The best rattan garden furniture makes a timeless addition to the garden, blending classic good looks with contemporary design, and with most modern ‘rattan’ garden sets made from weather-resistant PE-rattan (a plastic polymer woven to look like the real thing) rattan outdoor furniture is a low-maintenance option for the patio too.
Whether you’re looking for a rattan garden table and chairs for alfresco dining, a rattan corner sofa for creating a swoon-worthy outdoor living area, or a rattan sun lounger for soaking up some rays in style, we’ve curated the best options around, along with our go-to retailers for shopping all things rattan.
If you’re after a wider selection of outdoor furniture, including wooden and metal options, make sure to check out our guide to the best garden furniture of the year, but if you know rattan is the look for you, read on to discover the Ideal Home team’s top picks for style, practicality, and budget.
Where to shop for the best rattan garden furniture
Want to jump straight to the stockists with the best selections of in-stock rattan garden furniture? We’ve curated a list of our favourites below. Otherwise keep on scrolling to find our top picks of the most swoon-worthy rattan garden furniture you can shop this season.
The best rattan garden furniture
(Image credit: Homebase)
This timeless rattan corner sofa set with dining table is a great investment, especially if you manage to snap it up at a discount in Homebase’s current sale.
The natural-look PE-rattan upper is woven around an aluminium frame which makes the set rust- and weather-resistant meaning you can leave it outside all year round (minus the cushions) without worrying about the over-winter storage that a steel-framed set would require.
You also get a lot for your money, with the five-seater corner sofa and good-sized outdoor dining table accompanied by two padded footstools that can be used to turn the sofa into a chaise for some laidback R&R, or used as extra seating around the table. Plus, all fifteen well-padded cushions are included in the price.
(Image credit: John Lewis & Partners)
Stylish good looks and durable, weather-resistant aluminium frames make these rattan-effect bistro armchairs a good buy in our book.
Rust-resistant aluminium is also a lighter weight option than steel, which makes the pair easy to move around the patio to follow the sun, and means you can rest a little easier about rushing to cover your seating should the rain clouds gather.
You will have to buy the bistro table separately if you’re looking for a set, but as part of John Lewis & Partner’s Dante collection there is a wide selection of coordinating outdoor furniture available if you want to create a cohesive look for your patio.
(Image credit: B&Q)
This clever rattan lounge set is perfect for outdoor areas where space is at a premium, and it’s a great price considering its aluminium construction.
The set comes with three modular seats; a two-seater sofa and two armless chairs, plus a coffee table that can be swapped around into four different layouts. If you don’t need the extra seating, then the chairs slot neatly into the back of the sofa unit to save on space, or you can use them to turn the sofa into a daybed, create a corner sofa, or use them as separate seats to make up the lounge set layout.
All components come ready-assembled, and the low-maintenance PE-rattan and aluminium frames are lightweight to move, plus rust and weather resistant making it all-in-all a hassle-free and super versatile option.
(Image credit: Furniture Village)
Furniture Village’s Camber outdoor dining set comes in either a six-seater or eight-seater option depending on how many guests you’re likely to host, and how generous your outside space is.
Alongside the rattan dining chairs, with padded seat cushions, back cushions, and armrests for comfortable alfresco eating, this elegant rattan dining set features a circular dining table with tempered glass top and a useful built-in parasol hole for hot summer’s days.
The shower-proof cushions have removable cushion covers that make for easy washing, and the PE-rattan and rust-resistant aluminium frame mean this set is tough enough to withstand the elements all year round.
(Image credit: Bramblecrest)
A contemporary angular design makes the Kingscote rattan lounge set equally suitable for either a classic or more modern outside space, with the deep seating making a comfortable spot to sit back and enjoy the good weather.
This set is built for less favourable weather conditions too, with the aluminium-framed seating and frost-resistant glass-topped coffee table well equipped to withstand the elements.
The four-piece set includes two armchairs, a loveseat sofa, and the coordinating coffee table which hides an innovative ice bucket to chill your drinks. Cushions are also included in the price, with fillings made from recycled plastic bottles.
(Image credit: Moda)
If you have a little more cash to invest into your outside space, then this timeless rattan corner sofa set from Moda comes high on our wishlist.
The modular sofa units can be clipped together into a variety of configurations to create the layout that best suits your outside space, and with the five-seater sofa, plus four padded footstools there is plenty of seating for all of the family, plus guests.
And, as well as a rust- and weather-resistant aluminium frame that provides long-term protection and durability against the elements, this set also comes with plenty of hidden surprises to delight. There’s a hidden fire pit in the centre of the coffee table which is sure to wow guests, and both end units of the corner sofa feature adjustable flip-up bases that allow them to transform into uber-comfortable loungers. Bliss.
(Image credit: Garden Trading)
This high-legged garden corner sofa will add refined elegance to any outside space, with the subtle variations in the weatherproof PE rattan weave adding a natural look whilst maximising on outside durability.
