Carolina Imports recommends teak for outdoors. We have an environmental conscience. Our teak furniture comes from sustainably harvested teak plantations in Indonesia. We do not purchase teak harvested from rain forests.
Why teak? There are no humidity controls outside. Wood breathes in moisture and expands. Then it breathes out moisture and contracts. It moves a lot. Softer woods move more than harder woods. All this movement puts stress on the glue joints. If the wood moves too much, the glue joint will pop, and your furniture will become rickety. Teak is a very hard, dense, and oily wood. It moves very little. It is often used in boats. With little movement of the wood, teak becomes more desirable for outdoor furniture. If allowed to weather, teak will turn a driftwood gray color. If you wish to keep the lovely golden-brown color of the wood, you will need to keep a finish on the teak.
Many of our customers put our mahogany furniture on
covered porches. We continue to ask how
it is holding up. So far, all is holding
up well, even after several years. Mahogany
is also a hard wood. Our mahogany is
sustainably harvested from plantation grown stock.