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Posts Tagged ‘teak patio furniture’

Teak Patio Furniture: Hints For Buying Long-Lasting And Attractive Outdoor Furniture

February 11th, 2010 No comments

Teak patio furniture makes it possible to turn outdoor space into outdoor living space. If you have wished you could have more room for entertaining, all you have to do is to furnish your patio with beautiful and durable furniture pieces made of teak. Patios in northern climates can even be more usable by adding patio heaters and Teak Patio Furniture. Look for durable pieces that suit the style of your home.

Teak comes from managed hardwood forests in southern Asia. The trees are large and deciduous during monsoon season. Surprisingly, the trees are part of the mint family. Moisture and insect resistance is part of the appeal of teak furniture. In addition to outdoor furniture construction, teak is used for boat decking, hardwood floors, outdoor decks and indoor furniture veneer. The timber is produced from the trunks of the trees.

The natural resinous oils in the hardwood timber makes it very resistant to moisture and to insects. Unlike other woods, metal left in contact with teak doesn’t rust or corrode. Natural teak wood also contains a silica compound that helps to prevent drying, warping, fungus and mold. Teak is very resistant to rot and to many environmental factors.

At harvest, the timber of teak trees is a golden brown hue. After a time of exposure to the elements, the furniture turns darker and becomes a silvery gray in color. Further weathering darkens teak wood even further to a dark gray with a greenish cast. Even though the color changes, the durability of the wood is not affected.

Teak wood can be left untreated and will do just fine as Teak Patio Furniture, but it can also be maintained with no color deterioration by sanding down the teak furniture periodically. If you apply teak oil, it prolongs the time between the need for sanding. If teak oil is applied every 3-4 months along with sanding the furniture, the color can be maintained with the honey color indefinitely. It should be noted that teak oil doesn’t make the wood last longer, it only maintains the color.

Another option for teak finishing is to stain the furniture. Once the stain is applied, the color is maintained at the finished color; it no longer needs frequent sanding. If you want the wood to be honey colored, you must either stain the furniture before it weathers or you must sand heavily to remove the silver-gray color.

Puddles on your patio should be avoided when placing the Teak Patio Furniture. Do not set the furniture on damp ground either, because the wood will absorb some moisture. During wet months, the furniture should be covered. If you prefer, you can move the furniture into a covered location.

Teak patio furniture provides long-lasting beauty in outdoor furniture. Maintenance for the wood pieces is minimal. You can pick your color from blond to silver depending upon the finish that you use. Take advantage of classic elegance found in teak to extend your living area into the out-of-doors.

Hunting for the best Patio Furniture sets can be fun and fast if you know where to look! Get beautiful Teak Patio Furniture that will fit any decor and give your home a unique and distinctive look now!

Aluminum Patio Sets? – What?

January 28th, 2010 No comments

My husband and I finally settled on a 6 piece aluminum patio set after much research and online shopping. A lot of factors influenced our decision but when my mum heard what we wanted she was rather against it. Not that my mother was going to change my mind! Anyway, it was just that she had a bit of “old fashioned” thinking while I was more up to date with what was for sale.

Metal outdoor furniture has really improved since mom’s era. Back then it was only woven back and seats. That was it! However, as you might well know, garden centers and furniture shops are packed out, chock a block full of different outdoor furniture. Cast aluminum and wrought iron garden furniture is now so beautiful. You can choose between from luxury patio sets to simple and affordable patio sets.

Although the variety has dramatically increased, the quality and style has not been lost. In fact mass produced metal furniture is now reinforced with materials that will help the furniture to last longer is harsh weather conditions.

This improvement in quality or stability of the chairs does not mean that aluminum patio sets are any heavier. They are still leaders in terms of being lightweight. This is really convenient if you will be moving furniture around the outdoor space.

In fact they are so lightweight that some people avoid buying them because strong winds will blow the furniture over.

On top of the pretty designs, you are able to brighten up or add to the uniqueness of your patio by simply adding a few patio cushions here and there. It not only makes the sitting down a lot more comfortable – especially on metal furniture – but it really does refresh the area with color and design.

Actually what you do with this outdoor area is not only limited to your patio set. You can add all sorts of bits and pieces depending on what you like. For example you could screw some candle sticks onto the walls or put antique paraffin lanterns on the table – it really is up to you. In the corner could be a small patio bar with some matching bar stools. If you want to keep things really simple just add in an umbrella and leave it as it is. It’s up to your taste and budget.

The main reason we decided to get aluminum rather than wood or plastic was because of the climate and area we live in. Rust is a big problem for us and humidity damages any material or wooden furniture. So we were limited to either plastic or metal outdoor furniture. WE didn’t have a lot of success with plastic patio sets. They were great for short term but soon snapped or cracked or grew mildew on them, which stained the white. Wrought iron outdoor furniture is lovely too but just too heavy and since we live between our pool and the patio, we need to be able to cart our chairs around too!

Aluminum is part of the metal garden furniture category so if light furniture is not for you, take a look at cast iron and wrought iron patio furniture too. Although considerably heavier, there is also a large variety to choose from. We didn’t buy wrought iron because we need to move our chairs around a lot between the pool area and the deck. So heavy was out of the question.

In terms of maintenance, well, aluminum is not maintenance free, but it is pretty much low maintenance. All I do is wipe the chairs and table down from time to time. Just remember when choosing patio furniture to look for something that is not going to take a lot of your time to look after let alone cost to replace if it breaks often.

My mother did think I was not thinking straight when I told her what sort of patio set we were going to buy. However, now that she has seen what variety there is out there,(and after I have convinced her) she almost wants to buy a metal garden furniture set for herself!

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