Rattan Furniture
Conservatory furniture is usually labeled as being made from cane, yet it looks more like bamboo. Actually, its most likely made from a material called Rattan. The main difference to bamboo being the solid canes rather than hollow ones. This material is very strong and is sometimes used as a structural scaffold in South East Asia.
It is grown in the tropics around The Far East in places like Indonesia and Malaysia, in addition Rattan grows exceptionally quickly unlike teak and other hard woods. Like bamboo it can be easily split to form flexible sections which can be woven to make items like conservatory furniture.
All MGM's rattan is sourced from sustainable forests and is created by Far Eastern craftsmen using traditional skills.
Rattan is therefore usually a good choice for conservatory furniture as it is resistant to the high humidity and also will not be easily damaged by exposure to strong sunlight. It can be stained or dyed quite easily and so furniture can be obtained in many different colours.
Wicker Furniture
Wicker is derived from the name wickerwork, given to the type of weaving used in the manufacture of some sun conservatory furniture. Wicker woven furniture is usually finer in detail than rattan and as such is more easily damaged and subject to strands coming loose or fraying at the edges.
Looking After Conservatory Furniture
It is likely that even if the materials have been chosen to withstand high humidity and treated to diminish fading that the strong sunlight in a conservatory will gradually fade your furniture. To try and reduce environmental damage the steps to take are:-
Reduce the direct sunlight
This can be done using blinds or an inexpensive throw - which will be enormously cheaper than the blinds! To stop localised fading, which will be much more noticeable, perhaps occasionally rotate the location and orientation of your furniture in the sunlight and simply turn cushions.
Keep the room as cool as possible
This ideally has to be done at the conservatory planning part of build. Conservatory cooling is a whole other issue. Basically though if you build plenty of ventilation into your conservatory and seriously consider how hot it will get in there in the Summer months then you can reduce the effects of extreme heat and humidity on the furniture.
You will also need to clean the furniture. Consult the instructions that came with the items for specific details but you will usually simply wipe a rattan or cane structure down with a slightly damp cloth