Teak Furniture - Some Things You Ought to Know

Almost everybody loves teak. Teak is one of the most resilient and elegant hardwoods in the world. And saying thus, teak furniture has been in constant demand from many homeowners for many, many years.

Because of its hardy nature, teak can be carved and sculpted to create intricate furniture designs. And many quality pieces are guaranteed to retain their pristine shapes for 2 decades or more.

If you are looking for furniture made from this wood, here are some things you ought to know first.

The best quality furniture pieces are those that show off the teak wood's natural "graining." Graining refers to the wood's patterns of swirls, rings, and slightly uneven coloring, which wood manufacturers take into careful consideration when cutting the lumber. You can visibly see some graining on the surfaces of many teak tables.

Usually, furniture with unbroken graining is worth a lot of money.

However, not all furniture made from teak are worth its price. Some furniture manufacturers take the cast off wood from other furniture makers and create lower grade pieces. This is not bad in itself, but it does explain why some teak pieces are more expensive than the others despite having similar looking designs.

If you are buying teak pieces, make sure that only a lightly colored varnish is applied for indoor furniture; and colorless waterproofing agents are applied to outdoor furniture. This way, you can still see some of the graining effect that makes teak very valuable.

Teak is a very lightly colored wood. Varnish gives it that darker "complexion." The more varnish that is applied to the wood, the darker the furniture turns out. Quality teak pieces are very lightly varnished.

Painted teak pieces are on the bottom part of the totem pole. These are often considered as the least "appreciable" wood, or castoffs from other furniture makers. Although the materials are still very strong, these are not really worth a lot in the market. These furniture pieces are usually painted to hide areas where wood of different graining and different quality level are put together.

This basically boils down to this: just because seller says that the furniture you are after is made of teak means that it is worth a lot of money. Some teak furniture pieces are, but that is not always the case.