The magic of Poly Lumber: sustainable, comfortable outdoor furniture designed to last a lifetime

Rod and Corina Snow, founders and owners of Silkwood Living, first discovered Poly Lumber at a trade show in Dallas, Texas. It was 2017, and they were on one of their annual trips to the States that often included attending wholesale trade fairs. 

“I was at a Breezesta stand and they had these Poly Lumber Bar Chairs with a Tete a Tete table between them. I sat on one and was surprised by how comfortable they were — a lot more comfortable than they looked. I spoke to the rep there and he told me about the Poly Lumber product; it doesn’t fade, you don’t have to paint or stain it, just clean it once in a while and it will maintain its good looks. Plus, all the hardware is marine grade stainless steel”

Thinking it was too good to be true, Rod asked how it would fare under New Zealand’s harsh UV levels. The answer: there would be no issues with UV at all — not even with the brightest colourways.

What is Poly Lumber?

Made from recycled HDPE milk bottles, Poly Lumber is a hardy, naturally UV-resistant sustainable material. Despite its fantastic credentials and popularity in the US, it has yet to take New Zealand by storm. In fact, Silkwood Living is the only local supplier of Poly Lumber furniture. 

Made from HDPE plastic, Poly Lumber furniture is surprisingly heavy. “One of our leading sellers is an Upright Adirondack Chair made from roughly 4,500 1L milk bottles. It weighs 28 kilos. It’s such a dense material, hence its durability.”

The density also allows for colour intensity; with UV stabilisers, there is no fading or degradation across the entire 20-colour range, even after years of sun exposure.

“We have a large landscaped area at the back of the shop that gets a lot of sun, and there is a particular chair and little table that I like to show people. The chair is from the first shipment in 2017, and the table is about a year old in the same colourway. They have been out there baking in the sun — the chair for eight years and the table for one — yet there’s no difference in the colour at all,” Rod says proudly.

Keeping the furniture well-maintained is simple, too. All it needs is a good wash — Rod even suggests water blasting — and that’s it. 

“The squabs are all made from Sunbrella fabric, which is water resistant and comes with a five year fade warranty — you can waterblast these too!”

Furniture that makes you say, ‘Wow!’

Working with three American suppliers, Breezesta, Berlin Gardens, and Artifex Designs, Silkwood Living import an impressive range of Poly Lumber furniture to their Paengaroa store. 

“One of the coolest things about working in the store is hearing someone say, ‘Wow!’ as they walk into our shop,” Rod says. “Not only is our vast home decor shop unique, but when they walk outside the colourful outdoor furniture makes an impact. With over 500 different colour combinations to choose from as well as dining, counter and bar heights, our customers' choice is endless.”

Common conversations with customers include remarks on how comfortable the furniture is, and how they’re ready to invest in a piece designed to last.

“People will tell me that they’ve repeatedly spent a lot of money buying cheaper furniture only to find it breaking or degrading after a few years. We’ve had people buy some of our modular pieces, like Breezesta’s Modular Palm Beach Collection, and come back later to buy additional pieces because they realised they have more space than they initially thought. The beauty of this product is that you can add more furniture pieces years down the line and you can’t tell the difference between the original and the new, it all looks the same. 

“100% of our customers are satisfied with their purchase. It’s awesome selling furniture knowing that people will love it. Plus, our warranties span 20 to 25 years on average, so customers can rest assured their purchase is protected if anything happens.”

Learn more about Silkwood Living.