Are you in the market for teak furniture? The three basic reasons most people buy teak are: (1) our innate affinity with nature; (2) we know it is a very durable product, and (3) teak is easy to maintain. Currently, there is a strong wave of appreciation for and desire to maintain the natural beauty of the Earth. When talking about furniture, teak seems to fit into this niche quite well as it brings nature into our homes in a useful and practical way.
Teak is a very hard, closely grained wood high in natural oils. All three of these properties help maintain this wood's endurance. If properly made, it will not warp, rot, split or crack and teak withstands the test of time. Teak furniture can be more than 50 years old and still not show signs of aging.
The ecology-minded will be interested to know that the teak wood to specify when buying furniture is Indonesian teak. Why? In Indonesia, there are teak plantations strictly managed by the government to harvest this wood for the sole purpose of manufacturing. In no way does the use of this wood interfere or damage Indonesia's rain forest. Other rain forest countries cannot claim such altruism. Are there any environmentalists among you? If you're familiar with the Rain Forest Alliance and Friends of the Earth, you will be interested to know that the only teak products they certify are those from Indonesia.
Besides buying the wood from Indonesia, you might want to request that the furniture is also made there. Why? One reason is the Indonesians are renowned craftsmen. Another is a significant cost advantage as labor is less expensive plus raw teak export tariff is quite high. One more reason to buy Indonesian-harvested, Indonesian-made teak furniture is that you are helping that country receive earned value for the responsible use of its resources.
If you are buying this teak for outdoor use, you can be assured that it will withstand the elements with grace. As a matter of fact, often the only way you can tell an old piece of teak furniture from a new one is that the weather-beaten one will have turned a silver gray and the new one will be a honey tone. If you want to fool Mother Nature, you can preserve that honey color with one of several products on the market such as teak oil or other wood treatments made for such youth-preserving reasons.
Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, is president of Rosemary Sadez Friedmann Inc. in Naples, Fla.