Notes from SPOGA: Why Western Red Cedar Is a Gift We Shouldn't Take for Granted

I just got back from SPOGA, the world's largest outdoor living furniture show, in Cologne, Germany, and I'm still processing everything I saw. Aisle after aisle of the newest ideas in outdoor living from every corner of the world, all in one place. It's the kind of show that makes you rethink your own backyard, and it also made me appreciate something I think we take for granted here in Canada and the Pacific Northwest: easy access to Western Red Cedar.

Walking the floor, one thing became obvious fast. Almost everything wood in Europe is pine. Booth after booth, table after table, chair after chair, it was pine. That's not a knock on European manufacturers, it's simply what they have access to. Pine grows there, so pine is what gets built. But it means the outdoor furniture market in Europe is missing something we get to build our entire business around: a wood species that's naturally suited to living outside.

Western Red Cedar has tight grain and natural oils that resist rot, decay, and insects without chemical treatments. It's lighter than most furniture-grade woods, so pieces are easier to move and rearrange. And it ages beautifully, whether you finish it or let it weather naturally into that soft silver-grey patina people love. Pine can be treated to hold up outdoors, but it needs more help to get there and doesn't have the same built-in resilience. 

Here's the part that really stuck with me: no one in Europe has real access to Western Red Cedar outdoor furniture. There's demand for it, people there know what cedar is and want it, but the supply just isn't there. We're fortunate to have this resource growing in our backyard, literally, and I don't think we say that enough. Access to Western Red Cedar isn't something every furniture maker in the world gets to have. We do, and it's worth being proud of.

Another trend I couldn't miss: outdoor furniture across Europe and Asia has become a true extension of the home. Pieces that would have been considered strictly indoor furniture five years ago are now showing up on patios and in backyards. Upholstered sectionals, indoor-style cabinetry, formal dining sets, all built to live outside now. The line between inside and outside is disappearing, and it's a trend I expect to keep growing here too.

At the same time, a lot of what I saw looked the same. Minimal, bold, monochrome designs dominated the show. There were pockets of genuinely interesting product variation, but the overall impression was a lot of furniture chasing the same aesthetic. It reinforced something I already believe about what makes All Things Cedar different. We're not trying to make a design statement that looks good for one season. We build functional outdoor living products, made from wood that can actually stand up to years outside, with a timeless design that doesn't feel dated in five years. That combination, built to last and built to be used, is harder to find than it should be.

One easy way to keep a timeless piece feeling fresh is cushions. New colors and patterns can completely change the character of a bench or chair without touching the wood itself. We're actively looking at adding new cushion options that we think our customers will really enjoy, and SPOGA gave us some good inspiration on where color and pattern are heading.

Sustainability was everywhere at this show, and rightly so. It's clearly a priority for the industry and for the customers buying into it. Our wood is FSC certified, and cedar itself is naturally suited to sustainable use. It's durable, it's renewable, and it doesn't require the chemical treatments that a lot of other outdoor wood needs to survive the elements. For customers who care about quality and where their products come from, cedar is an easy answer.

That brings me to the plastic and composite furniture I saw throughout the show. There are real benefits to these materials, low maintenance being the big one, but I think there's a misconception that they're the more environmentally friendly choice. In a lot of cases, the opposite is true. With plastic and composite, you often don't really know what's in the material or how it was manufactured. With solid Western Red Cedar, you know exactly what you're getting: a natural, renewable resource that's been part of the outdoors far longer than any composite blend.

DIY was another theme building real momentum, especially in Europe. Customers want something that feels uniquely theirs, but they don't necessarily want to manage every step of building it from scratch. That's a space All Things Cedar has been in for a long time. We were one of the original DIY cedar product companies, and we still offer one of the largest DIY selections out there. Seeing that demand growing internationally tells me we're positioned well for where the market is heading.

One more difference worth noting: space. A big, bulky sectional that works in a spacious North American backyard often just doesn't fit in a smaller European patio or balcony. Space constraints there are real, and they shape what people can actually buy and use. We're looking at expanding our planters and smaller garden items designed specifically for patios and tight spaces, because we believe cedar outdoor living shouldn't be limited to people with large yards.

That's really the thread running through everything I took away from SPOGA. No matter what size of space someone has, making quality cedar outdoor products accessible to everyone is why All Things Cedar exists. We came home with a lot of ideas, a renewed appreciation for the resource we get to work with, and a clearer sense of where we want to take the product line next.

Explore our handcrafted cedar furniture and outdoor designs at All Things Ceda