Teak Garden Furniture

Teak wood delivers everything consumers are after for the home and garden.  Dependable and strong, beautiful and adaptable, this tree is widely used for indoor and outdoor furniture, flooring, cabinetry and decking.  Will the widespread use have a negative effect on this natural resource?

Teak is naturally rich in color and durability as the oils found in the wood create a resistance to rot and pests.  This makes it very desirable for a variety of uses.  But that increased desire has caused the tree to become over-harvested and growth and planting has moved away from sustainable practices.  Because teak is a fussy tree that tends to thrive in selective soils only, this harsh treatment has pushed teak dangerously close to extinction.  Both fans of teak and conservationists in general have been pushing to make changes in the teak forestry industry.

With an undeniably natural beauty and strength teak is the material of choice for a wide variety of household finishes and accessories found in todayís homes.

Teak is a deciduous hardwood tree native to Southeastern Asia. The oils found naturally in the wood serve to create a supreme resistance to weathering from the sun, rain and wind, as well as rotting and pest damage.  Many other species of lumber are measured against this natural strength found in teak.

Teak has more than just strength going for it.  Itís also extremely flexible as it bows and bends to the fiercest Asian storms.  Combine the durability with adaptability and an unmatched beauty and you know why teak is a desirable option for every area of the home.  Younger teak wood is golden-yellow, warm and already well preserved with the natural oils.  Over time that yellow becomes a brownish hue that glows warmly with no need for stain.
One of the best features of teak is the low maintenance factor. When used in decking, flooring, furniture and home dÈcor, untreated aged teak will fade to a silver color.  Many actually seek out this distinct look.  Sealers can be applied to maintain the golden shine that teak is famous for and either option will still result in a product that lasts a lifetime.  Donít be surprised if your teak furniture is passed on to generations beyond, lasting upwards of seven decades or more.

Follow Teak in History Up to Today and Beyond

Just as your teak furniture is made to last, teak itself has been popular for centuries.  Ancient Chinese shipwrights used teak to create their large fleet during the Ming Dynasty.  Craftsmen and engineers with an eye for beauty and a need for durability found what they were looking for in teak.  Extremely popular in the 18th century for naval construction, teak was prized because it would not splinter under gunfire ñ a highly dangerous situation to early sailors.  From then until now teakwood has been popular with nations all across the globe, full of craftsmen, builders, designers and artists who long to work with the flexible and dependable lumber.

That popularity eventually created a problem as the tree didnít produce the materials as fast and in the quantities that the market demanded.  Sensitive to soil and climate conditions different from its native land, teak trees were difficult to plant in regions outside of India, Thailand, Myanmar/Burma or Laos, where it grew as a native.  Because of the natural density of teak that makes in unable to float, the trees were girdled for up to three years before being sent floating down to the mill.  Transplants in Indonesia eventually thrived and that area began to move towards becoming the biggest exporter of teakwood.  Much of the support for conservation and preservation has risen out of Indonesia.

Down in the tropics of Africa and around both Central and South America plantation teak can be found.  Rumored to be less dense and stable than natural growth teak, these trees have been used all across the globe with complete satisfaction and remain in high demand.

As teak from plantations becomes more and more popular, the push for conserving and preserving this tree grows louder.  Creating more plantations and expanding the current ones is an easy way to provide the materials necessary to meet demands by the loggers and teak furniture manufacturers.  The old growth Asian forests are not left out of concentrated preservation efforts either.

As a rarity that has both beauty and strength teakwood is in high demand.  Teak trees mature in four or five decades when the grain and size have reached optimum levels.  This is a vast amount of time in the manufacturing and consumer market.  Plantations are pushing the envelope and harvesting the trees at 25 to 30 years of age, which could be why the quality is rumored to be less.  The closer a tree is to full maturity, the higher quality it presents.

Teakwood is highly valued, naturally rare and unmatched in beauty.  Charming, warm, strong and flexible, teak is used with pride on floors, decking, furniture construction and a wide variety of home dÈcor items.  A treasure in nature that deserves to be taken care of and preserved, teak is sure to be in demand for generations as more and more people discover the quality and beauty this lumber provides.

A Little About the Author:

As publishers of Allteakboutique Malkit Ram and his wife Bimla are fascinated with how furniture and finishes shape a home.  Based in the UK and originally from India, the Ram family includes three beautiful girls and a clever son, as well as a beloved American Bulldog.  Family memories are made on the patio when everyone relaxes in Barlowtyrie furniture and stays close with laughter and conversation.

A train spotter for fun and a professional train engineer by trade, Malkit admires how Bimla creates such a warm and inviting home with Kingsley home furnishings.  They both love the outdoors and spend plenty of time in their backyard sanctuary away from the busyness of life.