It’s Friday, so no shop talk about teak furniture or outdoor furniture of any kind. Instead, this Friday I have something I think you’ll find amazing. The photos below are of chalk drawings done by Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner. I’d like to thank impactlab.com for posting these and more on the web. Keep in mind, these are all TWO DIMENSIONAL DRAWINGS. The 3D effects are a result of how the images are drawn combined with the angle at which the photos are taken.

These photos of the same drawing but at different angles show how distorted the actual drawings must be in order to give the 3D effect when shot at the correct angle.

I’ll try to come up with some interesting teak furniture topic this weekend to talk about on Tuesday. Until then . . .

Tiny cracks that occur on the ends of your teak furniture (in fact all outdoor furniture made from wood), such as the tops of legs or front of arms, are known as “end check.” Checking is caused by shrinkage differences between the surface and the interior of drying lumber. Since the ends dry first, they tend to shrink first but are restrained by the swollen interior. This differential results in stresses building up near the surface, which causes the teak to check. End checking is completely normal for teak furniture (again for all wood furniture used outdoors) and does not affect the structural integrity of the furniture.

No teak furniture talk today. Instead take a look at this scary piece of furniture. Definitely not a fan.

It may make a nice piece for Hannibal Lecter, though.

Another hectic week, so I won’t be able to craft beautiful prose about teak furniture. Just another quick word about the emerging trend in outdoor furniture — the pulling of interior elements into the outdoor room.

Thanks to dramatic improvements in materials science, manufacturers have been able to produce a number of products traditionally reserved for the indoors that can now join you outside. Two weeks ago I talked about outdoor artwork. Today I’ll just briefly mention that two other items that are more commonly being used outside are outdoor rugs and outdoor lamps.

Amazingly, these rugs and lights would look at home inside of anyone’s house, but you can leave them outdoors season after season. Moreover, you can dramatically enhance the look of your outdoor furniture simply by adding the splashes of color and style brought by outdoor rugs and lamps.

By way of a little self promotion, Arthur Lauer has an extensive line of outdoor rugs and outdoor lighting that nicely complement our teak furniture. Take a look; I think you’ll enjoy.

Until Friday . . .

As many of you who read the teak journAL know, Friday’s are not the day to discuss teak furniture. Instead I post something short, sweet, and hopefully enjoyable. Today I have a quote about alarm clocks.

The only thing worse than hearing the alarm clock in the morning is not hearing it.

- Unkown