Farmed Teak Oil Finished Spa Mat (Thailand)

Folks, I don't know where the comment about "cracks" and "splinters" comes from; permit me -- a tough sell on the quality of _cantaloupes_ let alone upscale bath accessories -- tell you how pleasantly surprised I was to open my teak bath mat and discover a product in which conspicuous attention to the aesthetics of the wood was apparent. Firstly, you can dismiss the comments about splinters: This product is not only sanded down to the "slightly furry" texture you would expect any hardwood that has been oiled properly to have, I cannot for the life of me see how you would be able to crack one of these planks. My DH weighs almost 300 LBS. people: If he can stand for minutes on end without cracking it, IT WON'T CRACK. End of discussion! lol As for the slightly "furry" surface of the wood . . . Honestly, do I have to explain this to people tsk? The finish is produced that way deliberately SO YOU DON'T SLIP. You're not buying this to display a vase on, you're buying it to safely enter & exit your tub, allowing the water to drain underneath and collect on whatever (hopefully rubber-backed if this is for your indoor bathroom, as mine is) rug you have beneath the mat. The "furry" properties of the teak are extremely soft when dry, and become SOFTER when wet because the wood expands. And let's talk about the wood. I appreciate that men might consider the presence of a knothole to be a structural deficiency; but this isn't a joist, it's a bathroom accessory. When I opened our box I _HOPED_ there would be at least one knot to give the mat "character." Not only were there two knots, the grain was carefully selected to "differentiate" any naturally-occurring pattern it might otherwise have made. The result is the arresting "contrast" of colors/patterns that you see in the picture displayed. Do you want the mat to look like someone painted it? OF COURSE YOU DON'T! We were additionally impressed by the care that went into the tooling of this product: The edges of the slats have been rounded so that well-endowed among us won't have sharp wood angles digging into the tender flesh of their feet when they stand on the mat and towel down. Turn the mat over, and you'll discover that the screw holes which hold the unit together have been lovingly PLUGGED AND SANDED with teak plugs!! Tell me the last time you saw THAT in a piece of furniture, eh? The DH was just blown away by this one feature. We procured this teak bath mat because we're installing a 42 X 72" whirlpool bathtub with a somewhat daunting depth; so in addition to being just an exquisite (and practical) bathroom accessory, the mat provides a nice 2" LIFT to help me climb into the tub. The spacing between the slats . . . the oiled & sanded nature of the wood . . . the 4 planks which support the mat . . . the furry "grip" properties of the wood . . . All of this combines to add both safety and beauty to your bathroom. It isn't so big that it can't fit in most bathrooms; it isn't so tiny that it looks feeble. It's PERFECT and I can't recommend it highly enough. I am so glad we didn't get the cheap bamboo one O sells as well. This was worth every penny, and more. :)

• Did the color match the color displayed onsite? More importantly, the PATTERN (grain of the wood) is just EXQUISITE, and (surprisingly) follows what you see on the screen
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. Weighing in at just under 12 LBS. it is SOLID, HEAVY and 4X-REINFORCED with sanded AND **PLUGGED** dowel holes
• How accurate was the sizing? Dead accurate

I shop on Overstock A LOT. This is the worst thing I've bought thus far. It's very rough, nothing like the smooth, high-end look of the photo -- actually splintered to the point of giving a splinter if one were to step on it. I'm keeping it to avoid the hassle of returning a heavy item. (It does contain a significant amount of wood.) I plan to do some heavy-duty sanding and oiling to make it usable. My bathroom (still being remodeled) is meant to look like it is outside (rough rock on the walls, wood-look tile on the floors) which is why I think this might still work. If you have a "normal" bathroom, I would not recommend this piece. It is not spa-like at all.

I was really disappointed with the quality of this product. The wood was knotted with holes in it, not finish quality at all. I was even more disappointed to go to return it only to find out I would be charged $xx to do so. I'm not pleased.

It came on time-perfectly packaged and it is great quality you can feel and see-but if you're thinking that it will replace a bath mat-it won't but it will look HOT in your bathroom!