Gray or gold? How do you like your teak furniture? From our 25 years of experience in the outdoor furniture industry we have learned that it’s a 50/50 split between those people who prefer their teak furniture develop its classic silver-gray patina and those who want it to stay its original golden color. But what is this patina? And for those so inclined, how can they prevent or remove it?

One of the characteristics that makes teak virtually impervious to the elements is its high oil content. Over time the teak oil rises to the surface and is exposed to natural sunlight. The sun’s ultra violet rays then oxidize the oil over a period of 12 to 18 months and turn it gray. Thus the patina you see on aged teak furniture is simply oxidized teak oil on the surface of the wood.

As I said earlier, many of customers enjoy the distinguished, timeless look that the patina gives teak furniture. However, if you are among those who like teak’s natural hue, how can you maintain the golden color? There are a few ways, but it usually comes down to two words - elbow grease. Whether it’s annually restoring the teak furniture to its original color or simply trying to maintain it, you (or your staff) likely will have to put in some work.

Washing and Sanding: Remember, the patina is simply oxidized teak oil on the wood’s surface, not the teak itself turning gray. So the patina will come off. Once the outdoor furniture turns or begins to turn silver-gray, you can wash it with water from a garden hose and then sand the furniture lightly. Sounds simple. However, this process can take many hours as sanding is a laborious process, and you need to make sure to get into every nook and cranny so that the teak furniture takes on an even tone.

Power Washing: A faster way to remove the patina is simply to power wash your furniture with water. Although I know of customers who do power wash their teak furniture, I do not recommend it. Over time the high-pressure spray strips the teak of its natural oils and makes the wood less durable.

Preservatives: There are many products on the market that are purported to preserve the golden color of teak once applied. However, I have not been impressed with the results. Most of these chemicals discolor the outdoor furniture and do not last very long. The ones that seem to work the best, although not perfect, still do not last more than three to six months. Thus you will need to put a fresh coat of preservative on the teak several times a year, not to speak of the initial application (three to six coats) that needs to be put on the furniture once you first receive it.

Covered Areas: Since the sun’s rays are what oxidize the teak’s oil and create the patina, you can keep the furniture either indoors (many of our customers are actually furnishing the inside of their homes with our outdoor furniture now) or under a covered porch, patio, or terrace. By shielding the teak from direct sunlight you will be able to maintain the teak furniture’s golden tone for years if not indefinitely.

Now for the answer to last week’s brain teaser:

The man who invented it doesn’t want it. The man who bought it doesn’t need it. The man who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?

A coffin.

On Fridays I’ll post something fun that most likely has nothing to do with teak furniture, but it should at least make you think or laugh. Here’s a fun little brain teaser for this week.

The man who invented it doesn’t want it. The man who bought it doesn’t need it. The man who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?

The answer . . . in next week’s post.

Do not put teak oil on your teak furniture.

Most people put teak oil on their teak patio furniture because they want to preserve the golden color and prevent the teak from developing its gray patina. Not only will the oil darken the color by a few shades, but it will also, if not constantly maintained, attract mold and mildew. Teak oil turns your teak furniture from an easy-to-care-for piece of outdoor furniture to a high maintenance hassle.

* I should mention that if you have your own yachting crew or a house maintenance staff that can reapply the teak oil every season and keep a watchful eye over it, then you can ignore this advice.

Jokes don’t have a whole lot to do with teak furniture, but that’s okay. We don’t have to talk about teak or outdoor furniture all the time. At the end of each week I’ll post something that will hopefully start your weekend off right.

A young sailor was sitting in a bar having a few drinks when he looks over and sees a pirate. The pirate has a wooden peg-leg, a hook for a hand, and patch over his eye. Unable to resist, the sailor asks “How’d you end up with a peg-leg?”

“I was swept overboard during a fierce storm,” says the pirate. “and a bloody shark bit off me whole darn leg!”

“Holy cow!” said the sailor. “What about the hook, how’d you get that?”

