Archive for the ‘Wicker & Rattan’ Category

Wicker and Rattan Furniture Adds Exotic Flare to Any Room

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Domus Antonia Rattan Table with Teak Top

Domus Antonia Rattan Table with Teak Top

There’s nothing like wicker or rattan furniture to make you think of warm breezes, fragrant flowers, white sand beaches and exotic destinations. Wicker and rattan furniture adds a breezy, casual look to dining areas and Florida rooms. Wicker bar stools instantly turn a bar into an exotic oasis. A rattan armchair or accent table can add a wonderful foreign flare to the decor or any room. A wicker dining set adds a graceful elegance that can be dressed up or down to work with both formal and casual decorating styles. The clean smooth lines and natural fibers of rattan furniture make it a look embraced by both modernists and traditionalists.

What is the difference between wicker and rattan furniture? Wicker is the more general term, referring to the weaving process itself, not the fibers used. Wicker furniture can be woven from any number of different vines, grasses and plants. Rattan is the most popular organic plant fiber used in wicker furniture, but reed, willow and bamboo are also used. Rattan is sometimes used to fashion the framing around which fibers are woven. Often a combination of materials is used to create a single piece of wicker furniture.

Grand Furniture Gallery online offers an excellent selection of unique wicker and rattan furniture pieces at superior prices. Add a little exotic excitement to any room in your home with superbly constructed wicker and rattan furniture from Grand Furniture Gallery.

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Wicker Furniture: A Stylish and Practical Choice for Your Garden

Friday, April 16th, 2010

If you are planning to buy garden furniture, one of the options that you should consider is wicker furniture. Wicker furniture is becoming a preferred choice among homeowners who wish to decorate their gardens, because it can last a very long time, and its natural look blends well with any garden environment.                                                                                 

Domus Eye Catcher Double Lounge

Domus Eye Catcher Double Lounge

Garden furniture is constantly exposed to the elements of weather, and therefore, it has to be strong and durable. Wicker furniture is a good option because it can withstand the forces of nature, and it will not be damaged or broken easily. Also, it is very easy to care for. Another advantage of wicker furniture is that it is comfortable, and it offers many seating options, ranging from a single chair to a sofa set. It will make your garden a great place to hang out and unwind with your family and friends. When you friends visit your home and see wicker furniture in your garden, they will know that you care to provide the best comfort for them.

Wicker is a material that comes from plants in the wild, and therefore, it has a very natural appearance. It will never look out of place, whether it is used in a traditional or contemporary setting. Wicker furniture is handcrafted, and it comes in both light and dark colors. Each piece of wicker furniture is a work of art in itself.

If you wish to buy wicker furniture for your garden, Grand Furniture Gallery has a wonderful selection for you to choose from.

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Transform Your Home into an Island Paradise with Tropical Furniture

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Tropical furniture is becoming more popular among trendy homeowners these days. This type of furniture brings comfort, warmth, and an exotic touch to a home, and it can recreate the soothing atmosphere of a tropical paradise. With the right tropical furniture in your home, you can feel like you are on a beach vacation everyday.                               

Tropical Home Entertainment Center

Tropical Home Entertainment Center

Tropical furniture usually consists of comfortable upholstered furniture with neutral tones and long horizontal lines. It comes in colors such as mellow gold, pale yellow, tan, beige, ivory, and dark brown. The colors and horizontal lines combine to create a calming and relaxing ambience in your home. To create a more authentic tropical environment, you can use natural elements such as plants, animal prints, and grass cloths to accompany your tropical furniture.

Materials that are commonly used for making tropical furniture include hardwoods such as rosewood, teak, mahogany, ebony, and koa, as well as bamboo, rattan, wicker, and wrought iron. Rattan is an indispensable part of tropical décor, because it comes from a tropical tree, and it has a natural appearance that blends well with most tropical furnishings. Wicker and rattan are also preferred materials because they can be used to create lightweight, sturdy, and eco-friendly furniture.

Fabrics used on tropical furniture pieces are mostly soft and lush, and they feature leaf patterns, jungle prints, and tropical motifs such as orchids, hibiscus, seashells, and birds of paradise.

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Rattan And Wicker Furniture – A Popular Choice Since The 1850’s Part II Of II

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Wicker 2Continuing from Wednesday…

As with wooden types of furniture pieces, the American public was beginning to turn away from the traditional Victorian styles during the early part of the 20th century.  American’s preferred more simple designs with straighter lines instead of the heavy fabrics and ornate features of the Victorian Era.  Around 1910, the Heywood Brother and Wakefield Company began designing Mission style furniture instead.  It did not take long for the public to embrace the simplicity and clean lines offered by this style of furniture and the Mission style was quickly a huge hit.  In fact, the Mission style is still a style that is preferred by many American’s today.

