Wood

Wood furniture fits your style if you love things natural. The best-quality wood furniture is made from center cuts of lumber, the most dense and durable part of a tree. Low-grade or young lumber possesses a more inconsistent grain and color and should be less expensive. Look for furniture built with zinc-plated or stainless-steel screws and glue. The screws can be tightened if they loosen. Less-expensive furniture uses riveted or stapled joints, which are harder to repair.

Cedar and pine are light-color, straight-grain softwoods. Natural pine rots quickly, but pressure-treated pine, as well as cedar, lasts for many years. For maximum protection, paint or seal either type of furniture.

Teak, one of the best wood performers for outdoor furniture, also happens to be one of the priciest. Harvested from plantations in tropical countries, teak possesses a stable, honey-color grain and resists rot and decay. Even when exposed to the elements year-round, teak furniture lasts at least 50 years. Untreated teak fades to a silvery gray. To maintain the original color of the wood, apply teak oil to it once or twice a year.

Roble and jarrah, both hardwoods with delicious reddish tones, are relative newcomers to outdoor furniture. Like teak, they’re both rot-resistant; jarrah lasts up to 50 years, and roble 25 years. Apply teak oil, boiled linseed oil, or marine oil to roble to preserve the wood’s warm tones. Use a treatment specially designed for jarrah to preserve its natural color.

Budget Notes
For a 48-inch round wood table and four chairs, here’s what you can expect to pay.
Pressure-treated pine and cedar
Mass merchant/wood crafters: $500–$1,000
Teak
Specialty stores: $800–$4,000
Roble
Specialty stores: $950–$1,600
Jarrah
Specialty stores: $2,500–$3,000

Maintaining Wood
Keep all types of wood furniture off grass and on fast-drying patio surfaces to extend the life of the furniture. Clean cedar with a diluted bleach solution or soap and water. Pine should be washed with mild soap and water. Attack any mildew buildup on pine with a bathroom cleaning product designed to eliminate mildew. An occasional cleaning with mild soap and warm water keeps teak and jarrah in tip-top shape.