Outdoor furniture, in contrast to indoor furniture, have to be built with particular attention given to factors such as strength, natural resistance to decay, natural color, and resistance to checking and splitting. Furniture placed outside, as in a garden, has to provide not only beauty but also functionality, and has to do so over a long period of time, in spite of the wear and tear caused by the weather and normal use.

The task of building good outdoor furniture begins with the correct choice of wood species: we only use tropical hardwood species well suited for outdoor use. The timber we procure is evaluated and classified for use in various applications, with the higher grade ones allocated for building outdoor furniture. Carefully selected wood is then turned over to our master craftsmen.

Outdoor furniture are subjected to two types of "stresses". The first type comes from normal use, as when you lean back on a chair, or from abuse, as when you drag or push a table, instead of lifting it. The second type arises from wood movement. Changes in humidity may cause wood to shrink or expand across its grain (not along its length). With our advanced woodworking techniques such as mortise and tenon joinery, we are able to address these "stresses" properly and elegantly.

Joinery is the technique by which different pieces of wood are attached together, and is often used as an indication of the quality of workmanship. The method used in joining separate components of a furniture actually affects not just the strength of the joints but also the overall appearance of the furniture. A piece of furniture assembled with the simple butt joint (nails or screws) is less likely to hold up after several years of use compared to one that uses a more complex joinery system. A more intricate, and better, way is to use mortise and tenon joints. This system has been in use by advanced woodworkers around the world; in fact, master craftsmen in China have relied on this system for more than 3,000 years! There are many variations, but the basic concept is that in connecting two pieces of wood together, one end of one piece is inserted into a hole cut into the other piece. The end of that first piece is called the tenon, and this end is usually thinner relative to the rest of the piece. The hole in the second piece is the mortise. This joint can be glued, pinned, or simply wedged to lock it in place.

Our master artisans produce each piece of furniture following a system that has been in place for several centuries. We are confident that each piece of furniture is as beautiful as it is durable. It is our hope that some of these will find a place in your home, and perhaps even become a treasured family heirloom passed on to the next generation.