Those wood-look legs are in fact made from aluminium, increasing the set’s weather-resistance further, and making for a strong yet lightweight piece of furniture that is easy to position in prime place in the garden.
The set includes three modular sofa sections, plus a low-to-the-ground coffee table that’s a good size for resting drinks – just bear in mind that it isn’t glass topped, so a tray may be needed to keep things nice and level.
(Image credit: Habitat)
If budget or space are your main constraints when shopping for outdoor furniture, then this mini rattan-effect garden sofa from Habitat with a powder-coated steel frame is both a compact and super affordable option that’s perfect for smaller patios.
The chaise sofa seats three, with an additional cushion-topped stool that doubles as a footrest and includes a hidden storage space with a waterproof bag inside; perfect for stashing some outdoor cushions. You will need to assemble this option, but that gives the versatility to configure the chaise section left or right, depending on your patio, and there’s also the option of grey or dark brown wicker finish.
Just bear in mind that the powder-coated steel frame is more vulnerable to rust if exposed to moisture than an aluminium option, so the lower price point will mean you’ll need to over-winter this option somewhere dry if you want to prolong its lifespan.
How to choose rattan garden furniture
Most modern ‘rattan’ garden furniture is usually made from PE-rattan or polyrattan rather than real, organic rattan. Both terms are slightly different names for the same woven synthetic plastic polymer that is fashioned to emulate the appearance of natural rattan.
Why not use real rattan? Although the natural fibre is what inspired the rattan look we all love, the organic material needs a little more TLC to survive outdoors, requiring protection from damp and moisture, and needing to be shielded from direct sunlight and wind which can cause it to become brittle.
Plastic, as an alternative, is waterproof, UV-resistant, frost-resistant, and requires very minimal maintenance in comparison, leading to it being favoured by manufacturers for low-maintenance outdoor options.
The downside, of course, is that unlike biodegradable natural rattan, most PE-rattan garden furniture is currently unrecyclable at the end of its lifespan. Although some advances are being made in repurposing single-use plastics for the manufacture of the polymers needed to create the furniture in the first place.
Opting for the most durable PE-rattan garden furniture your budget allows can, therefore, become an important way to minimise some of the environmental impact of polyrattan furniture, and that means considering the type of frame that gives rattan garden furniture its structure; namely whether it’s constructed from steel or aluminium. Plus, of course, opting for the most durable rattan garden set your budget allows will save you money in the long run. Read on to find out the pros and cons of each metal and their outdoor durability.
Can you leave rattan garden furniture outside?
Whether or not you can leave rattan garden furniture outside in the rain without it becoming damaged is largely due to the type of metal frame the set is constructed with.
The most affordable rattan garden furniture will generally be made with a steel frame. This makes for heavier furniture, and you’ll want to make sure you look for powder-coated steel. This is because steel is highly corrosive when it comes in contact with water, and the frame will rust quickly outdoors if moisture reaches the metal surface. This problem is ‘solved’ by powder-coating the steel in a dry paint powder that’s cured through an electrostatic process to form a hardwearing seal from the elements.
The downside of powder-coated steel is that if that painted surface chips then rusting can occur quite quickly, so you’ll need to repair any knocks to maintain that waterproof seal. Joints and fixings which are hard to thoroughly powder-coat and open to abrasion can also become a weak point, allowing moisture to penetrate and reducing furniture’s lifespan.
As such most manufacturers will recommend you store steel-framed rattan garden furniture in a sheltered environment during inclement weather to prolong its lifespan. This can be inconvenient if you don’t have a garage or shed for storage, plus, steel is pretty heavy to move. A waterproof outdoor furniture cover will help to protect steel rattan furniture from the worst of the elements, although it’s hard to prevent damp from penetrating over time, so expect steel-framed options to have a shorter lifespan overall.
Aluminium is the alternative. This is a non-corrosive metal, meaning the surface oxidises to form its own barrier to water, so aluminium doesn’t need any powder-coating or maintenance to maintain its integrity (although it may still have a powder-coated finish for aesthetic purposes). It’s also a lightweight metal and much easier to move in comparison to steel if you’re likely to be picking up your rattan garden chair to chase the sun.
And the best news is that due to its enhanced weatherproofing, aluminium-framed garden furniture can be left outside all year round, so you don’t need to worry about storage. (Although, nothing is completely impenetrable to the elements, so if you have the space then protecting your garden furniture over winter is still wise).
However, the downside is that these benefits come with a cost, with aluminium-framed rattan garden furniture usually the most expensive to purchase. Of course, the added durability that comes with this non-corrosive option can make it the most cost-effective in the long term, as long as you don’t mind the initial outlay. And if you find an aluminium option on our garden furniture deals page, it will be well worth snapping up!
How we chose the products in this round-up
To find the best products for this list we spent time handling and sit-testing some of the bestselling garden furniture, dived into the specifications to sort the wheat from the chaff, grilled the Ideal Home team for their expert knowledge, asked friends and family for their top-rated products, and took into account third party opinions via online reviews. Click here to find out more about how we review products on Ideal Home.
