Before you begin to get back outside and start entertaining, you’ll most likely want to spruce up that outdoor teak furniture. Your neighbors might tell you to slap some teak oil on it, or just blast it with a power washer. If you listen to your neighbor, not only will you create a lot of unnecessary work for yourself, but you’ll risk damaging your teak furniture.

Teak is naturally very resistant against mildew, even in the humid environments of the Southeast United States. However, as soon as you coat your furniture with teak oil, you have created an environment in which mildew can grow (and sometimes flourish). After a short period of time, you will start to notice black spots developing on the wood - this is caused by the way the oil reacts to the sunlight it receives outside.

Pressure washing is another “quick fix” solution that many people erroneously prescribe for teak furniture. The problem with pressure washing the furniture is that the force of the water tends to damage the grain of the wood, making it course. One of the many wonderful qualities of outdoor teak furniture is that it is inherently smooth for the life of the product do to its natural density and fine sanding. Why would anybody want to ruin that aspect of their furniture?

The truth is, it is very, very easy to clean your teak furniture. If you mix a small amount of liquid laundry detergent with some warm water, you will have a mixture that is more than ready to do the job. Using the soapy water and a firm brush, you can give your furniture a “once over” and it will remove all of the dirt, grime and grit that can collect over the course of a season. You will even notice that a lot of the “silver” appearance will disappear as well, leaving the wood with more a natural honey color.

I realize it sounds simple, but at Atlanta Teak, we think simple is best.

When I entertain people at my home during the Spring, Summer and Fall, I am constantly on the lookout for new recipe ideas. I don’t want to serve up hot dogs, hamburgers and potato salad every time I host a cookout. Nothing against those foods, but a little variety never hurt anyone.

I found a great article off a website called “Spark People” that highlights some of the best and worst cookout foods. It is a very interesting read, as it offers alternatives (mostly healthy) to some of the most common American cookout items.

Enjoy this article, and be sure to enjoy any new recipes on your fabulous teak outdoor furniture, which can be purchased from Atlanta Teak Furniture.

Why not take the peril out of showering and buy a teak shower stool? Teak shower stools are not only great for their seating, but they are extremely durable. Teak doesn’t warp even when exposed to high levels of water and humidity. Furthermore, teak is an exceptionally dense wood - so it will stay smooth as it ages, which is good news for your bottom!

Another great use for the teak shower stool is for women - can you guess? That’s right ladies, the teak shower stool can be a great crutch when you are shaving your legs.

If you have a larger bathroom, you might be interested in adding a small, backless bench just outside your shower or bathtub. Once again, teak is a great product for such use because of its durable characteristics in humid environments.

Atlanta Teak Furniture offers several beautiful teak shower products.

Potential customers can be wary of buying teak furniture for fear that they will need to spend countless hours sanding and cleaning the furniture to maintain its elegance.

This is simply not true.

In fact, premium teak furniture (like that from Atlanta Teak) requires hardly any maintenance at all.

A yearly cleaning is about all that is necessary to remove dirt, stains and grime.

One of the easiest ways to clean your teak furniture is by mixing one part laundry detergent with five parts warm water. Then, using a firm brush, simply give the furniture a “once over” with the brush and you will notice that it really brings out the beauty of the wood - restoring it almost to its natural appearance.

There are teak cleaners available for sale online and at many furniture stores, but at Atlanta Teak we have found this laundry detergent mix to be both effective and less expensive.

Teak is an extremely durable wood, and when left outside it can last 50+ years with relatively little maintenance (depending on how clean of an eater you are).

By purchasing a piece of teak furniture, you are not buying plastic and creating more plastic that will inevitably be on our earth for the rest of time. Also, cheap plastic outdoor furniture typically needs to be replaced every few years - so over a lifetime families could potentially go through 5 or 6 plastic furniture sets. All of this plastic (along with the chemicals used in producing it) will never decompose and will increase your carbon footprint tremendously.

At Atlanta Teak, we use sustainably-raised teak wood in our furniture. All of our furniture is made with supreme craftsmanship, and will “last a lifetime”.

When you are purchasing your next piece of teak furniture, remember, it’s not only beautiful…it’s “green”!

“Corrugated” means that our boxes can be broken down and recycled. All you have to do is remove the tape and Styrofoam, and your city’s recycling service should pick up the box and take it away.

Matter of fact, most furniture companies ship their furniture KD and in similar corrogated boxes. What does that mean? You got it - these boxes can be recycled as well!

Next time you order a piece of furniture online, be sure to recycle the box so that it can be used again in the future.

Now, some of these companies may actually sell very nice furniture. Unfortunately though, many do not and those are the ones you want to avoid.

Here are two critical things to check:

1) Does the company have a showroom or warehouse where you can actually drive your car up and see the furniture first-hand?

Teak furniture is an expensive investment, and if you are in a position to spend the money on it you want to be sure you are getting what you are paying for. If a company does not have any place for you to look at the furniture (and I mean really look at it) then there is a good chance they are afraid to expose its poor quality.

High-end teak furniture should be nearly uniform in color, and free of knots. The wood should have an extremely smooth finish, and the joints should all fit tightly and be free of any kinds of wood fillers. Furthermore, teak furniture that is sold as “new” should not already have a coat of oil or paint on it - a lot of times this is an attempt by the manufacturer to hind imperfections in the construction and quality of the furniture.

So before placing an order online, check to see if there is any place for you to view the furniture before buying. Even if you live far away and can’t make it to the showroom, at least you know that the furniture is displayed in front of customers and the owners are proud to show it…this can lead to a comfortable purchase.

2) Similar to number one, don’t buy from any store that doesn’t actually inventory the product. Many of these online teak furniture stores are merely that - websites created by people that are acting as a broker and selling product from another manufacturer. These types of online businesses are run by people with limited to zero experience in the furniture industry - many of them may not have ever assembled a single piece of teak furniture in their lives. They are merely brokering it out to customers via the internet and trying to act as if they have a relationship with the manufacturer (which many times they do not other than they get them to drop-ship orders).

To be safe, email the teak furniture companies that you find online and ask them if they have an inventory of product stored somewhere. If a company has estimated delivery times of greater than 5 to 7 business days, chances are they do not have any teak furniture on-hand.

Enjoy!

http://moneypit.com/article/outdoor-rooms

A teak shower stool is a great gift idea! Many people don’t understand how great a stool can be in the shower or spa until they actually have one. For women, a stool can provide an excellent prop for shaving their legs. Stools can also be great for people who prefer to sit when washing their feet.

Besides it many uses, the teak shower stool will retain its smoothness and beautiful grain as it turns a silver patina color over time.

Happy holidays!

When buying cushions for your outdoor furniture, you might want to think again before choosing piping or chording for the edges of the cushions. Even though the piping can give the cushion an accented edge, it can also lead to a lot of headaches.

While the cushions are outside and exposed to the elements, the piping can collect a number of different types of debris such as dirt, dust, pollen, bugs, etc. Now, you are on a “cleaning program” just to keep all that junk out of the piping of the cushion.

When choosing outdoor cushions, Atlanta Teakrecommends that you choose a boxed edge without the piping/chording. We feel it not only gives a sleeker appearance, it will also save you time and energy.