Wicker chairs: varieties and subtleties of choice

Not everyone has a wicker chair in their apartment; many will find it exotic. And yet, there are places where this kind of furniture is not only appropriate, but also becomes a real decoration of the interior. Wicker chairs are good in the country, in a country house, they are associated with rest, relaxation, calm music and a complete lack of fuss. But even in city apartments, you can soak up the pendant model or fall asleep in a rocking chair.

Wicker furniture came to us from antiquity. Natural material, which is always at hand, was used by craftsmen of the past, and affordable, light furniture fell into every home. Times have changed, for us wickerwork has become a curiosity, and they cost a lot of money.

Furniture made from natural materials is beautiful, distinctive and light. It is used in ecological, oriental, Scandinavian, Mediterranean and other ethnic areas. The armchairs are organically built into the style of country, shabby chic, Provence.

Our contemporaries appreciated the beauty of weaving, used polymers and developed artificial types of materials that mimic rattan and vines. Synthetic furniture turned out to be waterproof and not fading in the sun. Such chairs can remain outside during the entire warm season, without changing their appearance. They have become popular for verandas, terraces, balconies, gazebos, as country furniture and for outdoor cafes.

Wickerwork has many advantages:

• their appearance is spectacular, unusual, diverse;
• they have a rich color palette of natural shades;
• products can be chosen according to the weaving technique;
• armchairs are strong, reliable and durable;
• withstand heavy loads;
• safe and comfortable.

Of the minuses, you can name incompatibility with modern styles such as minimalism, hi-tech... Artificial and natural materials have different technical characteristics and their merits are different, a little later, we will concretize them.

Wicker furniture is not easy to classify. It differs in shape, color, material, technique of execution, purpose (garden, for the kitchen). The product can be floor-mounted, mounted, on wheels, runners. A wicker chair is made not only from a vine or rattan, you can get a beautiful hanging product in the form of a hammock, woven from ropes using the macrame technique.

Chairs are made in three ways:

• completely made of flexible natural material;
• made of wood braided with lianas, vines and other malleable raw materials;
• a combined chair with the participation of any material - chipboard, metal, plastic, soft mattress, in combination with weaving from natural flexible branches, vines or vines.

Products can be conditionally divided into the following types.

Outwardly, they represent the image of a traditional, familiar chair with a comfortable back and armrests; ordinary upright legs or stable supports are used. Thanks to the openwork weaving, they look very impressive, they can withstand the heavy weight of a seated person. For convenience, they are provided with pillows or small mattresses.

The nest chair is made in the form of a hemisphere, which is placed obliquely on a wide stable stand. The backrest, armrests and seat are in one seamless shape. The model was invented in the middle of the last century, but did not immediately gain popularity. In our century, people have paid attention to the versatility of the product:

• having set it in the form of a chair, it is comfortable to sit in it, legs tucked in;
• having laid it in the form of a bowl - you get a couch-bed;
• you can remove the chair from the stand and hang it on cords from the ceiling, and cover the stand with any plane and use it as a coffee table.

To make the chair swing back and forth, it is installed on special bent runners. It is a very comfortable product for rest and sleep. Especially it can be appreciated by older people suffering from insomnia, or mothers who lull babies. Such furniture pleasantly soothes not only with a monotonous movement, but also with the smell of natural material, its energy.

According to the method of attachment, these chairs can be divided into two types: mounted to the ceiling and mounted on a rack with a suspension... If the room is compact, and the ceiling is strong, it is better to use it to hang the chair, this model will significantly save space, in contrast to the volumetric structure with a persistent post.

To create a chair, you will need not only natural or artificial weaving materials, but also a solid base, a frame that can be made, for example, from aluminum. Thanks to the frame base and weaving technique, the structure can withstand heavy loads.

A chair without a frame will turn into a shapeless mass. All openwork weaving should be pulled on some kind of base and take on a given shape. Frames are made from the following materials:

• steel or aluminum rods;
• wooden support bars;
• thick branches of plants - rattan, willow, bamboo;
• polyurethane foam base.

Wicker products, regardless of what material they are made of, natural or artificial, look spectacular, elegant, and original. But the technical characteristics of natural raw materials and polymers are significantly different. Natural raw materials are treated with special compounds to enhance water resistance and the ability to resist fungi and bacteria. Unfortunately, it still cannot compete with artificial products. Let's consider first, from what natural material, extracted in natural conditions, amazing things can be made.