“Me crew and I were boarding an enemy ship, a fierce sword battle ensued. One of them cut me darn arm!”

“Absolutely incredible!” gasped the sailor. “And the eye patch, tell me how you got that?”

“A bloody seagull dropping fell into me eye,” replied the pirate.

“Umm, you lost your eye to a seagull dropping?” asked the sailor, admonished.

Embarrassed, the pirate answered “It was me first day with the hook.”

Talk to you next week.

As a teak furniture manufacturer, we at Arthur Lauer feel a responsibility, in fact we always have, to contribute to the green movement through clean, sustainable practices. At the risk of tooting our own horn, here are some of the ways in which we’re green.

Sustainable teak: The teak we use in our furniture construction is harvested using careful land management practices and responsible replanting techniques.

The benefits of wood:

1. While the raw materials for other products (aluminum, stainless steel, etc.) must be fabricated using energy-intensive and chemical-laden processes, our primary raw material (teak) grows naturally with no need for energy input.
2. Once the useful life of a wood piece of furniture is at its end, the wood will biodegrade in the landfill.

The benefits of teak: With its high durability (25+ years), teak furniture will last decades longer than furniture made from other woods. Consequently, fewer trees will be used as it will need to be replenished much less frequently. Further, although teak furniture is biodegradable, it will be decades before it even needs to be thrown out and end up in a landfill.

Our Cabot stain: The Cabot stain that we use is water based, cleans up with soap and water, and is VOC compliant.

U.S. Made: Our competitors ship their teak furniture from overseas to the U.S. partially assembled, which means that boats are wasting much fuel by (i) carrying air (the space between parts) across the ocean and (ii) shipping more container-loads than necessary because of this inefficient use of space. Further, the more ships used by our competitors, the more air and water pollution they cause to the environment. Arthur Lauer, on the other hand, manufactures its furniture in the United States. Consequently, we ship cut lumber from overseas, which can be packed incredibly efficiently (with little to no space between the pieces) given its regular, square dimensions.

Waste management: According to a waste management company we hired, through our current recycling program we divert more than 87% of our waste away from landfills each year – equating to over 237 tons and 1,785 cubic yards of waste that is either being recycled or reused.

Clean waste: Most of what little waste we do produce is environmentally friendly saw dust, which is primarily hauled away and used for horse bedding. We do not produce any metal shavings or toxic chemicals.

They’re not teak, but wow. Being a manufacturer of outdoor teak furniture, we don’t get to discuss beds all that much. So I thought I’d take this Fun Friday opportunity to show you a few very unique beds that I’m sure you’ve never seen before.

2001, A Space Odyssey

The Ultimate Futon

Not for those with Restless Leg Syndrome

There are even more examples of these interesting beds at http://freshome.com/2008/03/18/16-of-the-most-extreme-modern-beds-youll-ever-see/. This blog, Freshome, has a fantastic array of other unique home décor items. You may want to make it part of your daily web routine.

Nowadays there are so many options available from teak trellises to teak dining tables, and beyond teak furniture there are a variety of materials available, including aluminum, stainless steel, and all-weather wicker. The variety can be daunting if not confusing. Creating a primer on everything you need to know about buying outdoor furniture would take months and months and hundreds of pages. Since I don’t want to bore you to tears or take up all of the memory on our server, I’ll just give you a helpful hint.

Ask yourself “How do I want to use my outdoor home?” Once you answer that question, you will have a much greater sense of what type of outdoor furniture meets your needs.

“I want a place to eat with family and entertain friends on special occasions.”� Obviously what suits you best is an outdoor dining set. Although a nice little bistro table and two side chairs may suit newlyweds or empty nesters, most families need a 4- or 6-seater (48″� or 60″�). If you entertain friends and relatives as much as you eat with your spouse and children, then an 8- or 10-seat arrangement better fits your lifestyle.

