Wicker Furniture Guide

View our range of Wicker furniture

What exactly is wicker? We get asked this a lot. Quite simply wicker is not a material. It describes a particular weaving process and is thought to originate from several Scandinavian words meaning to bend or weave. Wicker furniture can be made from any type of woven plant fibre from willow to twisted paper and is distinguished by its very airy, elegant style of weave.

Wicker is nothing new. The Egyptians were creating wicker furniture from reeds as early as 2600BC. The first American wicker chair came over on the Mayflower and a successful wicker industry was quickly built up around peacock chairs which were inspired by the Far East and graced many elegant verandas during the 1800s not to mention enjoying a revival in the 1960s.

The Victorians had a passion for wicker furniture and would take full sets of wicker sofas, wicker chairs and wicker tables onto the lawn for tea. And that is the essence of wicker's enduring success - it is lightweight yet has a strong frame and is robust enough to withstand being outside as well as in a conservatory or indoors, making it the most versatile of furniture choices.

Our wicker sofas and wicker chairs are made from a fantastic variety of eco-friendly plants such as rattan, banana bark and plaited straw because we love the diverse textures, colours and styles these different materials give us. We have wicker furniture in a wide variety of weaves and designs from traditional to contemporary and all our wicker sofas and chairs are sold with quality cushions. Wicker also makes a great choice for storage and our range includes trunks, ottomans, chests, wardrobes and drawer units.

Don't think of wicker purely as conservatory furniture - it can bring a distinctive style to every room in your home.

Caring for your wicker furniture

For use indoors, in a conservatory or outdoors but only if stored undercover.

Do not expose to direct sunlight or wicker will become brittle and fade (conservatory blinds are a must).

If in a hot/dry environment moisten wicker with a plant mister on a regular basis.

In a conservatory rotate pieces regularly so that one piece is not over exposed to direct sunlight.

Vacuum furniture regularly.

If wicker loses its natural sheen, use furniture wax to restore the sheen. To touch up light scratches, use a wax scratch removing stick.

A soft toothbrush is perfect for getting into those hard to reach bits.

Caring for your seat cushions

All our cushions comply with the Furniture Safety Regulations (BS5852) with regard to fire regulation. Please ensure you always follow the instructions.

Vacuum or brush lightly regularly to avoid build-up of dust.

Buttoned seat pads can only be spot cleaned using a proprietary non-toxic dry cleaning product.

Loose covers can be removed and dry cleaned.

Cushions will fade if they are exposed to direct sunlight.

Do not machine wash as this will remove the fire retardant coating.

Important - Have you checked your measurements?

This is stating the obvious, we know, but particularly when ordering larger items (wardrobes etc) it is important that you carefully measure both the ultimate location of the item and ALSO whether it can be manoeuvred through doors and hallways to get to its destination. If you have narrow doorways or a staircase with tight corners, please be sure to check again and get in touch with us if there's a problem.

View our range of Wicker furniture