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Publication Date: Friday, August 23, 2002

Living outdoors

By Sue Dremann

Choosing patio furniture and accessories can be a lot like creating another room for the home

-- and can be just as daunting, given the array of choices in style, degree of formality, quality, materials, price and environmental considerations.

A garden room may have an arrangement of beautiful plants, a pool, deck or patio. Outdoor furniture can enhance that space, and make it an integral part of the home. Styles can be formal or informal, sleek or modern.

Besides the ambiance that furniture can create, durability and comfort are other considerations, as well as price. Prices for sets can run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

As with everything, quality varies. Experts suggest looking for mortise and tenon construction, rather than nuts and bolts that could rust. Or, choose furniture with solid brass connectors.

Styles range from Italian moderne to Victorian. Retro lovers bought out all of Restoration Hardware's outdoor furniture this spring, said manager Julie Glasgow. Restoration Hardware had a line of furniture by Maple St., purveyors of stamped metal furniture. After World War I, armament manufacturers found a new niche for their metal stamping equipment by making home furnishings with Victorian gingerbread ornamentation, which Restoration Hardware's line featured. It was so popular, they plan to bring it back next spring.

In the comfort department, Crate & Barrel sales representative Terry Parker Finch suggested the Savannah Spring Lounge set. Its seating has a "spring-like" action that allows for a gentle rocking motion.

Metal furniture no longer needs to be heavy. Cast aluminum is lighter to move and still has the look of wrought iron. A major advantage to aluminum is that it doesn't rust. Many styles and designs are available.

Extruded or tubular aluminum, which is used in folding chairs, doesn't have to be flimsy. Manufacturers have added ribbing or honeycomb inserts, which add strength to the material. Some models also have been filled with cement, which gives the furniture weight and strength, said Joey Vargas, a sales associate at Expo Design Center. One way to tell if a piece is made of solid aluminum is to strike it with a piece of metal. Solid aluminum rings, he said.

Much of today's metal furniture has a rust-resistant, electroplated, baked on polyester powder coating. With proper care, wrought iron and tubular steel won't rust easily, and should last for years, said Parker Finch. Metal furniture is easy to clean, it's just wiped with mild detergent and water.

One can find the traditional look of wicker in a variety of all-weather materials and colors. Crate & Barrel carries a wicker set that combines the natural qualities of rattan wicker with high technology. Edgewater black wicker is made of rattan loom wrapped around an aluminum thread and treated with a black polyester coating for weather resistance, and is suitable for outdoor use, Parker Finch said. She also recommends looking for fabrics made of Sunbrella; it's designed to withstand the elements, fading and mildew. A comparable brand is Basta Sol, said Vargas.

Wood lovers now have a number of hardwood options. On the top of the list for durability is teak -- it has no rival, said Robb Steck, co-owner of Robb Steck's Designers Market in Palo Alto. The dense, honey-colored wood owes its reputation to the fact that it is close-grained, with high oil content; the wood has a high resistance to rot and the effects of the elements, according to Gloster Teak, a manufacturer. Left unoiled, the wood turns a silvery-gray.

Teak has been the subject of some controversy, as native teak forests have been felled for the burgeoning furniture market. Plantation grown, sustainably harvested teak has been making its way onto the market in recent years. Most comes from Indonesia, and more specifically, the island of Java.

Sadly, all Javanese teak plantations that had been certified previously had their certification suspended as of September 2001, said Tracy Himmel Isham, communications manager for SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest Alliance that is the certifier for Javanese teak. SmartWood (www.smartwood.org) certifies many products for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC; www.fscoax.org), an alliance of timber industry and environmental groups creating networks of sustainably harvested timber around the world.

The loss of Javanese teak plantation certification may have a devastating impact on the teak furniture market; the current inventory of previously certified teak will dwindle, Himmel Isham said. Smith and Hawken advertises that all of its 70 styles of teak come from plantation-grown Javanese teak. The company did not return phone calls when asked for a statement. Just how to know when the certified supply is depleted, and the next wave of uncertified teak comes onto the market is still an issue that SmartWood is working on.

Buyers with an environmental conscience can look for the FSC-certified label on any wood product. SmartWood also has a label for all products that it certifies. If you don't see a label, ask your retailer if the product is FSC certified, she said.

Two new woods have shown up in Bay Area showrooms in the last couple of years: jarrah and nyatoh. Jarrah, a type of eucalyptus, is native to South Western Australia. A highly durable hardwood, jarrah was used to build a mile-long jetty at the end of the 19th century, which still stands today as a testament to the timber's high resistance to marine borers, rot and termites, according to manufacturer Jensen Jarrah.

Jarrah timber is strictly monitored by Western Australia Conservation and Land Management (CALM), which insures that the trees are sustainably grown and harvested under strict codes. The wood, which varies in color from red-brown to salmon, has a fine grain and natural flame resistance. Kiln dried, jarrah rarely warps, and doesn't split when exposed to sun or moisture, Jensen Jarrah said. Jarrah furniture can be purchased from Smith and Hawken.

Nyatoh, a wood from Southeast Asia, is a less-expensive alternative. It is sometimes marketed as having a "teak oil finish," but it is lighter in weight and less dense than teak. Colors range from redwood to honey. Nyatoh, however, is not comparable to teak, said Steck. Local sources of nyatoh furniture are Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware (sold out this year) and Cost Plus Imports.

On the horizon, consumers could see a number of new certified, sustainably harvested wood varieties coming out of South America, said Himmel Isham. Steck said that his company's main focus is product development. He is working to infuse wood with decorations through a patented process. He will also carry a line of concrete and stainless steel outdoor furniture. The concrete is mixed with paper and recycled material to lighten the weight, and can be dyed a number of colors.

E-mail Sue Dremann at sdremann@paweekly.com

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