My grandmother was born and raised in Victorian times. Her home was filled with heirloom furniture-marble-topped tables, a precious Lincoln rocker, and a fragile china cabinet. She had an enclosed porch that was filled with furniture-furniture that seemed ancient compared to the department store furniture of my parents' suburban home.
Grandma had one piece of furniture that I remember sitting in both her yard and on her porch. It was a big wicker chair, painted black. It resembled a traditional wing chair, and my thrifty grandmother had hand-stitched its recovered cushions many times. A little old-fashioned, a little shabby, it seemed a lot like the rest of the furniture in her house. But eventually, I ended up with the chair. It showed lots of wear and tear, but you have to expect it; so much time outside can do that to furniture.
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The homes we have today are different than the one my grandmother lived in. Outdoor rooms are now common, and when the weather is great, our lives move onto our patios and into our yards. Our standards for outdoor living have evolved, and we are want to furnish these places so they are as comfortable and attractive as our indoor rooms. We eat on our decks, we throw dinner parties in our yards, and you even might find an outdoor bed on an upper porch. If you like the look of wicker, you can find comfortable outdoor wicker furniture that will provide years of regular use.
My grandmother's black wicker chair is not like today's outdoor wicker furniture. The natural materials in Grandma's chair deteriorated over time. Today's outdoor wicker furniture can withstand the elements because it is manufactured with long-wearing synthetics woven over aluminum frames.
If you've got a color scheme in mind, you'll find synthetic wicker in all the traditional colors--white, black, green, dark brown, and golden brown. The styles for outdoor wicker furniture are adapted to today's modern tastes. You can find outdoor wicker furniture in streamlined contemporary styles as well as the looks that have been popular for over a century.
Because we do so much living outdoors today, outdoor wicker furniture comes in many varieties. If you are looking for a table and matching chairs, you can find them in wicker, from a tiny two-seat café table to an extra-long dining table that can handle Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe you want to outfit your patio like a tiki-bar; you can find plenty of bar-height tables and barstools. Look for an outdoor bar; you can certainly find them in outdoor wicker furniture stores, websites, and catalogs. You are ready to take the party outdoors.
One design trend that is only becoming more popular is the outdoor family room. The grandest ones have all the electronics that you'd have indoors-flat screen TVs, DVD players, and stereos. You need comfortable seating to enjoy your outdoor electronics. You can outfit your outdoor family room with outdoor wicker furniture-you can find outdoor versions of sofa, loveseats, lounge chairs, ottomans, and sectionals.
While you are buying upholstered furniture, check out the cocktail tables and end tables. You can find chaise lounges and rocking chairs in many outdoor wicker furniture suites. This way, everyone can choose a favorite chair.
Outdoor wicker furniture can project a wonderful, old-fashioned feel to your patio, and a classic is the porch swing. Imagine a covered front porch sheltering one of these icons of a summer day. Give it a cushion that coordinates with the color of your house, pour yourself a tall glass of tea, and you may revisit a summer day of your childhood.
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