Furniture for homes, restaurants and terraces: what changes

The same table can serve beautifully in a living room and wear out quickly in a restaurant or on an open terrace. The difference lies in load, cleaning and climate. Here's what we change depending on where a piece will live.

Homes and apartments

• Moderate wear, regular gentle care.
• Almost any species works, including softer and decorative woods such as cypress, sugi and magnolia.
• Finish: oil or hardwax oil for a natural look and easy repairs.
• The main thing to watch is heating and air conditioning: keep furniture away from vents and radiators.

Restaurants, cafés and hotels

Here furniture is in use all day, wiped down constantly, loaded with hot dishes and moved around. Strength and ease of cleaning matter far more.

• Species: hard, impact-resistant woods — oak, ash, black locust, pecan.
• Finish: hardwax oil or lacquer, depending on how often and with what the surfaces are cleaned.
• Bases: rigid, with adjustable feet to level tables on uneven floors.
• For a set of matching tables we select boards close in colour and figure, but they won't be identical.
• Agree a maintenance plan early: refreshing the finish from time to time extends the furniture's life.

Open terraces and outdoors

Outdoors, furniture faces sun, rain and swings in temperature and humidity. These are the toughest conditions — and in a hot, sunny climate UV exposure matters as much as moisture.

• Species: naturally decay-resistant woods such as larch, black locust, cypress and chestnut, plus thermally modified timber.
• Finish: dedicated exterior oils, renewed more often than indoors.
• We don't recommend epoxy in direct sun: clear resin can yellow over time.
• Metal parts: corrosion-protected.
• Left in the open, wood gradually weathers to a silvery grey. It's a natural process that care can slow down.

Covered terraces and verandas

A middle ground: no direct rain, but changing humidity and temperature. The same durable species work well, with a wider choice of finishes.

How we choose

When you order, your manager will ask where the piece will stand, how many people will use it and how you plan to clean it. For commercial projects, it helps to send a floor plan or visit the showroom with your designer. From there we'll propose the species, construction and finish, and explain how to care for the furniture in your setting.