We are often asked what our customers should do in the winter with their garden furniture.

The first decision is to make is if the garden furniture is to be used during the winter. Items like large garden tables and garden chairs are highly unlikely to used during the winter to eat outside. On the other hand a garden bench and coffee table will probably be used in any month if there is a sheltered and sunny corner in the garden in which they are placed.

The second decision is will the space be needed for some other purpose during the winter. In many homes space is at a premium and the patio area will probably be needed as a play area for the young children.

The next decision is will the furniture deteriorate in winter conditions. In general terms all the furniture that we supply will not deteriorate.

The “Four Seasons” rattan furniture is extremely high quality and has been tested in extremes of cold and heat as well as wet conditions. The cushions should be taken inside and stored somewhere dry and rodent proof to avoid disappointment in the spring!!

All of our Teak garden furniture is made from Grade 1 heartwood teak. It is full of oil and therefore does not deteriorate in the same way as most other woods do. The weakness is not the timber itself, but can be the joints, especially an item like the Lutyens bench which has many complicated joints.In the depth of winter over many years if moisture gets into the joints followed by freezing after many years, the joints will become loose. For this reason we would recommend covering teak garden furniture during mid winter.

Winter-proofing the back garden can be a difficult job or an easy one depending on how severe the winter is. The problem is that nobody knows just how cold and damp the chilly season will be before it arrives. If the winter is mild with only a couple of frosts and a bit of rain few of us will have problems looking after the garden, but if we get a savagely cold, snowy one like we had last year our precious plants may suffer and even die. Also, furniture such as garden loungers could become damaged.

One of the most important things you can do to prepare for a wet winter is make sure all your garden beds have proper drainage. Waterlogging kills most plants far faster than drought so this really is key. Digging a couple of short runnels sloping away from garden beds that are vulnerable to waterlogging may be well worth your time.

Protection from frost is the other big issue. Roots should be protected with a good layer of mulch. Lawn clippings will do the job, or you can buy a few sacks of mulch from your local garden centre. Covering the more delicate plants with an old blanket on frosty nights does work. Just remember to take the blanket off in the morning.

Particularly vulnerable and precious plants can be placed in wooden planters for the winter. That means you can move them out of the frost and also know they’ll be properly drained no matter how wet the winter is. We’ve got a range of beautiful Versailles planters that are ideal for this, and they go perfectly with our teak garden furniture.

After such a wet ten days it is good to have some respite and be able to go out into the garden for some relaxation. It is difficult to come to terms with the fact that summer is over and that, although it is not yet Winter, now is the time to prepare. Now is a very good time to move plants that have become too large for their surrounds or perhaps they just need dividing. I must admit that I am so pleased to have garden benches around the garden that I can sit on and rest while doing such arduous work in the garden and on the patio.

I am not an advocate of putting every last piece of garden furniture away, but I do feel that items such as the bar tables and bar stools that look so good in the summer, somehow look out of place in the Winter to the extent that they should be put away out of sight.  Items such as Lutyens benches and teak tree benches are an all the year around piece of garden furniture and show themselves well in a Winter Garden.

On a lovely day like today it is a good chance to walk around the garden and patio areas to see if there are any repairs that will need to done before next spring? Will the patio slabs need re-pointing? The garden fence perhaps will need treating with preservative. Now is the time to plan and arrange for these jobs to be done.

I am making it sound as if a garden is place where only hard work takes place. I apologise if this is the case because a garden’s primary function is to provide enjoyment and pleasure and act as an antidote to stresses and strains of everyday life

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.

You 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!!

We 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.

Teak 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:

1. Gently wipe down your teak furniture with a soft damp cloth, and then buff with a dry cloth.
2. 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.
3. Wash the furniture with a mixture of warm water and a mild soap.
4. Rinse your furniture with a hose and never use a pressure washer, which can damage the grain.
5. You can make a yearly application of sealant to protect the furniture from the elements.
6. 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 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

By the end of the nineteenth century, the Grand Palace in Thailand was starting to become too crowded, as new buildings were built to house the ever-extending royal family. King Rama V was starting to find it too hot and uncomfortable, like living in the middle of a small and crowded town, and he moved the court to Suan Duist which means Celestial Garden.

The first permanent building was the Vimanmek Mansion – reputedly the largest teak mansion in the world. It’s also a huge building made entirely of wood because only wooden pegs were used to join the pieces of timber. It was completed in 1901.

The building has two right-angle wings with an octagonal building at one end which served as the residence for the king. Altogether there are thirty-one exhibition rooms containing collected art work and personal effects of the royal family including the king’s bedchamber which has a gilded bed made from… teak!

Vinmanmek photograph by iaminthailand, used under a creative commons attribution licence

While it’s been a favourite for buildings, art and furniture for thousands of years, the harvesting of teak wood is a complex and demanding process.

Because the logs are heavy they will not float – this means they can’t be logged in the American style by floating them down rivers. In addition, the regions in which they grow are usually hilly or even mountainous, so lorry transportation is very rare. So even today, elephants pull the logs through the jungle regions, just as they did a century ago and then stack the logs in piles.

Particularly in Thailand, logging companies used elephants in their teak industry, however, the teak forests were depleted and the land became arid and spoiled, Thailand had problems with major flooding caused by deforestation and the Thai government was forced to ban teak logging except in very small, protected areas. This was good for the environment but devastating for the Thai elephant. More than 4,000 elephants were suddenly ‘unemployed’ and their mahouts and their families almost destitute as their source of income dried up. Many of these elephants became circus performers but today, as the teak industry recovers the elephants are returning to their former profession, logger!

Elephant photograph by jurvetson, used under a creative commons attribution licence