Of course, Britain’s finest modern gardens contain wooden garden furniture and gorgeous garden accessories. After all, there’s no point manicuring a garden you can’t idle away the hours in enjoying. Some of the most popular styles of wooden garden furniture are tables and chairs, loungers and benches – peruse our website for some super ideas.
So what are the essential questions when defining the lines and boundaries of your garden? Do you want to stick to a colour scheme regarding plants? What about sculptures and water features? Will your garden furniture area be grass or hard-standing? The internet is a great place to start compiling ideas. For example, our Victoria round dining table with Richmond curved benches and seat cushions makes a striking impression.
One of our top tips when designing any modern garden is to employ the use of wooden planters. Teak is a great material for your planters. Easily maintained and durable, teak planters are an incredibly versatile garden accessory, befitting of the most classic English garden or adding a contemporary twist to your modern styling.
Here are some of the top uses for planters in your contemporary garden.
1. Frame a doorway or hedge opening using a wooden planter either side.
2. Line a path or terrace using closely planted, matching planters for added contemporary impact.
3. Define/divide large open areas of hard-standing using rows/patterns of planters.
Planters will afford you the freedom to create temporary, easily maintained, robust characterisation to your garden. The key is to experiment – move them, mix and match, let your imagination do the planting.
Archive for the ‘General News’ Category
Wooden Planters and Your Contemporary Garden
Thursday, August 5th, 2010Teak Garden Furniturer retailers take a break —
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010You will be pleased to know that the partners of Chic Teak took a mini-break in Bath this week. All work and no play make Jack and Jill less interesting children or even teak garden furniture retailers!!
Bath is such a beautiful City with its mellow stone and Georgian architecture. The proportions of this era are so easy on the eye. It was pleasing to see that an awful sixties shopping developement has been torn down and replaced with another development but using the Georgian style and the local stone – much better and will blend in very quickly.
One development we really loved was a small shopping Mall called Milsom Place. It is off the main street and cleverly uses a lot of back space to create a courtyard on two levels. The construction is of very high quality materials and fittings. Although the developement is not fully let yet, the tenants that have taken space are very high quality and it gives the developement a buzzy feel. We had lunch in Jamie Oliver’s pasta restaurant – ”Jamie’s Place”, and dinner in a restaurant called “The Half Moon and Sixpence”. Both were very good experiences. My only cricitcism would be that I felt some soft plantings in Teak Versailles Planters would have improved the experience.
Our Hotel was very comfortable with friendly service and high standards. Although we were not able to use the facilities because of the January weather, there was a well equipped terrace with a good range of Teak Garden Furniture including a Teak Lutyens Bench.
Our mini-break was all to soon over, but although only forty eight hours it seemed like much longer. We will certainly be taking another one!!
Planning a trip to Java
Sunday, January 17th, 2010We are now into the second half of January, and the time has come to plan another journey to see our suppliers of Teak Furniture in Java, Indonesia. I make the trip three times a year and I was last there in early October.
On that particular trip I was looking at prototypes of new designs of Teak Furniture and a potential new supplier. We have a very different new design for a round tree bench which I am very excited about. In addition of course I spent time visiting with our other suppliers.
I think it is very important to spend time with the craftsmen, talking to them and taking an interest in their work and families. I think it really makes a difference to these skilled workmen if they know for whom they are producing Teak Furniture. It also gives me the chance to keep a close eye on the conditions under which our Teak Furniture is produced.
I never cease to be amazed how organized home life is for these Javanese people. Despite the absence of material wealth, they run well organised homes, with neatly turned out children who really enjoy going to school. There is the realisation that a good education is the passport to a different world.
My trip this time, which is to be in early February, will coincide with the wet Season. I will undoubtedly see the kilns working flat out as this is the only way to get Teak stabilised and down to the correct moisture content.
I am looking forward to my trip and will write more as we get nearer.
Cleaning Teak
Friday, January 8th, 2010Teak is one of the most durable hardwoods for outdoor furniture and, without treatment, weathers to a beautiful silvery grey colour.
If you want to treat or clean your teak furniture to get rid of dirt build-up and the inevitable stains, this is how to do it:
- Gently wipe down your teak furniture with a soft damp cloth, and then buff with a dry cloth.
- Use only a soft scrubbing brush to wash your teak furniture. Never use steel wool or scouring pads and remember that hard bristles may scratch or damage your furniture.
- Wash the furniture with a mixture of warm water and a mild soap.
- Rinse your furniture with a hose and never use a pressure washer, which can damage the grain.
- You can make a yearly application of sealant to protect the furniture from the elements.
- Get to stains immediately after they occur, especially bird deposits which can either permanently stain or bleach your furniture.
Oiling teak photograph by ingorrr, used under a creative commons attribution licence.
Teak Furniture
Friday, January 8th, 2010Teak Garden Furniture should harmonise with your outdoor area and mature along with your plants and hard surfaces.
Wood is a natural choice for this and teak has great advantages:
- It is robust and resists the weather and insect damage by virtue of its organic oils. It can withstand neglect for more than a few years, unlike softer woods.
- Teak outdoor furniture will last you much longer than other woods and so the initial outlay must be measured against the likely lifetime use of the furniture.
- Since teak wood does not splinter or rot, there is little worry about maintaining outdoor furniture and you have a choice of treatments from nothing, to teak oil to lacquer, to give your wooden furniture the finish you desire.
- A final advantage is that teak weathers evenly to a soft silver-grey colour, and doesn’t warp. This means that your furniture doesn’t deteriorate in appearance as it ages, unlike softwoods which can blacken or split, or develop fungal infections.
Furniture photograph by Augapfel, used under a creative commons attribution licence
