Archive for the ‘Outdoor Furniture’ Category
What is Cedar?
Cedar is not a very dense wood, making it one of the lightest softwoods available. Cedar also boasts an incredible thermal co-efficient. That means that the little tiny “air pockets” between the cells of the wood end up acting as an insulator when the wood is dry. If it is hot outside, for example, cedar will remain at a lower temperature than most other materials that conduct heat with more efficiency. The result is a cooler chair to sit on. And don’t forget, because it is a lightweight wood it will be easier for you to move it around than a heavy hardwood chair.Even though cedar is a lightweight wood you will not be sacrificing strength. It is a full 80% the strength of mighty OAK! That’s tough!
Cedar also has amazing dimensional stability. More simply put, cedar naturally tries to equalize its moisture content to match that of the air around it, like all woods. However, unlike many other woods, cedar does not expand or contract very much when it is absorbing or evaporating moisture. This is very important because while other harder, denser woods will tend to crack or warp from season to season, cedar tends not to crack or warp. If you live in an area where humidity levels can vary wildly between seasons, cedar is a must for you.
Cedar has a very low flame-spreading ratio and is low on the “smoke developed” scale when burning as well. This means that it doesn’t spread fire as fast nor produce as much smoke as some other types of wood.
Finally, cedar is very decay and weather resistant, which makes it ideal for cedar garden furniture. If you leave the furniture outside you have the option of either staining it every year or two if you want to maintain its fresh new look, or allowing it to age gracefully into a beautiful silvery gray color. If you choose to leave cedar permanently outside through all of the seasons, every day, every month, every year, we highly recommend treating it to protect the furniture properly and greatly extend its natural life. After all, cedar is resistant to decay but is not impervious to it. No wood is impervious to natural aging. Staining cedar just gives it an extra durability edge against Mother Nature, especially if it is left in constant contact with the ground.
Luxurious Lounging
Often associated with priceless and exotic antiques, teak is considered a symbol of luxury by many. A close-grained wood with a high oil content that provides weather resistance, it also has tannic acid properties that combat fungi and insects and requires little to no maintenance. Teak has been used to construct ships for hundreds of years with great success, proving durable and weathering naturally to an even silver-gray color.
Peachey Net Sales will only offer teak products from the most reputable plantations, which are strictly regulated and managed by the Indonesian government. Teak garden furniture may have an average lifespan of 60 to 80 years.
Taking Some Time to Relax
Like most high-powered corporate executives, I’m obligated to handle lots of responsibility on a daily basis. Some people in my position might have trouble sleeping at night – instead tossing and turning while thinking about the stressful days ahead. I’ve found that taking a break from the daily grind to do some introspecting can be a great source of stress relief. While some co-workers I know head to the golf course or a fancy restaurant, I prefer to head home to enjoy some time on the wooden porch swing with my wife.
Every now and then we’ll bring some books out on the deck and read in silence. Other times we’ll share an intimate conversation or make plans for the weekend. Still other times, it’s enough to just sit and relax while taking in the view of the woods in the distance. After a half hour or so, my batteries are completely recharged and I’m completely at peace with the world.
It’s Always Sunny in California
After living in towns on the Eastern seaboard for most of our lives, my wife and I finally retired and moved permanently to our vacation home in sunny California. While it was a bit tough leaving so many of our old friends and acquaintances back home in Philadelphia, the warm weather certainly helped to cure any sense of homesickness we might have had.
With the temperatures staying pleasant for most of the year in our neck of the woods, it would be a shame to waste the whole day inside. We’ve already hosted a number of garden parties in our backyard, for which the wood folding chairs came in handy. Their sturdy construction stands up to the elements, and it’s nice to be able to fold them up and bring them inside on occasion.
Brainstorming Home and Garden Improvements
Like many homeowners, I spend most of my leisure time dreaming up ways to improve the visual appeal of my home. The lawn and front garden in particular have always been my baby, and my wife always leaves me to my own devices when I’m brainstorming ways to bolster their eye-catching splendor. Fall and winter are the months when I draw up elaborate plans about landscaping and décor that would set off the garden and set it apart from others in the neighborhood.
