furniture to be UV stabilised.

Synthetic materials used in rattan Weave are usually UV radiation resistant but this property should be double-checked on comparison of price.

One issue with them, however, is that the material can become harder and even brittle and can break easily with high sunlight intensity. The cost of UV stabilizing has an impact on increasing the price, of course. Indoor furniture may not need UV preserving and so price is relatively lower in comparison to the cost of the outdoor rattan on a like-for-like basis but indoor rattan can take on far more ornate and artistic looks.

It is therefore essential to stabilize your outdoor rattan furniture to avoid them fading in colour and losing the flexibility of the weave.

Seat Cushions are another factor to inspect on their suitability to be outdoors as sunlight damage is probably a bigger factor on some fabrics, but take caution in the difference between “Moisture resistance” and “waterproof” as a thick, drenched seat cushion takes quite some time to dry out – you have been warned!

3. Ease of Maintenance

Another critical aspect to consider in Rattan furniture is how easy it is to maintain it in good condition. The maintenance costs involved with Synthetic furniture are virtually negligible compared to wooden Rattan furniture. Some Steel furniture is susceptible to rust if left outdoors in changing weather conditions for some time, despite coating, as expansion and contraction can lead to the protective outer paint or treatment becoming cracked and flaking off.

Wooden Rattan furniture may require frequent polishing of fading colours on top of replacing broken parts of the weave which can be involved.

One item to note on steel Rattan footings is that although welded, the feet can be broken off with constant movement across decking as the welding tends to be done on the thin frame tubing and can crack relatively easily over time. Our advice would be – Where practical, get helping hands and lift and move, as opposed to sliding.

4. Coated frames.

Your Rattan chairs can be made of steel frames which may have been powder coated which will be essential to help prevent rust. Improving the weather resistance of your Rattan furniture will make them more durable.

Additionally, covering your items and sets with a cover will provide extra protection from weathering, thus increasing their service life.

Any flame retardant coating will be likely to vastly increase the initial cost of your furniture and also in ongoing maintenance. This would probably be more applicable to any seating than the frame itself but it would be an important consideration in forming a comparative breakdown of choices.

5. Tight Weave.

The overall quality of the weave used in making the rattan furniture and the tightness of the weave pattern determine how long it can last without starting to loosen and look tired.

The tight and staple design is of the best quality and, again, this is bound to be reflected in the end price due to the higher cost of production of this style of Rattan furniture, compared to use of loose weaves.

6. Colour Spectrum.

Rattan furniture with multi colours covering the entire furniture is likely to be very much more expensive when you compare to those with a single synthetic colour or wood stain.

Compare Rattan Furniture’s Styles.

Rattan furniture comes in different styles with each style and model having its price and production cost. Every individual has their taste and preference on these, so some Rattan furniture can be customized to suit your taste. They include:

Rattan Sofa Sets.

They are generally designed to accommodate about four people, but smaller models of just a 2-person sofa have become very popular to buy in numbers to seat a group of people in different configurations, so used in a dynamic and modular fashion.

The size and colour will determine its price of course, for instance, a four seater sofa set with a broad spectrum of colours would likely cost far in excess when you compare with a double seater mono-coloured sofa set.

Rattan Dining Sets.

They are designed to accommodate a range of numbers of people, as you would expect of an indoor dining room and so the obvious first question would be:

“How many people am I likely to seat around this dining table”

Rattan Dining sets now have become quite luxurious offering circular and rectangular tables to suit groups of up to 10 and cover a broad choice of table designs like glass and rattan itself.

Useful considerations with outdoor dining sets like these are sun protection for your diners and many sets will actually come with a parasol or two to solve this problem easily but again – do compare what your package will include as it doesn’t take long for the heat to get too much when you are seated.

Rattan Cube Sets.

These sets were the most popular when synthetic rattan started to be mass-produced. They are easy to fold together and fit together nicely as a cube when you need to store them out of the way.

Some chairs act as small storage spaces underneath the seat. The smaller cube sets that originally hit the UK were then expanded quickly to dining sets that still employ the cube concept to stow the chairs, for example, under the table.

Rattan Corner Sofas.

Well, this is probably the area of rattan where they really have gone all out on design flare and creativity. The types of Corner set available now are just wonderful and can be huge! They are often designed to incorporate a coffee or dining table be used indoors and outdoors. Their flexibility and often sheer size make them relatively higher in price in comparison to the more conventional straight-seating sofas.

A Note Of Caution Here : when estimating whether a unit will suit your outdoor space, examine how people will rise from the area and without interrupting others too much! You will probably need more room than you think.

Rattan Sun Loungers and Day Beds.

This area of creativity has now even surpassed that of the corner sofas above! You name it, they’ve now designed it for those of us who like stretching in the sun while reading or having your favourite summer drinks. Many of these rattan pieces come in pairs and can feature wonderful additions such as a pull-over sun canopy, drinks tray and under seat storage – some have a hidden coffee table.

These items seem to top the price list in the rattan range and prices don’t seem to have fallen over the years as the more standard-shaped furniture has. This is inevitably due to much more materials and work that go into production of these fairly luxurious pieces now.

Can Your garden Accommodate Your Rattan Furniture?

Make sure that you have adequate space in your garden to accommodate your new furniture. Taking the actual measurements of the space and planning it out will make all the difference.

Bear in mind that you may need a thoroughfare to allow people between seating and tables. Will you need to grab your furniture and lift it to the safety of the dry in the event of a British downpour? All these questions help you compare what’s out in the market place and see the features that you could take advantage of.