atlantateakfurniture.com Blog

When buying cushions for your outdoor furniture, you might want to think again before choosing piping or chording for the edges of the cushions. Even though the piping can give the cushion an accented edge, it can also lead to a lot of headaches.

While the cushions are outside and exposed to the elements, the piping can collect a number of different types of debris such as dirt, dust, pollen, bugs, etc. Now, you are on a “cleaning program” just to keep all that junk out of the piping of the cushion.

When choosing outdoor cushions, Atlanta Teakrecommends that you choose a boxed edge without the piping/chording. We feel it not only gives a sleeker appearance, it will also save you time and energy.

Summer is long gone, the leaves are changing and the temperatures are slowly dropping…This can only mean one thing - outdoor furniture deals abound!

Many outdoor furniture companies (see Atlanta Teak) start dropping prices on remaining items once the Fall arrives. This helps them clear out remaining inventory, and make room for new shipments that are around the corner.

Customers that are thinking about adding patio furniture to their outdoor living spaces next Spring can certainly enjoy significant savings by making that purchase now! Also, many outdoor furniture companies may give you extra discounts for paying with a check or cash vs a credit card.

These days many people are looking for bigger outdoor tables to accommodate their ever-growing families; others are just looking to get a table with a little more top space so they can cover it with a plethora of food dishes and still not feel cramped while dining. And still others are buying tables of greater size with the idea in mind that they might have more dining guests in the future if the stork makes a visit(s) to their home.

For all of these reasons, the extension table can be a very elegant and practical solution. Teak outdoor extension tables generally come in a variety of sizes, but the real advantage of them is that they contain a self-storing leaf that easily folds out to add more table-top space to the table. Again, the leaf is self-storing…I’ll repeat it again, self-storing. Gone are the days of taking out the table leaf when guests aren’t over, wrapping it in a cloth and trying to find an area in your already over-cramped house to hide it until company comes again. With the self-storing leaf, all you do is pull the ends of the table out at each side and the leaf folds out into the middle of the table. If you are having people over (or you just want to create more space between yourself and your usual dining compatriots) all you have to do is flip out the self-storing leaf and now your table is over a foot longer!

Atlanta Teak has a wonderful variety of teak extension tables, and I’d encourage you to go visit either their Atlanta or Charlotte warehouse on a Saturday to take a look.

Nothing makes a beautiful outdoor set of teak or wicker furniture appear nicer than a set of Sunbrella cushions. Not only to these cushions provide added comfort to the seats, but they also give the furniture an elegant appearance.

Sunbrella is the number one name in outdoor cushion fabrics for several reasons:

ENDURING COLOR Sunbrella colors stay strong and vibrant, even through intense sunlight exposure and cleaning with bleach.

SUMPTUOUS HAND Sunbrella fabrics are as soft and inviting as they are durable.

DRAMATIC EFFECTS Sunbrella is available in hundreds of solids, stripes and textures as well as exquisite decorative jacquards.

WORRY FREE Sunbrella resists stains and fading, so you can stop worrying about your fabric and enjoy your
life.

If you need Sunbrella cushions, look no further than Atlanta Teak Furniture. They can make your cushions in a variety of sizes & colors, and best of all the cushions ship directly to your home. Visit their website at http://atlantateak.com/cushions.html to learn more about Atlanta Teak’s cushion making process.

As we get closer to the autumn season, many people find themselves wanting to spend more time outside as the high summer temperatures begin to fade away. Fall is a great time of year to dine and entertain outside - the weather is more pleasant, the mosquitos less aggressive and the leaves are changing to an array of beautiful colors.

This is also a great time of year to think about adding beauty & value to your outdoor seating area. Many companies that sell outdoor living products tend to reduce prices as fall approaches so that they can clear out inventory before the winter. Customers can find some really good prices on quality outdoor furniture, grills, firepits, etc. Don’t be intimidated by the approaching winter season…remember, if you live in the Southeast it’s only a few months and then you’ll be back outside in no time.

