Bamboo furniture has always been famous in Asia. Recently, it has gained popularity in United States as well, and its incredible increase in popularity is mainly due to the media hype of using earth-friendly materials. Asian influence over United States has also played an important role.

Bamboo is native to Asia. It grows in abundance in most areas of Asia. Due to the sustainability of bamboo, it is used to make furniture. It is also renewable that means the broken bamboo can be replaced easily. This makes it even more usable for furniture and other wares, making it more popular with time.

Bamboo belongs to grass family. It grows quickly just like many other grasses. This family of grass reaches its maximum height in around three years. The time to harvest may vary with climate and availability of water. When fully grown, it reaches a height of seven to nine feet.

Bamboo is a flexible stalk of wood that can also be usedas a material after it is processed. The flexibility makes it extremely useful for various purposes including beautiful furniture.

People are now moving towards earth friendly materials. This trend is gearing more focus on materials that are widely available and are proven to stand the test of time and use. People prefer furniture that is cheap, easily renewable and earth friendly. Bamboo furniture has all the characteristics. Due to these characteristics, many people are using furniture made out of bamboo in the outdoors as well as indoors.

The good thing about the bamboo furniture is that it can take all the possible furniture shapes. You will find almost every kind of furniture including chairs, tables, sofas and loungers.

Typically, chairs and couches made from bamboo are more popular in the United States. These chairs and couches have loose cushions and pillows to give a relaxed feeling. The entire frame of such chairs and couches is made from bamboo and the cushions are only added to increase the comfort. In some cases, even the cushions are made from material that is actually processed bamboo.

Tables are also common bamboo furniture articles. Tables are not entirely made from bamboo due to lack of strength of bamboo. Some other material is often added in the base of the table to give it added support. Sometimes, table legs are made from some other material and the top is made using bamboo.

You can easily find different designs and styles when buying bamboo furniture. Furniture makers use a lot of creativity and they often come up with unique and refreshing designs that are difficult to achieve with regular wood.
If you want to purchase bamboo furniture, you can search for bamboo furniture stores online. These stores carry many different types and designs of furniture made out of resilient materials such as bamboo. You can also find these in regular furniture stores. Shop around and ask friends and family for good recommendations on where to get the best deals on beautifully crafted bamboo furniture.

Pandas are not the only ones who find bamboo irresistible. More and more people are recognizing the great benefits and uses of bamboo furniture. Many of us may have seen bamboo depicted in many oriental paintings and artwork, but what else do we know about bamboo?

Bamboo is an ecological material known for its versatility and durability. Bamboo is used today in construction as well as in furniture making. It is inexpensive and has a fast growth and harvest rate compared to wood. In fact in a 24-hour period they can grow as high as 39 inches or 100 cm. Bamboo is grown most in Asia significantly in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has a notable role on both economic and cultural aspects in the said regions.

The Amazing Benefits of Bambo

Bamboo is an exquisite building material. Has twice the compression strength of concrete and roughly has similar strength-to-weight ratio of mild steel and very lightweight. Bamboo can grow very fast and can grow in its full-length by 3- 4 month period. It can easily grow and spread without much care or maintenance. Bamboo has also a very low heat absorption rate and there are products of bamboo which is great for window blinds, outdoor furniture and other building materials. Because bamboo is robust it is usually planted along property lines to add privacy and used as buffers from wind. Bamboo can also be used to prevent erosion. The dense network of roots makes it an effective barrier to erosion.

The Many Uses of Bamboo

Because of bamboo’s impressive strength and beauty it was extensively used in many construction purposes. Aside from using it as a building material, bamboo have a wide variety of uses in other fields and industry as well.

1. Writing. Early use of bamboo as a writing surface emerged in early China and was originally constructed with bamboo slips or strips. Today several paper industries use bamboo for paper production.

2. Culinary. Bamboo shoots are edible. In Asia they are a popular dish either as fresh or canned. The bamboo shoots can be sliced and pickled and serve as a side dish or condiment. It is a good source of nutrients such as protein and potassium.

3. Medicine. Bamboo has also medicinal properties and in its culms a bamboo stem called banslochan is used as a tonic for the respiratory diseases.

4. Clothing. In 2001 Beijing University have improved on the process of making fabric out of bamboo. This organic cloth is as soft as cashmere and has antibacterial and antifungal qualities.

5. Weaponry. Bamboo is also used in making martial arts weaponry particularly in East and South Asian regions. In Japan, the Shinai sword is made out of bamboo.

6. Ornamental Plants. Surprisingly there are species of bamboo that actually flower but in very rare occasions and frequently the bamboo plant dies and decline entirely after flowering. In China, bamboo are sold in pots and called as “lucky bamboo” and is placed in many homes specifically as a feng shui practice.

7. Musical Instruments. Because of bamboo’s natural hollow form it is popularly used in many wind instruments. The Las Piñas Bamboo Organ in the Philippines is a 19th century church organ made out of bamboo culms and the horizontal trumpet stops are made from metal. Many other instruments such as the shakuhachi a Japanese bamboo flute are traditionally made out of bamboo.

The Green Thing about Bamboo

Aside from the overwhelming benefits and uses of bamboo, it is extensively used today in sustainable and ecological buildings. Because of its fast growth rate it can be harvested quickly and can repopulate fast which makes it a sustainable plant. There are many construction materials that are made out of bamboo such as floors, moldings, panel boards and scaffoldings. Bamboo groves are known to give off 35% more oxygen in the air than other stand of trees with a similar size which helps the environment to minimize carbon footprint and global warming.

The use of bamboo can minimize the use of chemicals and other harmful toxins in the environment. These chemicals are usually from the process of making fabric which is found in nylon and other types of cloth. Today bamboo clothing has improved much of producing an eco-friendly type of fabric that does not use harmful chemicals in its production.

Interesting Facts on Bamboo

1. Building construction in Hong Kong uses bamboo as scaffolding instead of steel with buildings up to 50 stories high.

2. In India, bamboo has been used to carry bodies during funeral.

3. Synthesized shakuhachi a Japanese bamboo flute have been used in non-Japan music such as of the song “Nobody’s Listening” by Linkin Park.

4. “Eco-chic” which is dubbed to describe clothing made of bamboo fabrics.

5. A bamboo grove was known as a beloved place for Buddha which restored calmness and creativity according to Environmental Bamboo Foundation.