How to care for your outdoor furniture
After some of the crazy storms of the past month, your outdoor furniture may have taken a battering! We often take notice the state of our outdoor furniture when we uncover it or remove it from storage each spring, but if you want to make sure it looks beautiful for a lifetime? A little regular love and care comes highly recommended. We’re not talking about putting in major elbow grease, just a little once over every so often so your beautiful outdoor pieces stay that way, season after season.
Care for your favourite teak furniture pieces
We only use premium teak for our wooden pieces at Design Warehouse, which is a practical, durable and more importantly - a beautiful option for your space. Premium teak patio furniture can be left out, exposed to the weather with the expectation that your furniture will not become warped, waterlogged or twisted. Our teak patio furniture is not subjected to the cracking, splintering or decay concerns that lesser woods are susceptible to, and you can rest assured that your pieces will not become a home to termites, or be unable to handle wet climates. The proper care techniques will ensure your teak patio furniture maintains its attractive qualities and durability however, and they are definitely not a huge chore.
So how do I clean my outdoor furniture?
After your teak has been outside a while it will age naturally, eventually giving the pieces a handsome silvery grey appearance that we at Design Warehouse love. This natural change can take up to twelve months, and where you place your teak furniture in the elements will determine the time frame to achieve this hallmark patina. Washing your teak will keep it clean and accelerate this naturally stunning evolution.
One of the many things we love about teak is that it requires minimal maintenance aside from an occasional brush down with something like a diluted mixture of Marine SimpleGreen® and water. A light once over with a soft brush will remove accumulated dirt, before you carefully rinse any solution off of the surface of your teak furniture with clean water after cleaning. To remove any grease spots, a light scrub with a mild degreasing agent is recommended, with additional fresh-water rinsing afterward.
For more stubborn stains or staining from trees, birds, flowers or mould, outdoor furniture needs to be washed and cleaned like your car or veranda. Grime and dirt need to be removed, and we recommend you take the expert advice from a marine store for these stubborn stains. They will recommend a specialised teak cleaner depending on the nature of the stain, and help restore your piece to its former glory.
Caring for your favourite wicker outdoor furniture pieces
A standout feature in envy-inducing Instagram photos and with a design history all its own, wicker furniture has come a long way since the sixties and seventies patio set. Now available in much more than just a peacock chair or tropical planter, it can be used just as beautifully when creating modern deep seating and chic dining sets like those you’ll find in our showroom.
At Design Warehouse we manufacture our own wicker pieces using the highest quality synthetic outdoor wicker from highly respected companies Viro®, Rehau® and Ecolene®. We chose these suppliers for their trusted history and their premium offering – quite simply, their product offering is the best there is. Our woven furniture using Viro® wicker fibres in particular can withstand all kinds of temperature extremes across most climates, and stay looking beautiful all year round.
The aforementioned brands we use for our synthetic outdoor wicker are heavily tested, certified and proven over time in countless countries across the globe, as well as being resistant to weather, sunscreen, oils, chlorine (from pools) and many other chemicals and environmental factors. The wonderful characteristics of these wicker fibres makes them perfect for outdoor exposure, and ongoing maintenance is an absolute breeze.
To clean outdoor wicker, simply use a non-foaming cleaner with water, and low-pressure fresh water from a hose (or simply a bucket) to rinse. We recommend mild, environmentally friendly cleaners and minimal elbow grease, leaving you more time to enjoy your furniture for entertaining and relaxing.
Using a wet cloth to wipe your wicker will most definitely get it clean, but it can cause the texture to change slightly. Instead, we recommend our method of spraying and rinsing your outdoor wicker with clean, fresh water.
You can remove any leaves and other debris trapped between wicker strands with a vacuum cleaner or soft-bristled brush before cleaning, and always take off any cushions and clean them separately according to the care tags. Allow them to dry fully before putting them back on your furniture, them simply sit back and enjoy.
If you’re curious about adding some wicker pieces to your outdoor setting, we’d love to help. Perhaps pop into our Parnell showroom for a tour of what’s on offer, or feel free to call or email our fabulous staff at any time with your questions. Our beautiful wicker pieces come in a variety of styles that will please everyone from the minimalist to the unabashed maximalist, and they all come fully assembled and can be picked up, ready to go from our distribution centre For more information please call our dedicated team of professionals – we’d love to help, or for more inspiration see our Instagram feed
Design Warehouse has been manufacturing and supplying luxury outdoor furniture to architects, designers, landscapers, hotels, resorts and private residences for over 25 years, so when we say we know what’s best for outdoor style… you can rest assured that we have the knowledge to back it up.