• Rattan. It is a derivative of the raw material of the creeper palm (calamus), which is widespread in Southeast Asia. The length of one shoot can reach 300 m. In the Philippines and Indonesia, locals weave a lot of things from calamus - from dishes to full-fledged dwellings. Its advantages include refined beauty, environmental safety, lightness, strength (withstands a weight of up to 120 kg) and a choice of shades.

• Vine. A vine is called a thin long shoots of a stiff or herbaceous plant, for example, grapes, willow branches, black poplar. For wickerwork, rods of many varieties of willow are suitable - broom, willow, willow, redwood, almond, as well as flexible parts of other plants. For raw materials, annual rods with a diameter of no more than 10 mm are used. Armchair frames are made from willow branches, which are more than three years old (20–40 mm in diameter).

• Coniferous roots. Flexible roots of cedar, pine, fir, spruce are used for blanks for wicker furniture. The material can be obtained from logging or uprooting old trees.

• Bamboo. The herb of the family of cereals, in some eastern countries is considered a symbol of longevity and happiness, so the presence of bamboo furniture is welcome. For weaving, raw materials with a diameter of 5 mm are used, they are calibrated and heat treated. The finished product is protected with varnish, after which it is ready to serve even outdoors.

This is not the whole list of natural materials used to create furniture. Chairs made of natural raw materials have a special energy, they are environmentally friendly, reliable, with proper care they are durable, have many shades, and can withstand a weight of up to 120 kg. But they also have negative properties:

• natural material is sensitive to frost;
• ultraviolet rays;
• frequent active moisture.

Chairs woven from artificial materials produced on the basis of polymers with the addition of rubber have completely different characteristics. For weaving, synthetic tapes of different widths and lengths are used. Such products are safe, they do not contain toxic impurities, respond well to frost and an abundance of moisture, have a variety of colors and do not fade in the sun. Chairs can withstand a load of up to 400 kg, they are unpretentious in maintenance and are much cheaper than natural products. Artificial rattan furniture is used in outdoor conditions, where it can stay throughout the season.

The dimensions of the chairs can be very different - from tiny children's chairs to roomy thrones with a high back, designed for people with a lot of weight. The average dimensions of a rocking chair have the following parameters: 600–750 mm wide, 600–1200 mm deep, 900–1400 mm high. And the diameter of the pillow for the papasan chair in the standard version is 110 cm.

A variety of shapes (square, round, oval) makes it possible to choose an armchair in any interior in accordance with the owner's taste or the designer's intention:

• the egg chair makes you feel protected;
• hanging product in the form of a drop;
• designer chairs have an unusual shape;
• the model is made in the form of a peacock tail;
• in the shape of a throne.

It may seem to some that natural material is monotonous and featureless. This is a misconception, there are simply no flashy and poisonous shades in it. The colors of nature are soft, cozy and perfect. At the same time, they are diverse, in addition to black and white, you can find an extensive palette of colors, contrasting models made of several tones of natural material are especially beautiful. Consider examples of chairs in different colors:

• hanging green models: one is made in the shape of an apple, the other follows the shape of a fig;
• white classic armchair;
• orange color can become an accent spot in the interior;
• the yellow straw color looks very natural;
• brown model with a chestnut shade;
• with notes of reddish tonality;
• dark brown, virtually black product;
• examples of combined armchairs made of different types of natural materials.

The rattan furniture of the Philippines and Malaysia, where calamus grows, has become world famous. But higher quality (virtually no seams) and a variety of wicker products are produced in factories in Germany, Spain, Italy.

Famous Swedish IKEA produces armchairs from natural materials of various types, for children and adults. Products of Swedish products are popular on the Russian market. factories Kwa, Brafab, as well as the Dutch company Azzura.

Choosing a wicker chair, you need to decide on its purpose and location.If the model is purchased for a veranda, gazebo, balcony, it is better to choose an artificial rattan. For a children's room, natural, environmentally friendly materials are preferable. Children love toy chairs - swinging, rotating, hanging. For a state of relaxation, a rocking chair is suitable. The dining area will need classic options. It is important that the chair matches the style of the interior.

Wicker furniture does not require any special maintenance. Natural products should be periodically washed with soapy water, then dried. A gentle bristle brush will help remove dirt from the grooves. With artificial models, you can not stand on ceremony, they are not harmed by preliminary soaking, a hard brush and a good shower.

Weaving is used to create not only lace and knitted items, but also masterpieces of furniture, This can be seen by considering beautiful examples:

• white room in the style of minimalism;

• an extraordinary chair of amazing shape;

• unusual modern model;

• bright comfortable set: an armchair and a pouf.

How to weave a rattan chair, see below.