Carved Teak Bench with Hand-Painted Tiles

Teak has always been the wood we Indians trusted with anything that had to survive heat, damp and a houseful of people, and the Nilambur plantation in Kerala, planted back in the 1840s, is still counted as the oldest teak plantation in the world, which tells you how long that trust has been going on. You will have seen a bench like this before, in an older relative's home most likely, sitting in the verandah of a bungalow or a haveli where the family took the evening air and guests waited before being called inside. It is one of those pieces everyone's family seems to have owned at some point. We make ours in solid teak at FOISHome by hand, for the same kind of spot, whether that is your verandah, an entrance hall, or the long wall of a drawing room.

The back comprises 3 pierced panels, each with a round flower pattern cut through it, the wall showing through behind, and separated by 2 painted tiles of blue with a rust and cream flower design. One more tile sits in the side of each arm, which makes 4 tiles on the bench altogether. The back has a wavy carved rail, and the arms curve outwards on scrolled carved supports. The seat is plain polished teak, but you can throw a gaddi or a long cushion on it if anyone in the house prefers a softer sit. The apron under the seat has small open windows cut in it, and the legs have been turned round and fat near the top and taper off toward the floor.

The Flower Naqqashi On The Tiles

The old name for this kind of painted and carved decorative work is naqqashi, and it came to our buildings with the Mughals and the Persian craftsmen who worked for them, when flowers like these were scattered over whole walls and ceilings. On this bench we have brought it down to 4 small tiles, with the carved panels beside them repeating the same round flower in wood.

What rug goes in front of it?

The one that pulls its colour up from the tiles. An indigo or blue dhurrie does well in a cool room, a rust or terracotta one on a light floor, and a dark brown rug is the wrong call, because the teak sinks into it and the carving is lost.

It sits best in a house where people like old things around them, where the grandparents' photos are still up on the wall and there are always guests, though it will work in a small flat too, if you want one heavy, old-fashioned piece to hold the whole room together.