Every week I couldn't wait for the weekends to come since I always go to visit my Aunt Maggie at her country home and spend some time with her, She has the same interest as me so we always ended up chatting about usual stuffs such as our view on religion, gardening skills and experiences, the art of Feng Shui and many other topics. When she is busy attending to her garden, I would just watch her at work and admire how beautiful and tidily kept her garden was. When she feels tired she would just sit and rest at the patio, where she kept a beautiful set furniture made out of teak wood.

Her furniture collection on the patio consists of one large teak table and six teak chairs to go along with it. Besides that, she has a magazine rack arranged at the corner of the patio and one smaller table which she uses to put more delicate decorations of a beautifully colored water bowl with floating candles and small flowers inside to give it the extra vibe. Every piece of Aunt Maggie's collection seems to have special flowery designs of them and it seems to have a life of its own. The patio is where Aunt Maggie's family has their first meal of the day, their breakfast. Our teatime together is also spent there, enjoying the view of her garden, enjoying our tea and tasting the tasty pastries that her daughter made. This is what I call time well spent and Aunt Maggie definitely agrees with me.

I mentioned to her how her chosen collection of teak furniture seems to have plain simple designs, and yet they do not lack that artistic touch. She just smiled after hearing my appreciation.

Many of the teak shops around town offered outdoors collections at reasonable prices. Best time to buy is just before the festive seasons; they have major sales going on, aunt Maggie recommended. But I ordered this patio furniture directly from the internet store. Its cheaper that buying at the local shop.

"Appreciate the advice, but I don't think I will buy any teak furniture soon although I love to. Mum doesn't think much of the weird smell that comes with the teak wood so I don't think she will appreciate me buying some for the house", I told her. She just smiled and said what a pity; my mum doesn't know what she is missing. Suddenly, I think back to some of the teak fittings I saw at a shop a few days ago. There are a few great choices available now, ranging from outdoor teak sets, beach chair, small tables, delicate shoe racks and many other different type of handily crafted teak wood furniture. Suddenly, I felt pity for myself too.

" I like different types of design on my teak furniture actually," She said, adding in that she likes designs that are classical and looks ancient, modern designs and also different contemporary designs. They are my favorite because they look attractive, do the job and they last longer than other furniture," I nod my head to show I agree with her. Besides the collection of teak fittings on her patio, she also bought her garden benches online, even from the same website. The benches shows her taste, simple yet elegant designs.

"Not to mention they are easier to clean and take care of also," She added.

Teak wood settings can be used to enhance the overall presentation of a home, no matter the outdoor part or the indoor part. Careful selection and matching the correct combination of teak furnishings can really add to the livelihood of the space in the home or the garden. Aunt Maggie has a swimming pool behind her house so it is no wonder that she also purchased some teak wood chairs to compliment the overall look of her swimming pool. Beside the chairs there are also small tables for the convenience of guests or anyone using the pool. There are also umbrellas around to provide shade from the hot sunlight. The chairs really compliment the pool well since a complete swimming pool would need accompanying chairs, tables and umbrellas.

As I said, Aunt Maggie has some teak outdoor furniture placed inside her garden. These benches add to the overall beauty of the garden and make it more inviting for guests. Each piece of her fittings is special in their designs and makes her home look even better and more confortable.

Out of curiosity, I asked Aunt Maggie if she sets all her teak pieces based on the study of Feng Shui, since it is so popular nowadays. She said yes, she did incorporate some studies of Feng Shui for her home, both outdoor and indoor part. She says that Feng Shui would help create a sense of balance and calmness into the home once applied appropriately. "There is also an added bonus of increasing your luck," She added. However, she warned, never overuse the art of Feng Shui because this will create a negative effect on the overall set up of the furniture and will bring bad luck instead.

Objects, especially fixtures, once properly placed according to the rules of Feng Shui can create good will and therefore bring luck to the people living in the house, Aunt Maggie said. Seems like her decision to attend classes and read books on Feng Shui has helped her in her effort to increase her family's luck.

The popularity of teak furniture are mainly due to their style and for their long-lasting endurance. It is mostly due to personal preferences actually and what you think suits your style better. Besides that, they are also popular because they are comfortable to rest in, they perform well and they have soft, vibrant look to it.