The Quality and Durability of Teak Wood Furniture

Teak is a wood that is very fine-grained, which makes it suitable for use in furniture. It is often used to make dining room tables, side tables, cabinets, shelving, chairs, headboards, wall units, and other indoor and outdoor furniture and accessories.

Teak trees that are cultivated on tree farms are supported and trimmed to grow straight and tall with evenly spaced growth rings. When sawn and cut, these cultivated trees result in teak wood planks with consistent growth rings.

The tight grain and growth patterns of teak trees allow the wood from different trees to easily blend together and match each other when used in a single piece of furniture or a set of furniture pieces. Carpenters and artisans have worked teak wood for centuries to create solid pieces of furniture, as well as veneers on top of other wood furniture pieces.

Teak wood is hard, dense, and strong because it has a high oil and silica content. These inherent elements in the teak wood make it water-resistant and able to resist rot, fungi, mildew, and termites. These durable qualities make teak desirable for both indoor and outdoor furniture and cabinetry.

Because of its durability and water resistance, teak wood has also been used for hundreds of years in boatbuilding. Builders also favored this wood for boat decks, hatches, and interior cabin structures and storage.

Teak has also been used for railway cars and railway ties and other outdoor industrial uses. Some of these industrial pieces have been restored and refinished and are still in use today.

When freshly milled, teak wood is a honey-gold color with darker brown and lighter yellow streaks. These colors are evident in the patterning formed by the internal tree rings and growth of side branches and boughs.

As teak wood ages, it turns slightly lighter in color to a silvery gray. If your teak furniture has aged to this silvery gray color, you can refinish and restore it with careful sanding, stripping, oiling, and polishing. Or you can leave it be for a weathered, antique look.

Teak pieces from different eras can blend together easily because of their consistent color and patterning. Even knots and other growth marks in historical teak wood pieces are subtle in the overall grain patterns.

Teak wood has often been the wood of choice for artisans who make one-of-a-kind pieces for historical patrons. They choose teak because of its beauty and because it can be adaptable to any interior light and atmosphere and exterior climate.

Another benefit of teak is that you can easily cut, shape, and bond it together. Many people choose it because it is dense enough to create finished works that are weighty and not easily dented or damaged.

Finding and collecting historical teak furniture is a great adventure, and when found, teak furniture is a good-looking addition to your home. To find a great selection of historical teak furniture, contact The Antique Company Inc. We have a range of handcrafted teak furniture from different eras that is as beautiful and useful today as when it was first created.