Category: Home and Garden Trends

The lounger

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As owner/founder of Marañon Hammocks, I’m trying to put the company back on the map after suffering a major setback when we opened a new store in a beautiful location in Kralendijk, Bonaire, at the end of December 2019. Two months later, the island went into lockdown, and we were confined there until June 2020 with our entire collection, which we had brought there with the idea of opening a store in Amsterdam at a new location outside the city center. We closed our store at the Flower Market in 2018 because mass tourism wasn’t really interested in our hammocks. Amsterdam underwent a huge change after 2014. From a friendly, bustling city to one with hordes of tourists who weren’t really interested in unusual products. Almost all the specialty shops in the city center disappeared, replaced by souvenir shops, cheese shops, candy stores, coffee shops, and small restaurants and specialty stores with food from other cultures. Tourism has massively embraced food, drink, and partying. A specialty hammock store isn’t exactly a great way to get there, although it is certainly comfortable to lie or hang after a little weed or smoking. Meanwhile, we weren’t sitting idle and developed new hanging chairs, the Loungers, a cross between a hammock and a hanging chair. On Bonaire, they suddenly proved much more popular than the hammock because they’re perfect for lounging. Half-sitting, half-lying, with or without a book, or simply relaxing. Loungers hang from a spreader bar just like regular hanging chairs. With a stand, Loungers are ideal because they’re easy to move. Our new designer stand has loosely attached tops on the uprights, which can be easily removed, allowing the hanging chair/lounger stand to be moved. That’s not so easy with a hammock stand, and what’s more, this stand takes up almost no space and can be used both indoors and outdoors. Few people put a hammock stand in the living room or bedroom, let alone in the kitchen.
The danger of the lounger lies in the fact that it’s easy to fall asleep in it. That can be very pleasant, but it can also happen at the wrong moment. Our loungers have a double layer of fabric, which makes them feel firm and comfortable. The fabric retains its temperature, and the body isn’t cooled by any colder outside air. This also makes them wonderful for sitting in the sun outside of the summer. And we’ve now equipped the loungers with an extra-high back cushion, which automatically supports the head. The great thing about our loungers is that they conform completely to the body and move with the legs as you retract them, thus providing continuous relaxation. This is because there’s no fixed structure around the lounger.
You can try out the loungers, hammocks, and hanging chairs by appointment at Bonhamac’s temporary depot in Aalsmeer until we reopen our store. But you can order online at any time, and you can rely on the quality we’ve been delivering for over 40 years. Tel/Whatsapp: 0653426852 Email hammocks@maranon.com

lounger ecru

The hanging chair trends of 2022

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Without a doubt, the trend for 2021 and 2022 will be the lounger hammock chair constructed of 2 layers of fabric. The lounger is a cross between a hammock and a hanging chair.

It has a fixed foot/ lower leg section attached, which leads for a totally relaxed position of the body. Many customers breathe a sigh of relief when they sit down in our loungers and get a very cozy feeling. Like the hammock, the body can totally relax. This is not comparable to the hanging chairs that come with a separate footrest. Because the lower leg is not supported there, there is too much stress on the Achilles tendon and that is not the case with our loungers. There is total support of the whole body.

Extra Strong and Robust

By using two layers of fabric, our loungers are strong and robust, and you can also hang them in the sun early in the spring, because the double layers provide good insulation against the spring cold. That loungers are going to be a trend is not an idea out of our hands. Because we have been the #1 hammock store in Europe for 35 years, we could feel future trends very well and it was startling to see, that from 2017 the customers who came to our showroom in Aalsmeer very often chose a lounger instead of a hammock and customers, who went for normal hammocks, went for a hammock. hanging chairs also came away with a lounger. Often with a stand attached, because then one can place the lounger anywhere. In the sun or out of the sun. Indoor or outdoor. And all without the help of others, which is often the case with a hammock stand.

The trend was confirmed last year in our store on Bonaire, where 60% of sales were loungers, mostly with a base.

The Expert since 1981

We started selling the first loungers back in 2012 in our hammock store on the Bloemenmarkt in Amsterdam and have added new models over the years. From the beginning our visitors were very enthusiastic, but our collection was still too small and the pricing was too high for most customers.

Many of the loungers were sold to the Middle East and to the USA, but interest also began to grow in Europe. In 2016, we added the high-end Jeans loungers and made-to-order leather loungers to the collection. In terms of pricing, these were not yet accessible to most customers.

Started production of our double layer loungers in Brazil in 2018. These loungers are now available in a number of colors and designs and we will be adding more designs. For the loungers, we use different qualities and types of fabric. For some loungers, we use polycotton. To make them more resistant to the sun and other loungers are made entirely of cotton, which is preferred by many people. The Jeans loungers are made of high quality denim and get after washing and hanging in the sun. That nice, slightly worn jeans look.

