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Jim L: I love your furniture: wish it could go outside! Now that the weather is cooling off, we’ll be using our patio a lot more, for cooking, sitting, watching football and drinking beer!

RDP: Good news Jim, our furniture can go outside. We often forget that wood is a natural resource which grows outdoors! All of our pieces are made with hardwoods with a densely packed wood grain; many are even reclaimed woods. Old wood has already paid it’s dues to nature, so whatever was going to go wrong, has already happened. And thus it’s perfect for weathering the outdoor elements!

Wood is a living, breathing, natural resource, which allows for “movement,” even after it has been cut; hence it can expand and contract depending on what the indoor or outdoor temperature is.

Many of our old architectural elements, such as old doors, columns, archways, and many other types of reclaimed woods are made of Burma Teak and are ready for indoor and/or outdoor use. The teak railroad ties featured in the piece below create a hardy piece of furniture which is just perfect for featuring on an outdoor patio!

To give you a little more background, according to wikipedia, Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is a large, deciduous tree that is dominant in mixed hardwood forests. It is sometimes known as the “Burmese Teak.” Teak wood has a leather-like smell when it is freshly milled. Teak timber is particularly valued for its durability and water resistance, and is used for boat building, exterior construction, furniture, carving, turnings, and other small wood projects. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

Finally, if you prefer, we can seal the furniture before it goes outside (like the pitara sofa below) to prevent it from “graying”, so relax and make your selection with confidence! Or considering bringing some colorful decoratives into your outdoor space as well. Enjoy our “lifestyle” furniture in all parts of your life!