Long-lasting, high-design finishes and materials in outdoor furnishings are crucial for creating enduring and aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces. These materials ensure that furniture can withstand harsh and changing weather conditions, reducing the need for frequent replacements and promoting sustainability and enhancing the overall ambiance.

Resources

Introducing Our New Powdercoat Color Palette

We’ve curated a new palette of powdercoat colors informed by both the natural and built environments and thoughtfully selected to maximize your aesthetic vocabulary. Grouped into the Vivid Series, the Neutral Series, and the Architectural Series, these new options fit into a diversity of architectural styles. And they bring new design opportunities to our exclusive Pangard II® Polyester Powdercoat System recognized for its industry-leading durability, color retention and resistance to wear.

Wood captures the beauty of Mother Nature like few other materials can, a remarkable and renewable resource that only She herself could create.

Bamboo

Engineered specifically for enduring use outdoors, dassoXTR Fused Bamboo® is incredibility stable and durable, elegantly dark in color, and is highly sustainable with low environmental impact due to the fast-growing, rapidly renewable nature of bamboo. It is manufactured using dasso's patented process, which combines two stages of high heat to first carbonize the bamboo, removing all of the starch and sugar, and then restructure the bamboo, reinforcing its natural strength characteristics. The modified bamboo strands are then fused together using phenolic resin. This resin is thermal setting and non-reversible, meaning it contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and no fumes are released into the atmosphere.

Domestically Sourced, Thermally Modified Ash

Dimensionally stable, sustainable, highly durable, and ideal for outdoor use.

A Reclaimed Solution

Thermal modification also reclaims ash species that have been affected by the Emerald Ash Borer, putting the trees to productive use in an outdoor environment instead of burning or landfilling them. Approximately 40 perfect of the ash we thermally modify has been affective. 

Made for Outdoor Performance

The eco-friendly, low-impact modification process uses heat, not chemicals to alter the chemistry of the wood, making it resistant to environmental elements, including insects, moisture, and the warming, cupping, expansion and contraction moisture can cause. 

Domestically Sourced

Thermally modified ash adds a domestically sourced species to our offering. Highly durable, modified ash is a perfect material for outdoor furnishings, as it has a long lifespan, is low maintenance, and ages slowly and beautifully. Modified ash retains its uniform grain character and takes on a deep brown color that grays over time. 

The Weathering of Wood — A Natural Process

Weathering is the general term used to describe the physical change materials exhibit with exposure to the outside elements.. Materials may encounter moisture, sunlight, heat/cold, chemicals, abrasion, etc.—all factors in the natural weathering process. The natural wood options that Landscape Forms offers will maintain their structural integrity and resist rotting for many years without any kind of treatment. They will, however, exhibit signs of natural weathering, which include graying, checking and tannin leaching (Jarrah only):

Graying

Unfinished wood will weather to a natural gray patina.

Checking

During the initial drying process the outside of the wood dries quicker than the interior, which causes differential stresses to develop. The combined effect of these drying stresses in wood often results in the formation of a check or a split. These seasoning characteristics are not problematic; it is important to remember that as wood dries, it becomes stronger. The development of these seasoning characteristics is quite normal.

Tannin Leaching (Jarrah only)

Tannins are natural organic compounds present in certain timbers; leaching of tannins can cause discoloration on surrounding materials. Tannin leaching commonly occurs when certain timber are exposed to rain or other sources of water (e.g. sprinklers.) This leaching process only occurs for a short period of time while the wood naturally weathers in its outdoor environment. Tannin bleed is unlikely in thermally modified woods as the tannins are naturally removed during the thermal modification process.

Unfinished is Best

Wood Finishes

Finishes applied in an attempt to maintain the new color of wood are not recommended. No wood finish is weather-proof; most finishes are weather resistant for a period of time but require ongoing maintenance. Finishes like exterior varnish or polyurethane will break down in the outdoor elements. The addition of UV inhibitors will delay the deterioration of the finish but will not stop this deterioration completely. Seasonal expansion and contraction will rupture the finish and expose the wood beneath creating an unattractive surface condition.

Oil Finishes

Other materials used to finish outdoor woods such as wood penetrating oils will penetrate the wood and highlight the grain and natural color of wood. However, these oils will not harden; the solvents will evaporate leaving the wood to weather with oil residue in the pores. With annual maintenance this may be acceptable for decking, however, this is not a recommended treatment for site furniture where oils and attracted dusts may rub off and stain clothing.