Wicker furniture, made to stay outside

Wicker furniture takes its name from the weave, and the weave came first: long strands of cane or rattan pulled over and under a frame. The material under that name varies. Dedon, a German company founded in 1990, built its business on a synthetic fiber that you weave the way you weave rattan and then leave outdoors.

Wicker names the weave

A wicker chair can be rattan, willow, cane, paper cord or a synthetic strand. Shops often write "wicker" for all of them, so ask what the strand is. The answer tells you where the chair can stand.

Natural rattan looks warm and feels light, and it cracks or rots once it spends a season in the weather. Keep it in a sunroom or under a deep porch roof.

Dedon Fiber, made in Germany

Dedon researches, develops and makes its fiber at its own plant in northern Germany. The fiber resists chlorine, salt water and sun, and you find Dedon pieces on pool decks, in desert gardens and on yachts. Dedon specialists work with each designer on new profiles and textures, so the strand on one collection can differ from the next.

The weaving happens at Dedon Philippines, the company's own zero-waste plant on Cebu Island, open since 2000. Around 260 craftsmen work there and make the woven Dedon pieces in-house.

Dala: fiber threaded through a mesh

Dedon Dala by Stephen Burks starts from a frame of expanded aluminum mesh with a powder coating. Weavers thread Dedon Fiber through the grid by hand, so the frame and the woven surface become one piece. Dedon holds a patent on the method.

The shapes are round and easy to lift. You can pick a lounge chair, a loveseat, a footstool, a stool, a side table and a coffee table, then move them around the patio as the shade shifts. Burks worked out the colors with colorist Giulio Ridolfo: Rioja, Ubud, Cuba, Ibiza and Bahamas, each offered across the whole range. See the Dala collection.

Kida: fiber wrapped around a frame

Dedon Kida, also by Burks, was the first Dedon collection wrapped in fiber. Craftspeople wind 834 meters of Dedon Fiber Touch around the frame of the hanging chair, and the result reads as an open cradle from any side. A cushion covers the whole seat, and a fixed head cushion sits where you lean back.

The frame is powder-coated aluminum. You can hang the chair from your own support or order the version with its own base. Kida also includes an armchair, a lounge chair and a footstool, in three striped colorways: Glow Touch, Shade Touch and Line Touch. See the Kida collection.

Picking between the two

Dala suits a patio where seats move around: a stool pulled over for a guest, a lounge chair carried into the shade. Kida suits a covered porch or a pergola by the pool, where a hanging chair has a beam to hang from. Both take cushions from Dedon fabric families such as Natura, Caleo, Tucson, Gaia, Muse, Nube and Borneo, so the two can share one fabric on one terrace.

Caring for outdoor wicker

Clean the weave with a soft brush, warm water and a mild cleanser. Dedon also sells a cleaner for fiber, teak and upholstery. Keep alcohol and solvents off the strand, since they can mark or discolor it, and wipe off wine, citrus juice and soda before they dry.

The frames can stay out through the year. Bring the cushions in during long wet spells, or keep them in a dry box on the terrace.

Tell us through the form below where the chairs will stand: poolside, coastal or a covered porch. We reply within one business day with fiber colors, cushion fabrics and a price for each piece.