History of the Adirondack chair

With the launch of our new 2011 range of teak garden furniture comes the Adirondack chair, so we thought it would be interesting for you to know that this is not only a great outdoor garden chair but comes with some history. Here we will give you a brief insight to the origins of the Adirondack chair.

An Adirondack chair is a type of chair favoured in rural, outdoor settings. The precursor to today's Adirondack chair was designed by Thomas Lee in 1903. He was on vacation in Westport, New York, in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, and needed outdoor chairs for his summer home. He tested the first designs on his family. The original Adirondack chair was made with eleven pieces of wood, cut from a single board. It had a straight back and seat, which were set at a slant to sit better on the steep mountain inclines of the area. It also featured wide armrests, which became a hallmark of the Adirondack chair.

After arriving at a final design for the "Westport plank chair," Lee offered it to Harry Bunnell, a carpenter friend in Westport, who was in need of a winter income. Bunnell quickly realized the chair was the perfect item to sell to Westport's summer residents, and apparently without asking Lee's permission, Bunnell filed for and received patent 794,777 in 1905. Bunnell manufactured his plank chairs for the next twenty years. His "Westport chairs" were all signed and made of hemlock in green or medium dark brown. The modern name refers to the Adirondack Mountains, which Westport is near.

An early Adirondack chair "Westport plank chair"

Time has moved on since the first chair and in our new 2011 we launch our own concept of the historical chair. Our Adirondack chair is made from solid premium grade plantation teak perfect for outdoor chairs. With our knowledge of high quality garden furniture, together with our team of skilled craftsman we have created a new take on the original design, keeping with traditional key features but with modern take for comfort and support. This makes it one of our most comfortable chairs we offer. Have a little piece of furniture history in your garden with our delightful and quality made Adirondack chair complete with ottoman leg rest.

Our 2011 Adirondack chair

To buy this chair or to view our full range please visit http://www.chelseagardenfurniture.com/



The Home Show - The Old Peoples Home Show Episode.

In early 2009 we was asked by channel four to take part in a special episode of the home show with George Clark. The episode was named "The Old People's Home Show" because it was for a charity run residential home in Surrey called Abbeyfield residential home. We were asked to donate furniture for the show because th budget the charity had was extreamly low and they was in much need of new garden furniture. We decided to give them all they needed for the garden from teak garden benches to teak garden dining sets and much more. The show was aired in November 2009 on channel 4 and we were delighted the residents of Abbeyfield residential home were pleased with there new garden furniture for them to enjoy. Here are a few of the pictures of the furniture we donated and for those that missed the show and would like to see it you can see it by clicking here The Old Peoples Home Show.

Sissinghurst Lutyens Bench and Six Seat Garden Dining Set

Kew Planters and Sissinghurst Lutyens Bench

Sissinghurst Lutyens Bench

What is teak ?

Teak is a close grain tropical hard wood that is high in natural oleoresin perfect for outdoor furniture. All of our teak comes from Indonesian Government controlled plantations, a program of continous replanting is maintained, ensuring the forrests are sustainable and protected.

Chelsea Garden Furniture use the finest available premium grade plantation grown teak which is hand finished by craftsmen. Their skills and practical understanding of this material are reflected in the overall design and quality of the finished product. Manufactured to stringent quality control guidelines, our teak furniture are constructed using traditional dowelled mortice and tenon joinery with solid brass or stainless steel fittings and fixings. Naturally rich in oleoresin, teak is highly resistant to warping and rotting and will last for many years without any special treatment.

Our teak furniture has been kiln dried then finely sanded to give it a very smooth finish. Over time if left to weather naturaly teak will soften to a silver grey, our teak oil can be applied though not nessasary it will preserve the golden look but will need to be applied yearly. Our teak furniture can be left outside all year round with no need to store in the winter months.

What type of material is the best for outdoor furniture ?

Our Fulham Bench 1.3m

What type of material is the best for outdoor furniture ? This is a question we get asked everyday, there is no right or wrong answer to this question as every one has a different opinion. Some say you can't get better than teak garden furniture others say that all weather rattan is the best. We say it is all down to personal choice that is why we offer a complete range of all different types of furniture made with a wide variety of the best materials available for outdoor furniture. When choosing your furniture you have to think about a few key points, were will the furniture be located ?, do you want low maintenance ? no maintenance ? ect.. What ever type of furniture you are looking for we will be more than happy to help so please visit our website and take a look at some of the finest furniture around, our website is packed with information regarding all our products.

www.chelseagardenfurniture.com/

New website

Chelsea Garden Furniture are please to announce that we are going through some much needed updates. One of them being a brand new website, it will be going live in a few days but for now you can visit our old one here www.chelseagardenfurniture.com