Nothing says outdoors like the clean, environmentally friendly lines of wicker furniture pieces. Whether painted or natural and covered with complementary cushions in a flowery pattern, they bring comfort as well as style to any backyard or patio setting.
Many eschew wicker because of its reputation for requiring maintenance and upkeep. While wicker furniture should be covered when not in use, stored away during winter, or used in a covered area, the painted surfaces are easily cleaned and ready for springtime duty in no time.
There are any number of styles of wicker that are available these days, so you are not restricted to the classic chair and table designs. Colors as well can bring new life and ideas for adding wicker to your garden spaces. This brings wicker into an entirely new dimension for satisfying anyone’s taste in furnishings for the outdoors.
Below, we have compiled five ways to add wicker furniture to garden spaces that will have your neighbors taking notes and desiring to incorporate wicker in their outdoor areas. These are but a few of the ways that wicker can become a central or supporting character in your outdoor living space.
Using Wicker as the Primary Furnishing
Often, people who desire to use wicker set out to buy a complete set of tables, chairs, rockers, and end tables all of the same style and colors. On a porch or patio, this can define your space and provide comfort for all your guests.
A wicker couch with a few throw pillows combines well with a coffee table of glass-covered wicker and some armchairs to make the outdoor space seem more like an indoor room. Finish the look with a complementary area rug and your guests will move to your outdoor room automatically.
Wicker and its cousins are available for mixing and matching. Standard wicker combined with cane and rattan furnishings will add a flair and substance that may be missing from an all matching set. Odd pieces, such as peacock chairs and trunks or suitcases of different sizes, some painted and some left natural, give a pointed edge and variety to the look.
Use Wicker as Accent Pieces
A lone chair with a foot stool at the same height as the chair’s seat plays the part of a reclining couch. When it is combined with a wicker shaded floor lamp it can set off in a corner of your outdoor room and give the impression of a getaway in the garden that is reserved for someone special.
In an overlooked corner of your yard, an area perhaps along the side of the house or hidden behind some low-lying tree branches or a bush can be made into a wicker wonderland. All that would be needed to create an intimate setting are a couple of natural wicker armchairs, perhaps in the peacock style, and a natural end table between. A hurricane lamp can provide flickering light in the evening and will signal the kids to stay away.
Using wicker for storage can provide the wicker appointments you seek as well as useful storage space for magazines, outdoor plates and cutlery, garden tools, or anything else that will fit. The use of wicker trunks and suitcases and baskets of all shapes and sizes can bring wicker appointments to any setting and soften garden furnishings made of other materials like wrought iron or other metals.
In fact, individual wicker pieces can be the element your garden is missing. Mix and match furnishing materials and allow the wicker end table, lamp, or chest of drawers to add their warmth and welcoming to the setting.
The delight of wicker is in its personality. Even plastic outdoor furnishings can get an upgrade and be more appealing with a touch of wicker.