Customers ask us to settle this one weekly, so here is the workshop answer: teak and mahogany are both excellent — they just have different jobs.
Choose teak when weather is involved
Teak's natural oils make it the only timber we warranty outdoors. Rain, sun, poolside humidity — it shrugs them off, weathering to silver-grey or keeping its honey gold with a yearly oiling. It's the wood of our Labadi lounge set and Anomabo bench. Indoors it brings a lighter, Scandinavian-leaning tone.
Choose mahogany for interiors with presence
Mahogany is the furniture-maker's wood: exceptionally stable across Ghana's wet and dry seasons, a dream to carve, and rich reddish-brown depth that teak can't match. Wide surfaces stay flat — which is why our Aburi dining table, Mole king bed and Kumasi wardrobe are mahogany builds.
Cost and care
Prices are close, with teak usually slightly dearer per board in wide sizes. Care is simple for both: coasters, no direct AC blast, an occasional oil or wax. Mahogany prefers to stay indoors; teak doesn't care.
The quick answer
Veranda, garden, poolside, bathrooms: teak. Dining rooms, bedrooms, carved detail, deep colour: mahogany. And when the piece must be termite-proof and generational either indoors or out — that's when we reach for odum, the third member of the family.
Undecided? Visit the Spintex showroom and put your hands on all three.
Shop the craft
See these woods and techniques in our handcrafted collections: living room furniture, dining room furniture, bedroom furniture, office & study furniture, outdoor furniture — all made to order in our Spintex Road workshop, or commission a custom piece.