Usually by spring I realize that my plans are far too complex and expensive to execute, so I’m forced to scale down those grandiose ideas. For example, I still haven’t budgeted for a full scale landscaping job that will lend the garden more depth and personality. I always stumble across a few less costly ideas that are easy to implement as well. Last spring I added a garden bridge to the space between the petunias and the rose beds. Now simply walking through the front yard feels like a special event.
Finding New Uses for Outdoor Furniture
Now that the harsh October winds are blowing across much of the Midwest and the East Coast, it’s not uncommon for homeowners to bring their patio furniture indoors for the season. A few weeks ago I set about transforming my screen room into its functional winter equivalent – a sun porch. Basically this process requires that I remove all of the screens from the windows and replace them with a pane of glass. Then I keep the sliding door to the rest of the house open, allowing the room to be heated.
In this way, I still get plenty of use out of my cedar patio furniture – even when the snow begins to fall and being outside for any lengthy period of time is simply out of the question. I like to retire to the sun porch to read a good book or to chat with family members. No matter what leisurely activity I might pursue, it’s heightened and improved by the stunning view out those windows.
Selecting Furniture for Next Spring
With October in full swing and the leaves already changing from green to their autumnal hues, I’m really beginning to miss summer. It was nice to arrive home from work with plenty of daylight left, whiling away the hours outside with my family. These days, it gets dark before I even leave the parking lot at work. As silly as it might sound, I’ve already begun to make plans for next spring.
For starters, I’ve picked out a steamer chair that will fit nicely on the front stoop. That’s the spot I’ve reserved for summer evenings. My wife and I like to enjoy a glass of wine out there as we survey the activities around our neighborhood. We’ve been talking about upgrading the outdoor furniture for some time, and I’m finally going to do something about it. I’m really beginning to envy people on who experience warm weather year round.
Making Your Garden a Livable Space
Some gardeners lavish so much attention on the health of their plants and flowers that they forget about the needs of those who will be visiting the space. Gardens are above all a place for people to feast their eyes on the foliage while putting the stress of the day behind them. As such, a garden should be accessible and interactive to a certain degree. As nice as it is to admire some brilliant blooms from afar, it’s better to be up close and personal.
Practical outdoor décor – such as a cedar garden bridge – can transform the garden from an austere plant museum into a livable exterior space. The bridge is both pleasing to the eye and navigable by foot. It can be used as a means to organize the flower beds and lead the eye from one distinct part of the garden to another.
Garden Seating
Oftentimes a backyard garden is associated with hard work. It takes a lot of effort to construct a garden bed, make the soil viable, pick all the weeds out, plant new flowers and vegetable, water everything, and make sure animals and birds don’t eat all the seeds. But once the work pays off, the garden is beautiful and should be enjoyed often. That’s where garden seating comes into play.
You can install garden benches or chairs around your garden to create a peaceful escape in your very own backyard. Imagine coming home from a long day at work and curling up on a bench to read a book with birds and butterflies fluttering around the flowers in your garden. You can even add an inscription to a bench to memorialize the day you installed it or to remember a loved one that you lost. In any case, garden benches help you enjoy your hard work and the beautiful fruits of your labor.
Prepare for the Unexpected
If entertaining is your forte, you may have amassed a large list of friends to invite to every soiree. You also may know that big problems occur when there is not enough of something for everyone at the party – this can be food, drinks, utensils, plates, or seating. Don’t make anyone feel like a second-class partygoer – be extra prepared for more guests than you’re expecting. How many times has your cousin’s wife’s aunt’s son decided that he wanted to bring his new girlfriend to an event? Exactly.
The point is that you should be absolutely sure to have extra chairs on hand. These don’t have to be super fancy chairs that perfectly match your patio furniture. In fact, the most convenient chairs are folding lawn chairs. You can store extras in your garage and then magically pull them out as extra guests show up. No one will care if the extra chairs don’t exactly match the rest; the stragglers will just be happy to have a drink in hand and a place to sit.