Teak Window Shades

Was: $79.00 - $79.00, Now: $59.00 - $99.00

Use our handcrafted Teak Shade to divide an expansive outdoor space, filter the afternoon sun, or create instant privacy. Screen quickly installs on a porch, patio, or in a sun room to transform open spaces into intimate settings in any weather.

Teak screen can be oiled to preserve the color or left to weather to a distinguished silver gray
Shade can be raised or lowered using the drawstring mechanism
S-hooks included for hanging
Our teak patio furniture is harvested in an environmentally responsible manner

Assembly required.

Teak Wood: Care & Characteristics

Eco-friendly Teak Craftmanship

Know Your Woods

Teak Wood: Care & Characteristics

Characteristics of Teak Wood
Origins of Teak Wood
Cleaning & Care

Characteristics of Teak Wood

Teak is regarded as one of the most beautiful, high-quality woods manufactured today. It’s a very dense, straight-grained hardwood with a coarse texture, high natural oil content, and a distinctively aromatic scent (often compared to leather).

Widely renowned for its durability and resistance to rotting, teak is almost impervious to the effects of sun, rain, frost, and snow. Its high level of resinous oil acts as a natural insect repellent, giving it a very high resistance to termites. Due to its hard-wearing nature, teak has been the timber of choice in shipbuilding for hundreds of years. More recently, it has become a popular material for outdoor furnishings. Many other hardwoods are often marketed as “teak substitutes”, but no other material performs to the same standards as genuine teak.

Another popular trait of teak wood is its weathering tendency. Over time, teak furniture will attain a handsome silvery-gray patina. This process takes approximately nine months, depending on the amount of sunlight and rain exposure. During weathering, a slight lifting of the grain may occur on the tops of the arms and legs, and you may even see a few cracks. This is not considered a defect, but a natural expanding and contracting of the wood. The grain will return to its original smooth finish after the weathering process is complete.

Origins of Teak Wood

Teak (also known as Tectona Grandis, its Latin name) is indigenous to India, Burma, Thailand, Indochina, and Java. It has been extensively planted for timber and as an ornamental tree throughout the tropical regions of the world, including East and West Africa, Cuba, the Caribbean, Panama, and Brazil.

Teak cannot grow in rain forests; it is a deciduous tree that thrives in the dry, hilly terrain of plantation forests in Southeast Asia. When plantation-grown, the teak tree will reach a height of up to 150 feet, with a diamater of 3-5 feet. It is ready to be harvested after 50-60 years.

Java has very large teak plantations, initially planted by the Dutch in the early 1800’s. Today, these plantations are closely monitored by the Indonesian government. A strict policy regulates the number and size of the teak trees that can be felled; those that are cut down are replaced with newly planted trees to maintain the forests for future generations. In its native area, teak is a high-value crop and a vital source of income and employment.

Cleaning and Care of Teak

Teak does not require any special maintenance other than an occasional cleaning. If left to age naturally outdoors, the surface of the wood will gradually change to a soft silvery-grey as the pigments fade. We recommend that you maintain the silver patina with regular, gentle cleaning with soft-soap flakes dissolved in warm water (not detergent). Be sure to use a non-abrasive brush or sponge, and avoid using steel wool or wire brushes. When finished, rinse the entire piece of furniture with low-pressure water to remove any dirt or remaining solution.

Know Your Woods

Available in a variety of colors, grains, and hardnesses, solid wood has always been a preferred material for fine furniture. Shock-resistant and durable, it's also a sound investment, increasing in value over generations.

Different parts of the world produce different types of woods, each with its own set of characteristics. And because each tree yields lumber with its own grain patterns and markings, each piece of genuine wood has its own unique personality. Below are some distinguishing traits of the types of wood commonly used to construct fine furniture:

Types of Woods

Alder	Ash	Aspen	Beech	Birch
Cherry	Eucalyptus	Hickory	Mahogany	Maple
Oak	Parawood	Pine	Poplar	Radiata Pine
Redwood	Rosewood	Teak	Walnut	Hard vs. Soft

