Custom Millwork and Cabinetry in Malibu

Malibu

Element Decor is a family-owned millwork shop in Chatsworth, working since 2014. We make custom wall panels, room dividers, media walls, built-ins and wood ceilings for Malibu homes, including houses being rebuilt after the January 2025 fire, built in our own shop and installed by our own crew. Built-in cabinetry for Malibu homes, whether a media wall, a closet or a bookcase, is made in the same veneer as the panels beside it.

Two finished projects on this stretch of coast: tinted oak panels with a matching partition, and walnut panels with brass inlay drawn across the full wall. Next door in Topanga, walnut panels with a matching room divider followed in 2024.

Updated October 2026 · Chatsworth, Los Angeles

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Projects here: Tinted oak panels and partition, 2021. Walnut with brass inlay, 2024
What we build: Wall panels, room dividers, slat walls, built-ins and furniture
Veneers: Walnut, white oak, blackened oak, Fineline, Shinoki, or a veneer you supply
Max panel: 12 ft in one seamless piece
Finish: Hardwax oil or lacquer, custom tints matched to a sample
Where: Point Dume, Malibu Colony, Carbon Beach, Broad Beach, Serra Retreat, Big Rock and Las Flores Canyon, plus Topanga next door
Lead time: 4 to 6 weeks of production after shop drawings are approved
Trade: Trade pricing for designers, architects and builders once an account is approved
Shop: 20371 Prairie St, Chatsworth, CA 91311
Install: Our own crew
Before you commit: Shop drawings and a 3D preview of the room

Colour is the unforgiving part

The first Malibu project was tinted oak, panels and a matching partition. A tint keeps the grain visible while moving the tone of the room, the middle ground between raw wood and paint, and it is far less forgiving than a dark stain. The colour sits thin, so any unevenness in the veneer or in the sanding shows through instead of being covered.

The veneer was selected for even grain before anything was cut, and every panel in the run came from one batch, so the tone stays level from the wall to the partition standing beside it. That is not a finishing decision made at the end, it is a purchasing decision made weeks earlier.

The second project was walnut with brass. The inlay sits in a machined groove flush with the veneer, and the pattern was resolved across the whole wall before a single panel was cut, because a line that crosses four panels has to meet exactly at every joint.

Projects in and around Malibu

Oak Toned Wall Panels and Partition· Malibu, CA

Walnut Wall Panels with Brass Detailing· Malibu, CA

Walnut Wall Panels and Room Divider· Topanga, CA

See all completed projects

Built in Malibu

Tinted oak panels and partitionWall panels with a matching divider, tinted rather than left natural, single batch veneer across the whole run. Completed April 2021.

Walnut panels with brass inlayBrass machined flush into the face, pattern set out across the full wall before cutting, matte finish. Completed August 2024.

Wall panelsVeneer, painted and CNC carved, up to 12 ft in one piece with no horizontal joint.

Room dividersFixed, sliding and freestanding, finished on both faces.

Built-ins and cabinetryBuilt-in cabinetry for Malibu homes and rebuilds. Media walls with hidden wiring and a ventilated bay for the equipment, walk-in closets, bookcases, library walls and one off pieces, drawn and built in Chatsworth.

Slat walls and ceilingsProfile and spacing set per project, acoustic backing where the room needs it.

How a project here runs

Send the roomA photo and rough dimensions are enough to start. Plans or an architect elevation if you have them.
Drawings and a 3D previewPanel widths, joint positions and the finish direction, shown before anything is cut.
Sample in the roomTint and sheen are approved in the light of the actual room, not under shop lights.
Template after drywallReal measurements from the finished wall, so panels land without filler.
Fabrication and dry fitCut, veneered, finished and dry fitted in Chatsworth before the truck is loaded.
InstallationOur crew fits and scribes it. One delivery, one crew, one number to call afterwards.

Questions

Do you install in Malibu?

Yes. Malibu is inside the area our own crew covers, the same people who dry fit the work in the shop. We completed projects here in 2021 and 2024.

Can you match a tint to something already in the room?

Yes. Tints are mixed to a sample you send, or to a sample we make and post for approval. On the tinted oak project the veneer was also selected for even uptake before cutting, which matters more than the tint itself.

How do you keep tone consistent across a large job?

Veneer is bought from one batch for the whole run. Batches vary, and when panels in different rooms come from different runs you see it in daylight.

What about brass or metal detailing?

Brass sits in a machined groove flush with the face rather than applied on top, so the wall stays one surface. The pattern is set out across the full wall before any panel is cut.

Who actually does the work?

One shop. We draw it, build it in Chatsworth and install it with our own crew.

Do you build millwork for Malibu rebuilds?

Yes. For houses being rebuilt after the fire we work from the architect's drawings, set out fixings and power for media walls on the shop drawings before framing closes, template after drywall and install room by room. Our Pacific Palisades page describes how a rebuild runs.

What does custom millwork cost in Malibu?

Every job is quoted from its own drawings or photos. As a guide, simple paneled walls run $4,000 to $10,000, more complex walls $15,000 to $20,000, and room dividers $4,000 to $8,000. Options such as lighting are priced separately.

How long does a project take?

Production takes 4 to 6 weeks after the shop drawings are approved. We template the wall after drywall, then build, finish and dry fit the work in Chatsworth before our crew installs it.

Do you work with designers, architects and builders?

Yes. Designers, architects, general contractors and developers can open a trade account for standing trade pricing, and samples go to your studio or straight to the client before anything is signed off.

Do you build built-in cabinetry in Malibu?

Yes. We build built-in cabinetry for Malibu homes, drawn for each room and made in our Chatsworth shop. In Malibu we fitted tinted oak panels in 2021 and walnut panels with brass inlay in 2024. Built-ins next to those panels are cut from the same veneer batch, so the tone stays even across the room.

What do built-ins cost in Malibu?

We price each piece from its drawings. A media wall runs $4,000 to $10,000 and a complex media wall $15,000 to $20,000. A walk-in closet is $2,500 to $8,000, and bookshelves and library walls $500 to $1,200 per linear foot installed. Hidden TV wiring, a ventilated bay for the equipment and in-cabinet outlets must be planned before we build.

Send a photo of the wall and rough dimensions. You get back shop drawings, a price and a 3D preview of the room before anything is cut.

Get a quote for your Malibu project

Send the room, rough dimensions and timing. You get back a layout, materials and a real price. Nothing is cut until you approve the drawings.

Drawings and a 3D preview of your own room before anything is made
Built in our own Chatsworth shop and installed by our own crew
Licensed and insured in California

Prefer to talk? 323-431-3818