Materials

Materials

What your wall is actually made of.

Two panels can look alike in a photograph and behave nothing alike on a wall. What separates them is the core, the veneer and the finish system, and those are the three decisions we walk you through before anything is drawn. Everything below is worked in our own shop in Chatsworth, so we can tell you what a material will do rather than what a catalog claims.

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Oak and walnut veneer panels made by Element Decor

Species

Wood we work in.

White oakThe default for a reason. Even grain, takes stain predictably, and rift cut gives you a straight line with no cathedral figure.
WalnutDarker, warmer, more movement in the grain. Used where a wall is meant to be the focal point rather than the background.
Rift and quarter sawn oakCut so the grain runs straight. The right choice for tall panels where a wandering figure would read as a mistake.
AshPale and open grained. Takes a tint well when you want colour without losing the wood.
Fineline and reconstituted veneersEngineered for a repeatable pattern across a large run. When consistency matters more than natural variation.
Your own veneerSend us a leaf or a spec and we build to it. Designers do this constantly.

Recent work

Materials in built work.

Walnut panels with brass inlay stripsMicrocement triangle wall panelsSmooth wood slat wall

Questions

Materials FAQ.

Is veneer worse than solid wood?

For a wall, no. Solid boards cup and split across a wide surface as humidity changes. A veneered panel over a stable core stays flat and lets us match grain across a whole run, which solid stock cannot do.

What core do you use?

MDF or birch plywood, chosen by span, weight and where the panel is going. Moisture resistant cores where a room needs them. We tell you which one is going into your job.

Can you match a stain to my floor or cabinetry?

Yes. Send a sample or a photograph, we match it in the shop and send a sample back for approval before production starts.

Which finish should I pick?

Matte hardwax oil keeps the wood feeling like wood and can be repaired in place. Lacquer is harder and easier to wipe, but a repair means refinishing the panel. We recommend by room, not by preference.

Do you do acoustic backing?

Slat systems can be built over acoustic felt. Tell us what the room is used for and we will recommend a build rather than quote a number that means nothing on your ceiling height.

What about brass, metal and stone?

Brass and blackened metal inlays, microcement fields, stone and glass accents are all normal here. They are set into the panel in the shop, not applied on site.

Will the wood change colour over time?

Every wood shifts with light. Walnut lightens, oak ambers slightly. We can tell you what to expect from the species you pick, and it is worth planning around rather than fighting.

Not sure what to specify?

Send us the room, the light and what it needs to survive. We will come back with two or three material routes and what each one costs, and the 3D preview is free.

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