Whether you’re trying to find the perfect sunroom furniture, or you’re trying to find sturdy furniture that will look good all over your home, rattan and wicker furniture can be a great fit. Both are sturdy enough to last for years and years, and both will always be in style.

How can that be?

Rattan and wicker furniture don’t have anything to do with the latest trends; they both offer a classic look. If you want to ever change them up, you can do it with the cushions. For example, you can get new cushions for your rattan sofa, and you’ll wind up with a whole new look. Or, you can change the cushions on your wicker chairs when you paint your house a new color. That way, you get something that looks like new furniture – without actually having to buy new furniture!

Both rattan and wicker furniture look like wood, and they are nearly as sturdy as wood -but they’re actually not wood at all. Instead, they both come from vines that snake along the ground in the rainforests. Professional manufacturers take those vines, use special tools and techniques to dry them out, and then use them to make furniture.

So, if they come from the same place, why do they look different?

The difference comes during the manufacturing process.
To make rattan furniture, manufacturers take the dried-out vines and mold them into the proper shape. In many cases, the rattan has a lacquer applied to it to make it look shinier. That will actually help the vines stay strong for years and years. In some cases, the rattan is weaved together. That way, you can have wider pieces – like a rattan seat or a rattan nightstand.

To make wicker furniture, manufacturers take the vines and cut them into thinner pieces. Like the rattan, many times, they will weave those thinner pieces together, in order to create wider pieces – like a wicker tabletop or the back of a wicker wall unit. Typically, wicker doesn’t have any kind of finish or lacquer applied to it. If it does, it won’t be as shiny as the ones applied to rattan.

If you don’t want an entire house filled with rattan and wicker furniture – but you still want that light and airy vibe for your sunroom furniture – check out seagrass furniture. Literally made out of strands of seagrass that have been woven together, seagrass furniture comes in different shades than rattan and wicker furniture – and works as a great complement to both of them.