Usually people tend to get confused when they hear about rattan, wicker or cane furniture. They are not sure if all this means the same thing. They wonder if people are giving different names to the same thing.

Actually, rattan is the name of the plant from which cane furniture is made. Cane refers to that part of the rattan plant from which the furniture is made. Wicker refers to the weaving method that is used in order to make the furniture.

Rattan refers to the tall vine like plants that are found in Australasia, Asia as well as Africa. This is a palm that is covered in thorns. In order to make furniture, the thorns are removed leaving the stems. Then these stems are steamed in order to make them flexible. Next they are molded into shape and cooled. Then they are crafted into making rattan furniture.

Cane refers to the slender, long and strong stems of the tall grasses like the bamboo, rattan and reeds that is used to make furniture.

It is the core of the rattan stems that is shredded to make wicker, which is then weaved in order to make wicker baskets or planters.

There are many reasons as to why cane furniture is so popular. Basically, it is a natural fiber. With all the concerns about environment, people are returning to nature and hence there is a growing trend towards everything that is natural. This is a lightweight material. So people can easily carry it around. Thus it provides seating space when you have extra guests for dinner at home. And they provide tables for keeping food when you have that barbecue in the backyard on a Sunday afternoon.

Cane is a highly sustainable product. You can find it growing in abundance all around in the tropics. In fact, cane furniture is highly strong and resilient. This is because of the material it is made of. So you do not have to worry about kids getting rough with this furniture. It has been designed to withstand this kind of abuse. Also, cane furniture usually has no sharp corners. This means that the risk of kids and elderly people hurting themselves by tripping over cane furniture is next to nil.

This is a kind of furniture that is derived from a place that is hot and humid. This means that you do not have to worry about leaving your cane furniture in the humid conservatory. Also, even if you end up leaving your furniture outside in the garden for the night, it will not get damaged in any way.

One fact that no one can deny is that cane furniture has a beauty of its own. It cannot be compared to any other type of furniture. It commands respect no matter where you keep it. This is because of its unique beauty besides the comfort that it provides. No wonder that this kind of furniture has been in use since thousands of years and has still not lost its charm.