Teak wood furniture ticks all the boxes when it comes to shopping for your Singapore home. It’s water resistant, durable and there are some strikingly stylish teak pieces on the market that are sustainable too.
The oily nature of teak wood furniture means it repels water and helps prevent termites and decay, perfect for Singapore’s climate. Or choose between (not so environmentally friendly) newly logged teak, teak produced from monitored sources, or reclaimed and recycled teak, ticking the sustainable credentials.
Here’s some teak wood furniture you may want to add to your wish list!
Originals
At Originals, you’ll find a more modern take on teak. The teak wood furniture at Originals is light, usually whitewashed and designed to fit any contemporary home.
The teak comes from three main sustainable sources (including recycled), which means you might find yourself owning something that once stood in an abandoned house in Java or India. What about an old colonial cabinet, repurposed from India and given a new life with some colour and design tweaks?
The Originals team says that one of its core values is a responsibility to think about the environmental impact of the business. It does this through its choice of suppliers – in fact, the store only works with FSC-certified suppliers – and by selecting the right product ranges. The recycled collection, for example, is specifically designed to use old, character-filled pieces of teak.
1 Bukit Batok Street 22, #05-02/03
6471 9918 | originals.com.sg
Soul & Tables
Soul & Tables carries an extensive range of teak wood furniture from Indonesia, including its popular addition, the Karpenter brand. Karpenter’s designs are manufactured using only sustainable and low-impact materials, such as FSC certified reclaimed teak wood. The collection, designed by French designer Hugues Revuelta, has a classy, playful, and yet innovative look and feel. Made with longevity in mind, the furniture aims to transcend changing trends.
The store carries a wide collection of teak pieces for every room under its core brand, Ethnicraft. This Belgian brand uses raw teak from sustainably-harvested sources with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifications. To reduce waste, the leftovers and sawdust are repurposed as fuel in drying ovens or incorporated into furniture. Ethnicraft also works closely with the Indonesian government to ensure strict tree-replanting policies.
Making furniture that is long-lasting is another key to sustainability. For the Ethnicraft team, stellar craftsmanship is an important factor to ensure this. When a product is designed to last, says the store, it reduces the need to purchase new furniture, hence reducing waste. By investing in high-quality material and craftsmanship you are also able to maintain these pieces which is one of the services you are entitled to when purchasing from Soul and Tables.
#02-03 & #02-09 Tan Boon Liat Building
315 Outram Road
9272 1545 | soulandtables.com.sg
Woody Antique House
Originating from Indonesia, Thailand and Burma, Woody Antique House’s indoor teak wood furniture range includes coffee tables, study desks, dining tables, chairs, bar counters, sideboards, bookshelves, TV consoles and also beds. When it comes to the outdoors, you’ll find teak products including tables, chairs and benches. Can’t find exactly what you’re looking for? Don’t worry, Woody’s can customise furniture to your needs, using recycled teak wood.
Woody Antique House helps to cap the number of new teak trees being cut down each year by using recycled teak that comes from old houses in Indonesia. In addition, the store ensures its supplier is certified annually for its sustainability practices. Meanwhile, the mature teak timber in its products comes from Thailand and Burma. It’s purchased through legal channels from the Thai government, depriving local illegal loggers of business.
13 Dempsey Road, #01-05
6471 1770 | woodyantique.com
Scanteak
For quality wood furniture in Singapore, Scanteak combines the simplicity of Scandinavian designs with teak, one of the most sought-after wood materials, to create beautiful, lasting, and easy-to-maintain furniture pieces for an elegant home. These include wooden sofas, bed frames, dining tables and study tables.
Durability is key at Scanteak. Not only does the tenacity of teak wood make for durable products to withstand the test of time, the product designs are simple and classic, which withstand the current of changing interior trends. Above all, the environment must be durable too.
As teak is such a precious resource, the Indonesian government strictly enforces responsible harvesting, ensuring the sustainability of its teak plantations. It is from these regulated plantations that Scanteak sources its materials. Couple this with its work with award-winning designers and you’ve got some seriously stylish and sustainable pieces. Some of these collections, now sold in Singapore, Taiwan and Japan, have won design awards, such as the Singapore President’s Design Award and the Good Design Award (Japan).
211 Henderson Road
#01-04/05
6376 1247 | scanteak.com.sg
WTP – The Furniture Company
Behind the luxury car dealerships in Alexandra sits WTP’s elegant and bright three-storey showroom. The teak wood furniture available in the store ranges from dining tables and chairs to sideboards, coffee tables and more. If you want to make your pieces just a little more unique, WTP can custom varnish products already in their showroom.
The store sources most of its wood products from Indonesia, with some pieces from Sri Lanka and Myanmar, too. Materials used include a combination of new, legally logged teak from sustainable forests and recycled teak. Eco-friendly mango wood is also used in much of their furniture; it has a beautiful grain and is a lower price point option to teak right now. You’ll find something at WTP that makes a statement, while also being gentle on the environment. Using recycled teak helps the teak forests to grow and replenish. It also gives old wood a new lease on life rather than having it end up in a dump and contributing to the waste problem.
The store believes that recycled teak wood is often a better quality than newly logged wood, too, as the new trees in forests today don’t grow for as long as they were able to previously.
3 Kung Chong Road
6235 2760 | wtpstyle.com
Gallery 278 by Esco Leasing
Gallery 278 specialises in bespoke, custom-built furniture. If you’ve ever had a good look at teak up close, you’ll know why the store chooses to craft the majority of the range in reclaimed teak. It has a rich and beautiful patina, and it lasts. The complete home range by Gallery 278 is designed right here in Singapore. Artisan carpenters then handcraft each piece in Indonesia.
There are other solid woods available too. These have been sustainably harvested then properly kiln-dried and fumigated (which countries like Australia require for import). The forests and plantations are managed according to strict ecological guidelines. Gallery 278 by Esco Leasing is also part of the Tree4Tree programme. For each tree that is cut down for furniture, one more is planted in its place.
And another benefit of the store’s solid teak wood collection? It’ll last for generations to come. According to the Gallery 278 team, one client returned 15 years after making a purchase and said jokingly, “Your furniture will outlive me!”
203A Henderson Road, #11-01
6737 2322 | gallery278.com
Nestify
Sustainability is at the core of Nestify’s ethos; owner Margaret’s key mantra is to reduce, reuse, recycle, reupholster and repair. Her range includes items for the dining room, the living room and the bedroom, including a stunning four-poster bed called the Bobbin. She also carries a gorgeous dressing table and chair set, along with side tables with marble and other elements as well as the wood.
She offers free delivery, with most pieces able to be delivered within a week or so. Nestify employs some of the best craftsman in the region – in Jepara, Indonesia, a place where craftsmanship is in their blood. Customers buying furniture online with Nestify can be assured of their quality-control processes.
2 Woking Road, #01-01 (by appointment only)
8261 4138 | nestify.shop
The Furniture Makers
All The Furniture Makers’ teak pieces are made at their own factory in Indonesia, allowing full visibility of the supply chain. They source teak from forests managed and regulated by the Indonesian government, which means that all of their timber is certified to have been legally logged. They use an enhanced surface preparation procedure where the natural oils in teak are surfaced and burnished to produce a rich sheen and a consistent colour.
Design is kept minimal to focus on the beauty of the material itself. You’ll find a range of teak lounge chairs, dining tables and coffee tables at their online store, and all their pieces can be used both indoors and outdoors, which lends it plenty of versatility.
(Viewings by appointment)
1 Upper Aljunied Link
Joo Seng Warehouse #05-01
9234 4966 | Thefurnituremakers.co
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