Which Type of Wood Best to Choose for Your Patio Dining Set

You want to keep your patio or deck looking purely natural?

Although nowadays there are lots of options for furniture materials, but if you are a purist, your inner voice won’t let you go with anything else but wood. Even tough there are plenty of different types to choose from. Most of them are not particularly practical in outdoor furniture. Here are the two best that have emerged as the superior choices based mainly on their longevity.

Teak Furniture

There is nothing more beautiful than real wood. And teak has some substantial advantages over its peers. It is a very hard and dense wood, that is known for its use on yachts. With its qualities, teak is perfectly matched for use in outdoor furniture, durable and sturdy. The wood has a light brown colour and is easy to maintain.

A couple of times a year, teak patio furniture needs to be treated with oil. Depending on the exposure to the elements, the wood tends to lose its shine, changing the colour into a matt grey.  The naturally contained oils are being washed out and are leaving the surface rough and sometimes brittle. Avoid this by replenishing the oil reservoirs of your patio set.

Traditional teak furniture designs usually work with wide slats, which form the seating surface and backrest of dining chairs for example. The more modern designs mostly use narrower slats to give it the distinct contemporary look. They combine the teak with brushed aluminum or stainless steel frames, like with Velago’s Vitale outdoor dining set.

Yellow Balau Furniture

Just as hard as teak, Yellow Balau is by far less well known than teak. With almost identical qualities, the pattern on the wood is very diverse and different with every piece of furniture. The big distinctive factor is the colour. Yellow Balau, aka Bankirai, has a very intense yellow – red hue. Comparing the two photos, you can easily spot the difference.

In furniture production, the wood undergoes the same procedures as teak and furniture designs tend to be very similar, be it for outdoor dining sets or loungers. Velago offers the whole spectrum in its Toscana set, with the option of a rectangular or oval outdoor dining table. Both are extendable for use with 4 – 8 people. The dining chairs have adjustable backrests for comfort on demand. The loungers can even be adjusted at top and bottom.