Where do traditional hammocks come from?

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The original hammock , we believe, comes from the Amazon rainforest. They were made by the Indians from plant fibers and while resting or sleeping were an adequate protection against crawling insects and other creeping creatures. Also, the original Indian hammock has optimal ventilation because they are woven like a net without knots. As a result, they easily stretch with the body and give optimal comfort and relaxation and the air can freely ventilate through them.

One can sit or lie in it in many ways.

For example, by lying with the upper body low and the legs high, they can relax the legs and feet very well after a long trip through the jungle. Often these hammocks are made from the Moriche Palm or the Tucum palm, but also from the fibers obtained from the Bromelia. In fact, a hammock can be woven from any strong vegetable fiber.

Mexican hammocks

It is noteworthy, that in Mexico both in the Yucatan and Chiappas people use the same weaving technique as the Indians of the Amazon rainforest. This suggests, that the Maya had contact with the inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest many hundreds or thousands of years ago. Not surprisingly, since both cultures are on the same continent.

In Mexico, colored threads of cotton are used to weave the hammocks, and as a result, a large and colorful production has been established. The hammocks there are made in many colors and designs and are of different widths.

We at Marañon have been buying hammocks in Mexico since 1975 and my first sales of these hammocks were at the hippie market in Santa Eulalia in Ibiza in 1996. At that time it was still a market where sales were made from rugs on the ground. In the early days of the rise of the colorful mexican hammocks, the strands at the ends of the hammocks were still very tightly woven high-quality cotton yarns, but to meet the increasing demand for these hammocks, for economic reasons, nylon tension wires were switched to the ends on these otherwise all-cotton hammocks. These hammocks are also available in an all nylon version, but we find that a lot less comfortable hammock. Nylon does not yield to the body and hammocks made from nylon totally lack the comfort of a hammock woven from cotton.

Mexican hammocks come in a number of sizes.

One must then pay attention to the weight of the hammock.

  • Hammocks of 900-1000 grams are small single hammocks.
  • 1100-1200 grams are larger single hammocks.
  • 1300-1600 grams are large single or double hammocks.
  • 1700-2000 grams for tall persons and large double hammock.

We started producing in 1998 Mexican hammocks with a 2x thicker wire to prevent our customers in our stores from tearing the wires by yanking on them when they felt a button or a piece of jewelry or belt snagging on the wires. Too hard a tug can then cause a wire to break. With our new hammocks, the Especial, this happened a lot less. This is mostly a matter of ignorance. If one feels that the hammock is hooked to something, resolve it calmly and do not start jerking wildly.

Like hammocks from the Amazon forest.

Not surprisingly, net hammocks from the Amazon forest have never been commercialized. The inhabitants of the forest, lived very isolated and true Indian hammocks from the Amazon are rare and difficult to obtain and very time consuming to produce. The famous hammocks of the Warau Indians from the Orinoco Delta are made from fibers that go through an intricate manufacturing process, making them very elastic. A very long process.

We still try to source just hammocks made from plant fibers and regularly have hammocks made from the Tucum fibers in our collection. These are distinguished by their very hairy appearance, which is because the fibers are twisted by hand into threads and one does not take off the beginning, and end points of the fibers. Are quite remarkable hammocks and very much appreciated by some people, especially ladies. They are very strong and have an absolutely natural look.

ALL THE NET HAMMOCKS ARE FULLY HANDMADE

Ideas and tips for good use of your hammock

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  • If the hammock has gotten wet, let it dry.
  • If the hammock hangs outside and gets wet often, wash it at 30 degrees after summer or take it to the dry cleaner.
  • Never store the hammock wet.
  • Do not overload the hammock.
  • If the hammock is always hung dry, washing is only necessary when it is dirty.
  • Do not store the hammock unprotected in the shed, as mice like to nest in the folded hammock.
  • Always hang the hammock in a nice bow. NEVER TOO TIGHT.

In this busy world, you prefer to be able to escape at the right time. Adapt your (work) environment by being able to dream away in a hammock at such times.
Hang a hammock as many in different cultures have done for centuries.


The following photos will give you an idea of what the ideal relaxation options are.

Hang it high
Getting the most out of a small space. Instead of one hammock, three hanging chairs can be used on this balcony.

Relaxing in the garden
Thanks to the strong tree in the middle of the garden, several hammocks can be used.

Hang your hammock or hanging chair yourself or have it done by Marañon?

Do it yourself ?
Grab your toolbox, the drill and you know you’ll be enjoying your hammock in no time! Do you need help hanging? Our professionals are happy to lend a hand or offer advice.