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OUTDOOR BENCHES MADE OF SWISS WOOD – ELEGANT, COMFORTABLE AND SUSTAINABLE OUTDOOR SETTEES

Garden furniture such as a bench from wood adds the finishing touch to a wide variety of settings – from furniture in the garden and parks to museums and restaurants to retirement homes and hospitals. Wood has become a hugely popular material for public furniture, including public benches and stool benches in parks and squares or at bus stops. Thanks to the natural flexibility of wood, a bench made of curved wood can be designed to blend in harmoniously with a building’s architecture or the surrounding landscape like a curved garden. In other words, a curved bench is always a good fit!

Our designer benches References

WINKLER WOODEN FURNITURE
– A CURVED BENCH FOR ANY ENVIRONMENT

A curved wooden bench with a table and two chairs

If you are looking for wooden benches for outdoor, weatherproof garden furniture, outdoor chairs or a park bench, you have come to the right place. Our flexible HARMONICA, a solid wooden bench made of oak, blends in harmoniously with its surroundings, whether as street furniture or as a curved garden bench.

Our ARBOSEDA tree bench, the GISCHBERG curved bench, the LEUGGERN round bench and the winding MILLISEDE timber benches are also suitable as outdoor seating options. With LOLA, we complement a comfortable wooden bench with a matching designer table – a truly stunning combination of steam-bent wooden table and benches by designer Shaun Hürlimann.

Contact us to discuss your own ideas >

CUSTOM-MADE BENCHES ADAPTED
TO YOUR EXACT NEEDS AND
PREFERENCES

We can produce your bench from oak, durable larch or ash, providing you with the ideal solid wood outdoor furniture. All our exterior benches follow the principle of constructive wood protection, are weather-resistant and durable, and require neither maintenance nor oil. Your weatherproof curved bench can be provided with or without a backrest. On request, we can also produce stainless steel legs and brackets in a colour of your choice. And our curved benches look equally at home indoors, such as in oiled oak.

Your curved wooden bench can be custom-made to your exact ideas, needs and preferences. There are almost no limits when it comes to the shape, length, wood surface and radii of your curved bench. The HARMONICA is also available with matching, equally curved shell wooden chairs, which are supremely comfortable, as they provide optimum support for the back.

For a personalised quote, contact us by email >

Curved wooden bench with backrest at a public bus stop

The different types of wood used for our curved benches and their properties

Curved wooden bench with backrest at a public bus stop

For reasons of sustainability, we at Holzbiegewerk rely primarily on native woods. For benches made of curved wood, several types of wood can also be considered for outdoor use, such as in parks:

  • Oak is highly durable and bendable
  • Larch/Douglas fir is also very durable, easy to bend and requires no surface treatment
  • Ash is particularly suitable for small radii. Ash is well known as the classic wood used to make the Davos sledge. With the right construction, surface and maintenance, it offers durability and stability for outdoor curved benches.
  • Acacia/robinia, on the other hand, is extremely durable even without treatment. The challenge lies in sourcing this wood in a quality that is suitable for bending.
  • Chestnut is also very durable. For this type too, procuring wood in suitable bending quality is often the biggest challenge. As it tends to have more knots, the raw material must be carefully selected.

The bending properties
of wood for beautifully designed
curved benches

The maximum possible cross-section of the slats varies depending on how flexible the chosen wood is. It comes down to the type of wood and the selected radius. Thicknesses of up to 80 mm are possible. In series production, average widths of 40 to 68 mm (in the curved dimension) have become established, as we profile each slat to the finished size after bending and drying the wood. Larger dimensions are also possible, of course, in which case we build them up in several parts.

In series production, we can bend lengths of up to 3.8 metres, which results in a finished length of approximately 3.5 metres. For bespoke curved benches, special lengths of up to around 4.5 metres are even possible.

360-degree wooden bench for mounting around a tree

Do wooden benches require surface treatment?

Curved wooden bench made of native woods such as oak, larch and Douglas fir

Many native wood species, including oak, larch and Douglas fir, develop a naturally silver patina that protects the wood over time. Properly constructed, these durable woods can stay stable for years with no additional protective treatment.

If you want to protect your designer bench against premature weathering and greying, we recommend applying a good outdoor oil. A permeable oil allows the wood to continue to breathe and emphasises the natural structure. We do not recommend varnishes that seal the wood. If you use a darker oil with colour pigments, you also benefit from UV protection. The oil should be applied in spring and autumn for the first two years. After that, once a year is sufficient. We have many years of experience working with various oil manufacturers and products and can handle the initial application, as well as the maintenance and servicing. We’ll be happy to provide a selection of samples to help you choose.

The curved bench –
the best bench design
for efficient production

When making a curved bench, certain details should be taken into account as early as the design stage. Our expert tip: the fewer slats you use – and the wider they are – the more cost-effective the production will be. What’s more, slats that lie flat can also be produced much more efficiently than sloping slats. This means that a curved seat surface is more complex to manufacture than a flat seat surface. We recommend constructing a curved bench from 1/3 circle segments instead of the standard 1/4 circles. This reduces the number of unnecessary parts. Plus, longer slats can be attached more securely.

Our curved bench experts Tim Kopetzki and Fredi Unterweger will be happy to provide you with more tips and tricks on request. Our comprehensive advice and support covers everything from the choice of wood to the metal brackets and on-site installation, with everything available from a single source. We look forward to developing your very own curved bench with you! Contact us without obligation.

A long, curved wooden bench in a public space

Roman Winkler

Owner & Managing Director

CONTACT US FOR your
PERSONAL OUTDOOR SETTEES.

Would you ever have thought that solid wood could be so flexible and supple? Do you already have a curved bench project in mind that we could bring to life together? Everything from the WINKLER wood-bending workshop is 100% natural – as well as these sustainable benches. We only use native wood species from the region – mostly sourced from the Aargau forest. What’s more, all of our products are hand-made in Switzerland, which means we are flexible and can adapt to your requirements.

Get in touch now >

References

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