The sustainable future of outdoor furniture

At Beltempo, we can date our origins back to 1870. That’s almost 150 years of designing beautiful furniture – and we plan to be around for 150 more!

Like many other businesses, the furniture industry has to become sustainable in order to survive. We have to find the right balance between protecting our environment and following design trends. Here’s how outdoor furniture companies are designing for a long future.

Natural materials

Designers and carpenters are re-learning the value of natural materials. Instead of plastic and artificial materials, we’re turning back to natural woods, leather, bamboo and recycled materials. Outdoor furniture made from natural wood lasts better than some artificial materials. It also ages and weathers over time, creating a finish and color which is totally unique depending on the environment.

Built to last

One easy way to make furniture sustainable is to create pieces which actually last. It’s better to invest in an heirloom object, than to buy a cheap piece of furniture which gets thrown out after a couple of years. At Beltempo, we use sustainable teak wood, one of the hardest natural woods available. That means it will never crack, warp, or split.

Timeless design

Furniture designers have started to think about the long term. Instead of designing for this season’s fashion, we try create outdoor furniture that will still look beautiful and elegant in a hundred years’ time. Our designer, Marco Sangiorgi, describes this process as “projecting the objects in a timeless space”.