SUMMER IS HERE and you may be thinking about sprucing up your outdoor space. Style-wise, outdoors is as important as indoors these days, and as far as furniture is concerned, that grubby plastic table and chair set simply isn't going to cut the mustard at your next barbecue or garden gathering.
So what are the outdoor furniture options? Steering clear of that style anathema, white moulded resin, the best bet is wood or metal, both of which can be left out all year round.
Most wooden outdoor furniture available locally is made from tropical hardwoods such as teak, iroko, yellow balau and, occasionally, meranti, as they all have a high oil content and consequently, should not crack or warp in Hong Kong's extreme weather conditions. 'When buying wooden furniture, always check that it's been kiln-dried, otherwise it will warp or crack and eventually fall apart,' says Janice Ortmann, director of outdoor furniture specialist Resource Asia. 'And look for machine-made rather than handmade furniture as it will have been made to exact measurements and therefore have more precise joints.'
Teak is generally the most expensive tropical hardwood, being the most rare (from around $800 for a chair, $2,500 for a table and $4,000 for a sun lounger), but it's also the most hard-wearing. Contrary to popular belief, teak does not need to be treated if it has been properly kiln-dried. However, as with all woods, teak will eventually fade in colour, in this case to a rather attractive silver-grey shade. If you'd prefer to preserve the original warm brown colour, you can apply a teak colour protector, such as that made by Our Style ($280 for a litre bottle from Resource Asia), before putting it outdoors, and then re-apply every four to six months. (Never apply products to dirty wood, as it will blacken. Scrub off any surface dirt with soapy water, adding a capful of bleach to kill outdoor spores. If your furniture is already silver grey, you can sand down the aged wood before applying the oil.) Any steel or brass joints can be lubricated with WD40, olive oil or even Vaseline.
A cheaper alternative is furniture fashioned from yellow balau wood, which is often mistaken for teak (chairs from around $400; tables from $1,000; sun loungers from $2,000). The only drawback is that it contains less natural oil than other tropical hardwoods and will suffer from superficial cracks after exposure to the sun and will need to be oiled every month (use Starbrite Teak Oil, $150 a 950ml bottle from Resource Asia).
Metal furniture, meanwhile, is generally available in cast- or wrought-iron or cast-aluminium. Cast- and wrought-iron was popular at the turn of the 20th century as it could be moulded into the ornate designs which were popular at the time. Today, more contemporary designs are available, a good local specialist being Irony (from around $1,000 for a chair, $4,000 a table).