Many teak furniture owners usually slap on a coat of teak oil at the beginning of each year to “spruce” it up for the upcoming spring & summer seasons. They learn of this maintenance technique from teak furniture companies that lack the knowledge of their product to give them good advice.

At Atlanta Teak Furniture, we are highly opposed to using teak oil on our teak furniture products (or any for that matter). Teak is naturally resistant to mildew and mold. However, once teak oil is applied to the furniture it now provides a surface for mildew and mold to grow. Also, the way in which the teak oil reacts to the sunlight causes black spots to form on the furniture as well. Not to mention that the teak oil gives the furniture a darker, unnatural appearance and hides the grain of the wood.

Atlanta Teak recommends that teak cleaner be used to treat outdoor teak furniture. This is a water-based product that can be purchased for about $15 on Amazon.com. It is an extremely easy application, and it gets all of the dirt, grime and weathering out of the wood furniture (it actually reduces some of the silver patina and brings out the natural honey appearance).

So in the future, do what’s best for your teak furniture and choose teak cleaner over teak oil.

A staycation is defined as a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions as opposed to leaving home and going on a traveling vacation.

These days, more families are opting for staycations as an alternative to vacations to save money. This is giving them the opportunity to get to more projects done at the home, and to enhance the overall appearance and value of their homes.

This is leading more families to work on their outdoor areas - creating living spaces outside that resemble indoor spaces. When you are working on your outdoor area, you need to be extra careful about cutting corners and trying to save money because everything that you use will be exposed to the natural elements (sun, rain, snow, sleet, wind). This makes teak furniture a great choice for the outdoor living areas because it requires little to no maintenance and it will last for over 75 years. Not too mention the aesthetic benefits of having Grade A teak furniture on your patio or deck; it is definitely something that will make your neighbors jealous.

Teak is indigenous to Thailand:

Therefore, the trees grow much more naturally, stronger and have a denser grain than teak trees in Indonesia (TEAK IS NOT INDIGENOUS TO INDONESIA, COSTA RICA OR AFRICA). In fact, teak from Thailand has a natural oil content that is 500% greater than teak from Indonesia - this means that Thai teak is heavier and denser, and therefore will perform much better outdoors than anything from Indonesia!

Longer growth cycle:

The teak trees in Thailand are allowed to grow for 45 years, which is the reason for its strong density. In Indonesia, teak trees rarely grow longer than 25 years which is why the color & grain are very light. When seeking the sophistication of teak, you must know that there is a significant quality difference between Thai teak and Indonesian grown teak. There are many grades of teak quality and we have chosen the best quality, Grade A Thai teak.

Sophisticated kiln-drying process:

This is a very important process because it removes moisture from the wood which prevents it from cracking and warping in the future. However, this process is often ignored by Indonesian factories because it takes over 24 days to be completed correctly - actually, many Indonesian factories merely put the wood outside for 2 weeks and label it as “kiln-dried”, which is not correct and results in an inferior product.

In conclusion, teak furniture from Thailand is a higher quality product and will perform better outdoors than Indonesian teak furniture. This is why Atlanta Teak Furniture only uses teak wood from Thailand in all of its furniture.

As a teak furniture manufacturer, we at Atlanta Teak Furniture feel a responsibility to contribute to the
green movement through sustainable practices and recycling. Here are some of the ways that Atlanta
Teak is “Green”:

Sustainable teak: The teak we use in our furniture construction all comes from sustainable and
renewable forest sources.

The benefits of wood:

1. While the raw materials for other products (aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, etc.) must be fabricated
using energy-intensive and chemical-laden processes, our primary raw material (teak) grows naturally
with no need for energy input.
2. Once the useful life of a wood piece of furniture is at its end, the wood will biodegrade in the landfill.

The benefits of teak:

With its high durability (75+ years), teak furniture will last decades longer than furniture made from other
woods. Consequently, fewer trees will be used as it will need to be replenished much less frequently.
Further, although teak furniture is biodegradable, it will be decades before it even needs to be thrown
out and end up in a landfill.

Recycling:

Atlanta Teak recycles all of its cardboard boxes whenever possible, especially on all orders that we
assemble at our Atlanta warehouse.