Teak carries its own oil. That is why it holds up where other hardwoods dry out and open at the seams. Every board we use is heartwood from a Javanese plantation, kiln conditioned to 8 to 10 percent for an American interior.

Teak darkens as it settles. A new piece reads golden and open. After a year indoors it pulls toward amber, and the mineral streaks that run through the grain become easier to see, not harder. We do not use sapwood, the pale outer ring, because it moves differently and it shows. Boards are matched by hand before glue up, so the grain runs in one direction across the whole surface.