| Many smart consumers choose wood deck furniture | | | | Whether you choose Mahogany, Cedar or even |
| for its natural beauty and durability for outdoor use. | | | | mock lumber, regular upkeep is key to keep furniture |
| The problem is, if you back deck or patio area is also | | | | and decks looking their best. Varnishes, oils and |
| made from wood, often times the color of the | | | | sealants will woods looking shiny, newer and retains |
| different woods can clash, resulting in an unpleasant | | | | better their original coloration. If left untreated or |
| mismatched look. Arm yourself with some tips | | | | unfinished, wood will naturally age to a silvery gray, |
| toward a harmonious outdoor living space. | | | | an effect known as patina. This is not harmful to |
| Wood Decks | | | | wood, and indeed some people prefer the elegant, |
| Out of the many types of wood employed for | | | | weathered look of aged wood. If you do use varnish |
| outdoor construction purposes, there are four main | | | | on either your deck or furniture, note that it will |
| species of lumber used primarily in deck flooring. | | | | darken the color of the wood significantly, so you |
| Western red cedar has a reddish brown color and | | | | may want to stain both to keep them looking similar. |
| fades over time to a silvery gray. It's one of the | | | | Same Wood, Different Look |
| softer woods, and can splinter, but has also shown | | | | Ideally, buying the same kind of lumber for your deck |
| to be quite hearty against rain, snow and sun. | | | | and wood deck furniture will take much of the |
| Redwood is another common deck lumber that | | | | guesswork out of matching. But sometimes this is |
| begins a reddish color and fades to gray over time. | | | | not always possible, or you may not know what |
| Like western red cedar, redwood is a softwood. | | | | wood is in either, especially if you inherit the furniture. |
| Though resistant to rot, prolonged moisture can turn | | | | Even if you do have the same kind of wood in both |
| the wood black. Philippine Mahogany is an exotic | | | | there can be variation. First, wood has many |
| choice, whose coloration can be yellow, white or | | | | subspecies, like cedar white cedar and western red |
| reddish in tone. It is a tight grained wood that looks | | | | cedar, which vary slightly in look. The same wood can |
| similar to teak. | | | | also have different grain patterns, while older wood |
| Warm toned Ipé comes to us from South | | | | looks different from younger wood. |
| America and is a hardwood that's resistant to rot and | | | | Color Matching |
| insects. It's also notoriously difficult to burn, but as a | | | | A smart thing to do is to buy a color wheel or wood |
| rainforest wood its use is often controversial. | | | | colored swatches and then find a shade that best |
| Manmade Materials | | | | represents your deck. Then, bring that color to the |
| Plastic polymers and wood-polymer composites have | | | | store so you can more easily match wood deck |
| shown increasing popularity in both outdoor flooring | | | | furniture before you get it home. Taking photos with |
| and wood deck furniture. These materials are | | | | a camera can be deceiving, as lighting, type of film, |
| manipulated to look and feel like actual wood and are | | | | time of day, etc. can all affect how the color of the |
| more resistant to rotting, warping and insects. | | | | wood turns out. If you still have trouble matching |
| Though also cheaper, polymers are still just an | | | | furniture or already have furniture, one thing to try is |
| imitation and in the end fall short of comparing to real | | | | incorporating a common color element, like black, |
| wood. | | | | throughout. These accents will help tie together even |
| Maintenance | | | | the most competing shades of wood. |