Alder
Alder, part of the birch family, is a softer hardwood from the Pacific Northwest. Consistent color, stability, and uniform acceptance of stains and finishes are some of the characteristics that have made Western Alder a preferred wood for furniture. Its elasticity makes it ideal for carving intricate details. Ranking second only to oak as the most commonly used wood, alder offers the look of many fine hardwoods at a value price.
Ash
White Ash is commonly used in the furniture market. Ash is a long-fibered, light-colored, medium-density wood that grows in the United States and Canada. Its coarse, porous grain is similar to that of oak, but it varies from white to light-red in color. Hard and heavy enough to be used for baseball bats, it’s also flexible enough for bending. Ash takes stain well and is used mainly for chairs and stools.
Aspen
Hailing from the north-eastern and north-central United States, this is a softer, light-colored, even-grained hardwood belonging to the Populous family. Unfinished, aspen appears to have little or no grain, but the natural grain appears after the stain has been applied. Aspen can be finished to resemble cherry, walnut, and other more expensive hardwoods. It accepts most stains well, but may need a sealer to achieve an even coloring.
Beech
Found primarily in northeast U.S. and Canada, beech is a heavy, pale-colored, medium-to-hard wood used widely for chairs and stools. It has a fine, tight grain and large medullar rays, similar in appearance to maple or birch woods. Beech wood has a high shock resistance and takes stains well.
Birch
Birch is a stiff, close-grained hardwood that grows primarily in northeast U.S. and Canada. A heavy wood, it has a high shock resistance. Birch is very light in color (predominantly a light yellow) and takes any stain well.
Cherry
Also known as fruitwood, cherry is a strong, fine-grained hardwood with a pink undertone, often played up with a medium or dark finish to enhance its mahogany-red tones. Its rich coloring darkens with age and exposure to light. Cherry resists warping and is easy to carve and polish. Often used for 18th-century and formal, traditional-style furniture, cherry is often considered a luxury wood. Fine-grained hardwoods, such as maple and alder, are common substitutes for cherry. Black Cherry grows in Canada, the United States, and Central America; European Cherry is distributed throughout Europe and southeast Asia.
Eucalyptus
This is a hardwood that earns high marks for strength, durability, and excellent weathering characteristics. Eucalyptus is pinkish-brown in color and ages to a reddish-brown with time and exposure to light. Its resistance to decay is similar to that of teak wood. In fact, when finished with a high-quality oil, eucalyptus takes on a teak-like appearance.
Hickory
One of the hardest, heaviest, and strongest woods in the United States, hickory is a hardwood whose varieties can also be found in Canada and Mexico. Distinguished by extreme contrasts of light and dark colors, it has a dramatic natural look. For more even coloring, hickory can be easily stained.
Mahogany
A tropical medium-to-hard wood indigenous to South America, Central America, and Africa, mahogany’s strength makes it an excellent carving wood. It has a uniform pore structure, a medium grain, and less defined annual rings. Mahogany ranges from tan to reddish-brown in color, and may display stripe, ribbon, rope, ripple, or blister figures. Its stability and resistance to decay makes the wood ideal for high-quality cabinetry and furniture.
Maple
This is a very light-colored medium-to-hard wood, abundant in the eastern United States. Known for its shock resistance, maple has diffused, evenly-sized pores that give the wood a fine texture and an even grain. Eastern maples are generally harder than western maples, due to the colder winters and shorter growing seasons. Both are highly durable and take any stain well. Maple can be finished to resemble walnut, cherry, or other more expensive hardwoods.
Oak
Oak is the wood most commonly used for finer, more durable furniture. It’s a very hard, heavy, open-grained wood that grows from deciduous and evergreen trees in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It's found in both red and white varieties. Red oak (also known as black oak) has a pinkish cast and is the more popular of the two. White oak has a slightly greenish cast. Prominent rings and large pores give oak a coarse texture and prominent grain. It stains well in any color.
Parawood
Native to the Amazon region of South America, this wood is used for much of the furniture made in that region. Parawood can be traced back to the days of Christopher Columbus, when its seedlings were used in rubber plantations to produce latex. Today it’s used to build fine furniture, a new tree planted in the place of each that is cut. Parawood is just as hard as maple or ash, and takes a very even stain. Yellow in color, it has a medium grain similar to mahogany.
Pine
Pine is a softwood that grows in many varieties in various parts of the world. In the U.S., Eastern White Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Sugar Pine are some of the types used to make furniture. Pine’s “knotty” characteristics provide warmth and individuality to each crafted piece. Usually light-yellow in color, the wood has a broadly spaced striation pattern. It’s ideal for children’s rooms, family rooms, beach cottages — anywhere you’d like an airier, lighter feel. Its natural grain and shades ensure that no piece is exactly alike. Excellent for staining.
Poplar
Poplar is a light-colored, softer wood that is more costly than pine, but less costly than oak or maple. It's generally straight-grained and "woolly" with a fine, even texture. Pale in color, similar to beech and alder, poplar grows throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
Radiata Pine
This is a plantation-grown wood from South America. Harder than other pines, it also has fewer knots and a beautiful grain pattern.
Redwood
A hard, valuable, reddish-brown wood, redwood has a straight grain and a fine, coarse texture. Its coloring ranges from light-red to a deep reddish-brown, with very prominent growth rings. Weathering more gracefully than other woods, redwood is often used to build decks and outdoor furnishings. Stains can enhance its natural beauty and durability. Redwood grows along the Pacific coast of the United States in California and Oregon.
Rosewood
This is a dark-red or brown hardwood, derived from tropical trees. Heavy, hard, and dense, rosewood is noted for its stability and excellent decay resistance. Though commonly used for Oriental furniture, rosewood is now used for traditional European designs, as well as cabinetry. Quality rosewood furniture can be distinguished by silver lines, achieved by polishing with Chinese Tang Oil. This firm luster surface is different from the glossy imitation paint used on more inferior rosewood furniture.
Teak
Indigenous to Indonesia, India, and Central America, teak is a high-quality yellow to dark-brown hardwood. It’s generally straight-grained with a coarse, uneven texture and an oily feel. Teak ranges from yellow-brown to dark golden-brown in color. Noted for its heaviness and durability, it was originally used for shipbuilding and is now often used for high-caliber outdoor furniture and decking.
Walnut
Prized in North America for high-end cabinetry and furniture, walnut provides strength, hardness, and durability without excessive weight. It has excellent woodworking qualities and takes finishes well. Walnut is light to dark chocolate-brown in color, with a straight grain in the trunk. It can be found in the United States and Canada.
Hardwood vs. Softwood
Solid woods can be classified as hard or soft. A hardwood is derived from a broad-leefed tree (without needles), such as maple, cherry, oak, ash, walnut, or mahogany. Hardwoods usually offer greater strength and stability. Softwoods come from needle-bearing evergreen trees, such as pine, spruce, redwood, or cedar, and are preferred for intricately carved pieces. Softwoods are more susceptible to marks and dings, but this can often result in an appealing weathered quality.