HOMES

Munder-Skiles in Garrison, for outdoor furniture

Bill Cary
wcary@lohud.com
Natural and painted outdoor teak furniture on display at one of several terraces at Munder-Skiles, a high-end outdoor furniture showroom in Garrison, photographed Oct. 28, 2013.
  • Thomas Jefferson's garden furniture, along with lots of ultra-modern
  • Costa Rican teak, made to order
  • John Danzer, the owner, is a former banker

Now that summer has finally kicked into high gear, you may have noticed that your outdoor furniture is, well, on the tired side. That stuff from the garden center can only go so far.

If you've got the bucks for high-end, beautifully made outdoor gear, check out Munder-Skiles in Garrison. The wooden benches, chairs and tables are just gorgeous — and incredibly comfortable.

In 2012, John Danzer opened the 133-piece showroom on Route 9D in a building that has variously been a nursery, travel agency and the cramped home of the Hudson Highlands Land Trust. The 1,600-square-foot renovated space is usually staffed on weekdays, but by appointment on weekends.

To help people visualize how the furniture might look in their yards, Danzer has created a series of vignettes on patios and terraces behind the store.

Most of his clients are decorators and designers shopping and buying for a high-end clientele. "It's a lot of hedge fund people, a lot of big-league landscape architects and designers," says Danzer, a refugee from the banking industry who is now one of the foremost experts in the world of outdoor furniture design and exterior decoration.

Along with his signature sleek, elegant and ultra-modern pieces, Danzer loves to find interesting and historic furniture designs and tweak them a bit. "We make Thomas Jefferson's garden furniture," he says. "We make Edith Wharton's garden furniture."

Everything in the Munder-Skiles line is made to order and manufactured in Costa Rica. "No two things are made alike," he says, meaning that the teak chairs and tables can be slightly adjusted for the height and girth of clients.

Next up for Danzer is an expansion into outdoor wicker. He left on Wednesday for Spain to begin the development of the designs.

IF YOU GO

The Munder-Skiles showroom is at 1180 Route 9D (corner of Snake Hill Road) in Garrison. 212-717-0150, www.munder-skiles.com. It's usually staffed on weekdays, but it's best to call ahead and make an appointment.