Entertain with Timeless Teak
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Luna Grade A Teak Folding Table
Hawthorne Grade A Teak Bench
Savannah Grade A Teak Adirondack Chair
Teak outdoor furniture has long been a symbol of enduring elegance and sophisticated design. Known for its natural water resistance, it remains a preferred material for high-end outdoor furniture. Heirloom quality, even.
Teak outdoor furniture done well is the ultimate expression of refined style, bringing your outdoor space to life and offering unparalleled comfort. But there’s more to consider than just the wood when shopping for truly exceptional teak pieces.
To ensure your investment not only survives but thrives outdoors, there are a few essential elements to look for—along with pitfalls to avoid. After all, your home is more than just a place to live––it’s an expression of who you are.
Creating extraordinary spaces that are uniquely you requires a knowledge of design and careful curation of quality pieces that welcome you to unwind and enjoy the best of every moment.
Teak, in its finest form, is harvested from the heartwood of the tree, where it achieves its best color, strength, and resilience. Unlike lower-quality teak taken from other parts of the tree, Grade A Teak is free of knots and excessive color variation––and contains more of the naturally water-resistant oil that makes it so weather-resistant.
These imperfections not only affect the piece’s visual appeal but also its ability to withstand the rigors of outdoor conditions. When you choose Grade A teak, you’re investing in furniture that is not only visually stunning but also capable of enduring changing seasons for years to come, maintaining its beauty and strength through decades of use.
Even the highest quality teak needs to be prepared correctly. While your new teak patio set may look pristine when you get it, any residual moisture left in the wood before construction can cause it to shrink and expand with changing weather. And because many of the parts are connected, some even inside other parts at the joinery, this is a recipe for cracking and deterioration over time.
The best teak furniture is crafted with your outdoor environment in mind, expertly kiln-dried to prepare it for long-term use. This vital but often overlooked step removes all moisture from the wood and prevents it from warping, shrinking, and cracking as temperatures and humidity fluctuate.
Great style comes in part from great design, but teak furniture has a beauty all its own with its gorgeous wood grain and rich caramel color. But this texture is not merely an aesthetic detail—it also plays an essential role in the longevity and structural integrity of your furniture.
Having a good eye for quality teak includes paying special attention to the flow of the grain. The direction of the wood grain plays a key role in the piece’s strength and stability. Look for furniture where the grain runs along the length of any long panels or surfaces, especially in furniture designed to hold weight like tables and chairs.
Because wood tends to expand across the grain, keeping the grain running in the same direction as the longest pieces helps minimize the risk of warping with humidity, ensuring your outdoor furniture remains durable and stable for years.
A quality teak piece should feel as refined as it looks. After all, furniture is made to be used and enjoyed. Choosing pieces that have been sanded well results in furniture that feels flawless to the touch, a testament to both craftsmanship and care. But you’ll want to be aware of how your teak pieces are sanded.
The best teak furniture is hand-sanded and goes with the grain. Hand-sanding with the grain not only gives a quality piece its buttery smooth feel, but also its ability to hold finishes and resist wear. This step ensures that the piece looks and feels refined, and continues to do so for years.
Sanding against the grain can cause fibers to lift and tear, affecting the integrity of the entire piece. It can also result in uneven staining and can even completely remove the gorgeous wood grain pattern teak is known for.
Some things to look for are scuff marks, areas where the wood grain pattern has been worn away, and burn marks––a telltale sign that the teak has been machine-sanded.
The quality of joinery defines the integrity of your furniture. You may not always be able to see the joinery of your patio set, but if you have sub-par joinery, you’ll know soon enough.
You may even know to look for quality joints like mortise and tenon, finger joints, and strong dowels, which can all offer excellent quality and sometimes even add stylistic elements to a piece. But if those joints aren’t crafted correctly or joined together with care, your teak furniture will be prone to cracking.
Expertly crafted joints should be flush, without any gaps that could invite moisture or cause structural issues. If moisture becomes trapped in cracks and crevices, it can freeze and expand, cracking the wood over time.
In outdoor furniture, where humidity and water are constant variables, this is an especially crucial element to be aware of. You’ll want to choose teak furniture with expert craftsmanship, with visible and non-visible joints flush with the surrounding parts.
Truly remarkable furniture design is thoughtful down to the details. And this is never truer than with furniture that needs to be able to weather the elements. Choosing the right materials is essential when designing your outdoor space, and the choice of hardware plays a pivotal role in this.
Not only does the right hardware keep your outdoor furniture working as it should, but poor quality hardware can actually damage your furniture.
Higher-grade stainless steel resists rust better than lower quality stainless steel and cheaper materials like aluminum and iron. And for superior durability and aesthetic appeal, brass is king.
Renowned for its strength and corrosion resistance, brass is the perfect complement to teak. Over time it develops a rich blue patina that won’t stain the surrounding teak the way rust from inferior materials can.
For those seeking furniture that will endure the elements while maintaining its elegance, selecting pieces with brass or high-grade stainless steel hardware is essential.
Quality teak furniture is about choosing pieces that stand the test of time, both in design and durability. By focusing on the finer details—Grade A teak, kiln-drying, grain alignment, hand-sanding, expert joinery, and top quality hardware—you can be sure you’re choosing truly exceptional pieces for a truly exceptional space.
This careful attention to detail is what transforms teak from an outdoor material into a timeless investment that offers both beauty and endurance with every passing season. Ash & Ember offers the highest quality teak outdoor furniture, from dining tables, seating options, poolside furniture and more.
