What is a wicker chair?
A wicker chair is made by weaving natural or synthetic fibers around a sturdy frame. The wicker is then painted with a protective coating. Wicker itself is not an actual material. Much like the word quilted, wicker is a description of the way a material is used. It really means “woven”.
Wicker chairs are a popular choice for patios and porches because they are lightweight and easy to handle. They come in a variety of styles and shapes and are relatively inexpensive. You can often find them at yard sales and secondhand stores. Their major drawback is that they cannot be left out in the rain or through the winter. They need to be either stored inside or covered with waterproof materials.
Wicker chairs are totally woven unlike cane chairs. Cane chairs, which are often mistakenly called “wicker seats” are wooden chairs with a woven cane seat applied to them. They look like and are often used as dining room chairs.
Natural materials like rattan, raffia or willow were often used in the past to make wicker chairs. Rattan is a vine that grows across the tops of trees in tropical climates. Raffia is made from the leaves of palm trees. Rattan and raffia are very flexible and easy to work with. However, a synthetic material called fiber rush has largely replaced the natural materials because it is stronger and does not have the distinctive odor of the natural materials. Fiber rush is actually twisted paper which has been treated to withstand heavy usage and bad weather conditions.
Wicker furniture and baskets have been used since ancient times. A wicker basket of precious silverware was found buried in the ruins of Pompeii! More recently, wicker was used to produce the intricate patterns so popular in Victorian furniture. Many of these Victorian treasures are now cherished family heirlooms.
The American wicker furniture industry actually started out as an experiment in recycling in the 1840s. A young man, Cyrus Wakefield, noticed that the rattan that was used to pack cargo ships coming from tropical areas was being thrown away. He took it home and experimented with ways to use it to create elaborate furniture designs. He went on to create the Wakefield Rattan Company. The furniture pieces that his company made are now valuable antiques.
A wicker chair is made by weaving natural or synthetic fibers around a sturdy frame. The wicker is then painted with a protective coating. Wicker itself is not an actual material. Much like the word quilted, wicker is a description of the way a material is used. It really means “woven”.
Wicker chairs are a popular choice for patios and porches because they are lightweight and easy to handle. They come in a variety of styles and shapes and are relatively inexpensive. You can often find them at yard sales and secondhand stores. Their major drawback is that they cannot be left out in the rain or through the winter. They need to be either stored inside or covered with waterproof materials.
Wicker chairs are totally woven unlike cane chairs. Cane chairs, which are often mistakenly called “wicker seats” are wooden chairs with a woven cane seat applied to them. They look like and are often used as dining room chairs.
Natural materials like rattan, raffia or willow were often used in the past to make wicker chairs. Rattan is a vine that grows across the tops of trees in tropical climates. Raffia is made from the leaves of palm trees. Rattan and raffia are very flexible and easy to work with. However, a synthetic material called fiber rush has largely replaced the natural materials because it is stronger and does not have the distinctive odor of the natural materials. Fiber rush is actually twisted paper which has been treated to withstand heavy usage and bad weather conditions.
Wicker furniture and baskets have been used since ancient times. A wicker basket of precious silverware was found buried in the ruins of Pompeii! More recently, wicker was used to produce the intricate patterns so popular in Victorian furniture. Many of these Victorian treasures are now cherished family heirlooms.
The American wicker furniture industry actually started out as an experiment in recycling in the 1840s. A young man, Cyrus Wakefield, noticed that the rattan that was used to pack cargo ships coming from tropical areas was being thrown away. He took it home and experimented with ways to use it to create elaborate furniture designs. He went on to create the Wakefield Rattan Company. The furniture pieces that his company made are now valuable antiques.
A wicker chair is a type of furniture design that makes use of wicker. In many cases, the chair is composed entirely of wicker. Other designs call for the use of a basic frame created with some other type of material and then covered by woven sections of wicker. While a wicker chair may be used with ease in many rooms of the home, wicker furniture is more commonly used on patios or porches.
