Rattan garden furniture is, without a doubt, one of the most popular choices when it comes to furnishing an outdoor space.

Outdoor rattan weave is available in many different colours and styles in modern markets and the retail choice available is abundant.

Choice is everything in modern retail markets but at the same time you need to be in a position to ensure you are buying rattan garden furniture that not only looks good but is also of good, long lasting quality.

It's very easy to be left with a piece of outdoor furniture that doesn't last five minutes.

Any synthetic rattan set can be made to look good in a Showroom or through pictures on a website but, let's face it; most of us are familiar with the sinking feeling. We get when we realise that supposed piece of long lasting quality we paid for actually turns out to be something quite the opposite.

And many retailers in today's market compromise with the rattan garden furniture they sell.

They may offer the huge variety and choice we talked of at what seems like a very reasonable price, but they compromise on the quality.

This means you can very easily end up with an outdoor rattan set that fades and goes brittle over time with poorly woven rattan that loosens around the frame and ends up detracting from, as opposed to adding to, the look and feel of your outdoor space.

When it comes to rattan garden furniture you should be looking at three key areas.

1. The frames.
2. The rattan weave itself.
3. The cushions.

The many faces of Synthetic Rattan Garden Furniture

The frames:

Ideally these need to be made from aluminium and be coated which will mean they will remain rust free with exposure to the elements.

Aluminium is also very well known for being lightweight meaning that when it's used in rattan garden furniture you have a set that can be moved around and repositioned very easily.

The weave:

The key to getting this right is to check the quality of the manufacturer and do some research on their methods of production and the quality of the rattan fibres they use.

Ecolene, ViroFiber and AbacoXF are three well known quality manufacturers but there are others out there.

When doing your research look for the following qualities in the rattan fibres used and make sure

* They tolerate a temperature range from -70 to +70 degrees Celsius meaning the colour does not fade or degrade.
* They are eco-friendly and contain no harmful Cadmium, Lead or Chromium that other manufacturers still use and can harm the environment.
* Their textured surface looks and feels like natural rattan.
* They have a high resistance to water of all types including sea water and chlorinated water.
* They are 100% recyclable.
* They're easy to wipe down; requiring little maintenance.
* The colours are just as vibrant as those in the natural rattan varieties.

The cushions:

It may seem like stating the obvious but if the rattan garden furniture set you're looking to buy come complete with cushions these need to be suitable for outdoor use.

You'll be surprised how many retailers claim their cushions are suitable for outdoor use only to find, once the product is delivered, that in actual fact they're not and you're left with damp cushions that simply rot away in a short period of time.

Key areas to look out for with the cushions

* Resin fibre sandwiches are used for the filling - these allow water to soak through meaning they dry out very quickly.
* Quality synthetic polymers are used in the fabrics themselves. Olefin Fibres are a great example of this and the end result is a fabric that wicks moisture and keeps its vibrant colours with exposure to direct sunlight.

Finally, common sense should be the best weapon in your arsenal when looking to buy quality rattan garden furniture - if your instinct tells you there's something wrong there probably is, so do some more research and consider other retailers before committing yourself.