Keeping rattan furniture and cushions looking good...

[KhaleesiMotherofCats]

Our first ever rattan furniture (corner sofa and coffee table) just arrived.

I love it but wondering how best to make sure it (particularly the cushions) stays looking good.

Obviously over winter the furniture will stay covered and we will put the cushions in the loft as our shed is not watertight. What do you do with it during summer?

Do you cover up your rattan after every use or just in the 'off period'?

Do you take the cushions off when you're not using it in the summer or leave them on if they're covered with the rain covers you get with the furniture?

If you take them off, do you put them in your shed (ours is quite dusty and full of spider webs!) or keep them in a spare room in the house?

Mine stays out in the summer and is covered during the winter. Cushions stay out in the summer but under a porch area. In the winter the covers come off and get washed and thoroughly dried and then everything goes into bin bags and is stored.

Is it real rattan though or is it the stuff which has been treated or synthetic rattan. Real rattan will rot fairly quickly if you leave it outdoors.

The other thing to be aware of is its like a beacon to cats - "come to me my pretties and use me as a scratching post..." You might want to take steps to discourage them from doing that (although if you find a solution please let me know since mine love to scratch it.)

It's synthetic rattan.

I have four cats of my own so scratching is a very definite possibility. I think I'm just going to suck it up and put the covers on whenever we're not using it...that way I can keep the cushions on underneath the covers during the summer and hopefully means the cats won't scratch it!