Teak is a beautiful wood that can be made into beautiful and very strong furniture that is known for being hard and heavy, despite looking very light. Because of this, many hotels and resorts near the coast use it on their beaches not only for decoration, but also to prevent the furniture from blowing away in the strong sea winds. A thought that may cross your mind when you are sitting in teak furniture is “how is this furniture made” or “where is this furniture made” and that question isn’t that hard of a question to answer.
Country Of Origin
Teak furniture is made out of teak wood, which is found in a plant species known as Tectona Grandis and can be found in tropical countries in South East Asia. Out of all of the countries that teak wood is found in, Indonesia seemingly takes the cake in teak products. In fact, teak in Indonesia is seen as one of the most valuable resources found in the country, and the government treats it as such.
It takes a very long time for teak wood to mature, about 80 years, but the harvesting of teak wood can happen at around 40 years in the life cycle of the Tectona Grandis plant. The older the tree is, the harder the wood is going to be when it gets harvested. Because of how long it takes to create high-quality teak furniture, the wood is often reused when an old structure made out of teak is taken to reduce costs on creating a new teak product. Teak wood lasts an incredibly long time and it is a very hardwood, so even though the wood has been repurposed, that doesn’t mean that it loses any of the features that it has.
How Is Teak Wood So Hard?
Teak wood is hard, yet has a sort of rubbery feel to it. This isn’t because of how we treat the wood, it naturally comes like that. Teak wood is very good at holding the natural oils that a tree produces. Oils are used by trees for protection, but many woods will let it leak out or can’t retain the oils after being processed. In the process of drying teak wood, typically only 10% of the original oils and rubber will be found in the wood, giving it the hard finish and weatherproof qualities.
How To Maintain Teak Furniture
Keeping up with the maintenance of teak furniture is surprisingly easy. You’d think that luxurious furniture such as teak furniture would require a bunch of maintenance, however, it doesn’t take much at all and it is recommended that you only clean it every once in a while. Using teak oil on décor pieces can lower the lifespan of the furniture, so cleaning it with just dish soap every couple of months will typically do the trick. If you want to restore some of the life, or try to preserve the life of the teak wood, use teak sealant, as that will keep all of the natural oils in and restore some of the original properties of the teak furniture.
If you decide to use teak oil, try and only use it on décor items that are dried out and doesn’t produce the natural teak oils. Teak is a very oily wood to begin with, and using teak oil on top of a healthy piece of teak furniture will only cause the natural oils to run out quicker. If you take care of your décor items, there is a chance that the teak might outlive you!