Since 1976, we’ve been designing outdoor furniture that reflects Aotearoa’s beauty and endures her elements.
After 48 trips around the sun, DEVON® furniture lives on, surviving whatever Mother Nature throws at it.
In the vast ocean at the bottom of the world, lies the Land of the Long White Cloud, Aotearoa New Zealand. A natural wonderland where snowcapped mountains rise from misty fiords, native forests give way to golden beaches and Mother Nature gifts us four seasons in one day.
Some call it paradise; we call it home.
DEVON® was born in the Auckland summer of ’76, when two Kiwi mates, Bruce Barnes and Howard Sneddon, started crafting wooden furniture in their old tin shed. But it wasn’t just any furniture, it had to be “the best outdoor furniture money could buy”.
Today, after 48 trips around the sun DEVON® furniture lives on. Because after all these years, our passion for the outdoors, timeless design and quality construction remains the same.
It’s in our DNA.
So, what makes DEVON® furniture different to the rest?
New Zealand’s environment is as challenging as it is beautiful. As an island nation shaped by everchanging weather patterns and exposed to some of the harshest UV on earth, only the best designs will survive out here. The fact original DEVON® still survives speaks for itself. But behind that is decades of tried and trusted craftsmanship, careful sourcing of quality materials, and an innate desire to create timeless furniture for you to embrace the outdoors, season after season.
DEVON® is designed to reflect Aotearoa’s beauty and endure her elements, since 1976.
Timeless Design and Craftsmanship
We believe the value of a DEVON® table doesn’t rest on the table top. As with most things, it’s what’s going on underneath that counts, and for all DEVON® furniture this includes construction that copes with the stresses of weight and movement admirably. Joints are designed to flex with the timber movement, and extreme weather conditions won’t contort the furniture thanks to quality materials and precision design.
Teak Timber
Teak is a durable tropical hardwood timber, regarded for centuries as the ideal timber for boat building and furniture making where strength and longevity are required. Teak wood will survive for many years outdoors with little or no structural deterioration, thanks to its highly water-resistant quality – it’s even repellent to insects. Devon’s teak furniture is finished by fine sanding and/or brushing. We then buff the surface of the teak to draw out the naturally occurring teak extractive. A coat of DEVON® Timber Furniture Shield is applied to repel water, dirt and to protect.
DEVON® only uses timber from sustainably grown teak plantations in Indonesia. A sustainable forest is a forest that is carefully managed so that as trees are felled they are replaced with seedlings that eventually grow into mature trees. This is a carefully and skillfully managed system. The forest is a working environment, producing wood products such as wood pulp for the paper / card industry and wood based materials for furniture manufacture and the construction industry. Great care is taken to ensure the safety of wildlife and to preserve the natural environment.
Fabrics and Weaves
All DEVON® fabrics are woven from weather-resistant, durable acrylic fibres to create a colourfast fabric that won’t fade, crack or tear. The same fabrics are used in many marine environments, such as boat cushions, so they’re made to stay cool in the hot sun. Our woven furniture uses recyclable synthetic weave, tightly woven by hand to achieve exceptional comfort and appearance. It is UV and fade resistant, ideal for our harsh New Zealand environment.
Our People
We’re a tight-knit team, dedicated to shining a light on New Zealand design and inspiring people like you to embrace an outdoor life, in style.
