We've woven cane in-house since the God First years, and we still re-cane chairs we built two decades ago. Almost every early failure we see comes down to the same three mistakes. Here is how our weavers tell customers to care for rattan and cane furniture in Ghana.
Dust it, don't drown it
Weekly: a soft brush or vacuum with the brush head, into the weave's corners. Monthly: wipe with a cloth wrung nearly dry from mildly soapy water, then wipe dry. Never soak cane — waterlogged strands stretch, sag and snap when they dry.
Mind the sun and the AC
Constant direct sun makes cane brittle and bleached; the dry blast of an air-conditioner does the same from the other direction. Position woven pieces out of both, and in the driest harmattan weeks, a light mist of water on the underside of a seat panel keeps the weave supple.
Sagging seats can be saved
A gently sagging cane seat can often be tightened: wet the underside (only the underside), and let it dry in shade — the weave shrinks taut again. If a strand has snapped, stop using the seat and bring it in; re-weaving a panel is routine work for us and far cheaper than a new chair.
What not to do
No varnish over bare weave (it cracks), no silicone sprays (they attract dust into the weave), no standing on woven seats — that's what the bar stools with solid saddles are for.
Cane on a solid hardwood frame is a lifetime material. See the woven pieces in our rattan & cane collection — from the Sirigu accent chair and Salaga cane chair to the Mole bed's full cane headboard.
Shop the craft
See these woods and techniques in our handcrafted collections: living room furniture, dining room furniture, bedroom furniture, office & study furniture, outdoor furniture — all made to order in our Spintex Road workshop, or commission a custom piece.