“I am looking for a relaxing setting to chat and enjoy the company of friends.”� Now what you’re talking about is an outdoor living room collection, often referred to as a deep seating or conversation group. This outdoor furniture style is fairly new, and its rise coincided with the vast improvement in outdoor fabrics. Large plush cushions on generous metal, resin, or teak furniture frames make this style ideal for relaxing outdoors. These collections typically consist of a club chair, ottoman, loveseat, sofa, and accent tables.

“I want to create a sanctuary in my garden or yard. A setting that creates a scenic view yet has some practicality.”� Here you’ll want to think about the traditional garden chairs and benches as well as trellises, arbors, and fencing. These pieces (especially the teak furniture versions, in my opinion) can really beautify your garden or yard by breaking up the endless rows of flora with elegant outdoor furniture that also can serve as a nice place to rest on a sunny day or a border to better define your yard or keep out nosy animals (no, I don’t mean your neighbors).

“I just want relax on the porch, read a nice book, and slowly sip a tall glass of lemonade.”� Swings, rockers, and Adirondack chairs are right up your alley. These simple, practical pieces have been around for decades, if not centuries, and are cost-effective ways to create a special place without purchasing an 11-piece outdoor dining set or 6-piece outdoor living room collection. If you simply want an area outside your home to relax alone or with your spouse, one or two rocking chairs will fit the bill nicely.

Don’t let me mislead you though; outdoor furniture today is very versatile. You can just as well buy two deep seating club chairs to relax on the porch rather than a swing or use garden chairs around your pool instead of a steamer. My point is, once you know how you want to live outdoors, you are better able to put everything into context and make the right purchasing decision for your lifestyle.

How are quotes, logic puzzles, or oddities related to teak furniture? They’re not, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a some fun each week. On Fridays I will post something that has little to do with teak or outdoor furniture, but it should make you think or smile.

Today I’ll introduce you to one of my favorite things. No, not teak furniture. Quotes. I have always loved a good quote, whether from famous historical figures or unknown historical footnotes.

I am a big fan of brevity. The faster people can get to the point, the faster I can understand the core of what they’re saying. Thus my passion for quotes. They can sum up an entire philosophical position in as little as one sentence. Plus they can run the gamut from thought provoking to just plain hysterical. Where else can you get that kind of range in less than 50 words?

So, without further ado, here is a rather eloquent quote regarding child rearing:

If you would have your son to walk honourably through the world, you must not attempt to clear the stones from his path, but teach him to walk firmly over them - not insist upon leading him by the hand, but let him learn to go alone.

- Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The biggest factor that has turned the outdoor furniture industry (teak furniture included) from a niche segment into a mainstream behemoth has been advances in materials science. From new protective coatings for metal furniture to resins that look like natural wicker, these advances have enabled us outdoor furniture manufacturers to create outdoor pieces with distinctively indoor looks.

One area that has seen the biggest advancements is outdoor fabric. Traditionally stiff with boring color pallets, outdoor fabrics were not very inspiring. However, in the last five years a number of companies (led by Sunbrella®) have perfected the area of solution-dyed acrylics, which have the look and feel of indoor fabrics but can repel the elements and resist fading for up to a decade. Simply amazing.

As can be seen in the January 2008 issue of Casual Living Magazine, my favorite trade journal, here are some recent fantastic fabric introductions across the color spectrum. By way of a little self promotion, click here to see some of our high-style outdoor fabrics as well.

SUMMER BLUES

GARDEN GREENS

AUTUMN BROWNS

MORE DARK SHADES

REDS THAT POP

Today’s Fun Friday post is actually a bit of trivia related to teak furniture.

Did you know that even today, elephants are used to haul teak? Moving teak has always been a tough proposition because of its weight and density. The lumber is so dense that it will not float down the rivers. Instead elephants drag the teak logs through the rain forests to the coast where they are then transported to teak mills. The elephants have even been trained to stack the logs in symmetrical piles, and when a bell sounds at the end of the day, the elephants stop working without any human intervention.