| With its light golden brown color, beautiful grain | | | | Teak (tectona grandis) is a tropical hardwood |
| and smooth feel under your feet, teak conjures | | | | native to Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. Teak |
| up images of relaxing tropical resorts. This quick | | | | trees normally have a lifespan of 75 years but a |
| introduction and guide to contemporary teak | | | | tree must be at least 50 before it is considered |
| furniture aims to help the growing number of | | | | mature enough for furniture. |
| home owners who are recreating that chill-out | | | | Due to its hardness, it's resistant to termites and |
| vibe by decking their homes in teak furniture. | | | | dents, It does not rot easily too. This makes it |
| First, you need to know there are generally two | | | | suitable as indoor and outdoor furniture. With age, |
| types of teak available: plantation and recycled. | | | | teak turns from a light golden yellow to a richer |
| Recycled teak is taken from disused railway | | | | tone. The only downside is its heavy weight, |
| tracks, doors, windows, ceiling beams, and floor | | | | which can make moving teak furniture difficult. |
| boards of old houses in Indonesia. It has a more | | | | However, its durability means it can be passed |
| worn look. | | | | down from one generation to the next. |
| Fans of this type of teak will appreciate the | | | | To cater to the demands of today's younger |
| seasoned appearance of the wood as well as the | | | | home owners, contemporary teak furniture |
| stories behind the pieces. For example, an | | | | designs have gone minimal and simple - featuring |
| acquaintance's dining table used to be the | | | | clean lines that will fit into most interiors and bring |
| floorboard of an old house while her side table | | | | out the contemporary tropical resort interior. If |
| was once an old window frame. The | | | | you like, it can be stained in other color so as to |
| environmentally-friendly will also like this type of | | | | match the color scheme of your home interior. |
| teak as it means not cutting down new trees. | | | | For example, if you've got teak parquet flooring, |
| Price-wise, plantation and recycled teak are the | | | | you may want your teak furniture to be in walnut |
| same and the former is grown in | | | | stain to provide contrast against the floor. |
| government-owned plantations and new trees are | | | | To complete the tropical resort interior, consider |
| replanted after logging. There is also teak grown | | | | tropical plants such as bamboo or frangipani as |
| by villagers and sold to suppliers. However, there | | | | well as accessories like candles and tealights. |
| is less quality control for village teak. | | | | |