In 1917, another competitor entered the woven furniture scene. Marshall B. Lloyd invented a machine that wove a man-made fiber out of chemically twisted paper.  It did not take long for Heywood Brother and Wakefield Company to realize that they needed this invention in their company so they bought the Lloyd Manufacturing Company in 1921 and changed their name to Heywood-Wakefield Company.  By the 1930’s, American interest in wicker and rattan furniture had waned and the company was forced to change manufacturing directions completely.  They began making metal and wood chairs until 1979, when the company finally stopped making furniture altogether.

Wicker furniture became a popular American design choice once again in the 1960’s and has remained as a leader to this day.  Throughout the years, wicker and rattan furniture has been used in most every room in the home.  You can easily find wicker sofas, chairs, tables, dining sets, chaise lounges, bedroom sets, dressers, mirrors, bars, and entertainment centers.  Wicker furniture is strong and versatile and stands up to the riggers of daily life.  Because of its strength and durability, wicker and rattan furniture works perfectly in a backyard setting as well.

At Grand Furniture Gallery you will always find a wide selection of wicker and rattan furniture to choose from.  We have beautiful wicker and rattan furniture for both the inside and outside of your home that is sure to bring both beauty and comfort to your living environment.  Stop by today to see what treasures you can find for your home.

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Rattan And Wicker Furniture – A Popular Choice Since The 1850’s Part I Of II

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Wicker 1Like many other styles of furniture, the wicker and rattan furniture style has a varied past.  It has been reported that wicker furniture first arrived in America along with the pilgrims aboard the Mayflower.  The American wicker furniture industry can be traced back to one American in particular.   Back in the 1850’s, a grocer named Cyrus Wakefield found large amounts of rattan while visiting the shipping docks at Boston harbor.  The strips of rattan were used as straps to hold cargo in place in ships traveling out of Asia.  Although he had never seen this material before, he was fascinated by it.  He soon decided to sell his grocery store and instead form the Wakefield Rattan Company, which made hand-made baskets and furniture out of this new type of material that he had discovered.  It did not take long for Wakefield to have entire cargo ships of rattan being shipped from Asia for his new business adventure.  By the 1860’s, with virtually no competition, the Wakefield Rattan Company grew tremendously and was the leading manufacturer of rattan furniture in America.

After the Civil War, the largest wood chair manufacturer in the United States wanted to try their hand at creating rattan furniture.  The Heywood Brothers hired an inventor who created a machine that was able to weave the rattan into beautiful furniture pieces.  This new invention allowed the Heywood Brothers to offer their furniture at low prices to consumers.  After years of competition, the two furniture giants merged in 1897 and were then called the Heywood Brother and Wakefield Company.  This powerhouse company remained the leading manufacturer of quality wicker furniture until the late 1920’s.

Please check back Friday for the conclusion.

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Chic And Stylish Patio And Garden Lounge

Monday, January 18th, 2010

LoungeThere still might be snow on the ground and the thermometer is still dipping pretty low, but it’s never too early to begin your search for beautiful patio and garden furniture.  Let’s face it, without somewhere nice to sit and relax while you enjoy the sunshine once the weather turns, you will soon be heading back inside to your air conditioned house!

When planning your outdoor dining space, you want to think of it as an outdoor living and dining room.  You certainly don’t want to invite guests over for a barbeque and have them aimlessly wandering around the yard in search of a place to sit.  You want the space to be comfortable and attractive with well made furniture that will last for many years.  Outdoor furniture should lure you and your guests and make you want to sit, talk, relax, and entertain.

Grand Furniture Gallery has wonderful patio and garden furniture that is comfortable and elegant.  The Domus Diamond Lounge with Canopy in Café’Au Lait Braids would look amazing on any deck, poolside, or patio surrounding.  This piece is made from handwoven high density poly ethylene wicker and is resistant to cracking and fading.  It has a beautiful canopy to protect your from UV rays, and a comfy seat cushion with five fluffy pillows.  This exquisite Lounge is perfect for relaxing with a good book or entertaining with family and friends.  Lower the canopy and this Lounge would be lovely in an enclosed sunroom too!  So chic and stylish, who can resist it!

Don’t forget to stop by Grand Furniture Gallery to see all of the patio and garden furniture pieces that we have in stock.  We also carry fine North Carolina furniture, mattresses, and bedding at prices that cannot be beat!

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