Teak furniture can be a great choice for any outdoor space, as it's very strong and durable and lasts for years, if not decades. Teak furniture also works well with a variety of decor options and colours, so you can choose teak if you have a traditional brick home, or a more modern design with metal and glass features. 

Before you buy teak furniture for your outdoor area, however, you might note a few factors about this species of wood, and about the furniture pieces themselves. This will ensure you choose the right pieces for your home and know what to expect as it gets older.

You don't want to paint teak furniture

Teak is a very dense species of tropical wood, so it doesn't sand down very well, and the surface doesn't hold a paint colour. It's never recommended that you try to paint, stain, or otherwise treat the surface of teak furniture after it's purchased, as you might not be able to sand down the wood enough for the paint to adhere, and the colour may just peel away. Teak furniture is the better buy for those who prefer the look of natural wood, not painted or stained wood.

You can get weathered pieces

Teak tends to fade in colour over the years, until it has a silvery grey finish; this fading is very gradual, and it's often first noticeable on the most exposed parts of the furniture, such as the arms of a chair and the front of its legs. If you're not happy with having the furniture fade unevenly like this, you can buy weathered pieces. These are made of teak that has already been exposed to direct sunlight over the course of many years, and which already has that grey finish. The furniture's colour will then be consistent over all its surfaces.

Use teak cleanser for cleaning

Because teak is so dense, it's good to only use a teak cleanser on the surface. Other cleaners, including bleach, may dry and otherwise damage the wood. Some wood cleansers might not actually clean food stains and other debris from teak, simply because they cannot penetrate the dense wood surface. If you do use a teak cleaner and a stain or other damage doesn't come clean, you can try a very light sanding of the wood with a fine grit sandpaper. This may just remove the surface stain while not actually sanding through the wood itself.