rope outdoor furniture
woven to drain

Rope outdoor furniture dries minutes after rain, where a solid seat stays wet for the afternoon. This guide covers the weaves Tribù uses and how to keep them clean, on CTR and Suro.

Rope outdoor furniture takes care of the wet-seat problem. Rain falls through a weave, so you sit back down soon after a storm. Tribù, a Belgian house that has made outdoor furniture since 1966, puts rope and cord into most of its catalog, worked by hand over the frame. It is slow work, and buyers recognize most Tribù furniture by it.

Know the weaves

Tribù uses several kinds of cord, and each one does a different job:

• Rope, worked around a hoop or wound over a frame, as on CTR and Suro
• Tricord, a flat yarn woven across a teak frame on Mood
• Canax, a weather-resistant cord, twisted and interlaced on Nodi and handwoven on Nagomi
• Flat cord, open across the back and tight under the seat on Branch
• Wide flat braid, crossed in broad bands over the shell on Tosca

In these weaves the color sits inside the fiber and not on its surface. Rope takes more sun than it looks like it should for that reason.

CTR: a back that floats

Piergiorgio Cazzaniga curved an open rope weave around the back of CTR and left daylight between it and the seat. From a few feet away the back looks unattached, and that gap is the whole idea of the chair. The legs are thin powder-coated metal, splayed a little at the floor. A row of CTR armchairs down a long table leaves the view through the terrace open. See the CTR collection.

CTR comes as three chairs at three heights. The armchair sits at dining height, the bar chair takes a raised outdoor counter, and the lounge chair drops lower with a deeper seat for the end of the evening. Each one carries a loose cushion, and the covers come off to wash.

Suro: rope wound in courses

Christophe Delcourt sets two things against each other in Suro. The frame under the seat is solid, in wood or aluminum, and rope winds around it in tight horizontal courses until the outside of the chair becomes a texture. Narrow gaps between the coils let rain fall through. Four pieces cover dining and lounging: an armchair, a lounge chair, a banquette and a dining table. See the Suro collection.

Suro keeps its cushions few: a seat pad and a back cushion. The frame stays readable from each side, and you have less to carry indoors once a storm rolls in at four in the afternoon.

Pick the frame under the rope

The frame decides the rest of the care. CTR stands on powder-coated metal, and the coat is its weather layer, so rinse salt off it where spray reaches. Suro in teak goes grey over a first season unless you oil it twice a year, and neither path shortens the life of the wood. Suro in aluminum holds its finish with no attention at all.

Clean rope with a brush

Rope care fits on one line: soft brush, soapy water, fresh-water rinse. On Suro, a wash twice a season keeps the rope the color it arrived in. Near the ocean, rinse the weave and the frame where salt collects. Lift CTR cushions after heavy rain so the undersides dry. The covers come off, so a stain goes in the wash and the rope stays outside.

Keep the pressure washer in the garage. On CTR it opens the weave up. On Suro it pushes water deep into the winding faster than the winding can let it out.

Use the form below to describe the spot for the chairs and your distance from the sea. We reply with CTR or Suro pieces, free rope and fabric samples, and a price for each. Tribù builds to order, and the quote gives the lead time.