Aug. 19, 2024
Humans are &#;biophilic&#; creatures &#; we have an innate connection to nature &#; and wood applied internally has been gaining growing traction in design circles for its ability to improve our physiological wellbeing.
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With roots in Japanese architecture, wood wall slats combine inherent natural appeal with a sleek, modern linear design that differs from traditional panelling. Thanks to unique grain patterns and interesting textures, a slatted feature wall easily imbues any room with character, warmth and beauty.
But with an abundance of different timber species from across the world to choose from, architects and designers really are rather spoiled for choice&#;
We&#;ve asked our experts for their top recommendations of the very best woods for the job, as well as their tips for choosing one that suits your interior style.
All of our suggestions in this article are quality solid wood. Whilst these naturally command a higher price than cheaper alternatives like pine or engineered veneer slats with an MDF core, we think it&#;s worth the extra investment for a truly stunning, long-lasting and characterful finish that will never go out of style.
Another tip when buying wall slats: wider slats not only give you more natural wood to look at, but increase coverage. This lowers the m² cost and also labour time when fitting.
Looking to open up your interior? The Nordic-inspired, creamy-whites of American Hard Maple should be your go-to. Other versatile choices include European Oak&#;s timeless golden browns, the stunning reddish-browns of Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir for its &#;wild&#; character. For a darker, even exotic-looking slat wall, Thermo-Tulipwood or Walnut are both fabulous choices.
Sitting at the light-end of the spectrum, American Hard Maple delivers creamy-white hues (with a pinkish brown tinge) for a light, neutral and Scandi-inspired backdrop to your space, opening up any room.
Your maple slats can be contrasted with pops of colour &#; perhaps behind a statement painting, a colourful sofa, house plant arrangement or just the TV &#; or even with striking darker signature pieces to maintain a monochrome theme.
A fascinating species, American Hard Maple packs in a surprising amount of character. Upon closer inspection, you may even see some highly-unique, sought-after pith flecks and other types of figuring.
There&#;s a lot of debate about what precisely causes this figuring, but it certainly looks incredible. Common types include &#;curly&#;, &#;bird&#;s eye&#;, &#;tiger stripe&#; and &#;quilted&#; figuring. Be sure to check out our blog post about wood grain patterns and types of figuring for more information!
You just simply can&#;t argue with oak &#; it&#;s been a mainstay of interior and exterior design for centuries.
Its popularity endures, providing a characteristically versatile mix of light-to-medium golden browns, with variation to be expected. Whilst oak is not as pale as maple, it still opens up your space and also allows you to channel those Nordic vibes. In fact, you&#;ll be hard pressed to find a space where oak wall slats don&#;t work.
As a result, you can be pretty sure of your oak wall slats standing the test of time. Not only because they&#;re incredibly durable, but because oak is timeless. Oak is The Beatles, the plain t-shirt, the aviator sunglasses, the red lipstick, the Converse shoes &#; it&#;s never going out of style.
You&#;ll probably find Western Red Cedar most popularly applied for external purposes, including cladding and fencing. This is because of its incredible natural durability outdoors, but also because of its eye-catching natural beauty.
Well, it&#;s also a fabulous species for internal wall slats. The characteristic reddish-browns are complemented by light pinks to dark chocolate browns for an incredibly beautiful wood that&#;s easily adopted into any stylish interior space.
A down-to-earth, even rustic choice, the USP of Douglas Fir is its wild, exciting grain pattern. It produces some truly distinctive, characterful wall slats.
That&#;s not to say Fir is too &#;out there&#; &#; the light reddish-brown is incredibly versatile and works well in almost any space &#; but the knots and swirls you&#;ll see in many examples of this species just ooze natural character.
Great for a space that wants to reflect an uncomplicated, nature-connected theme &#; perhaps a barn conversion, outbuilding or area that manages a transition between the indoors with the outdoors.
Sometimes, darker-coloured walls can feel a little flat and devoid of character. Not so with Thermo-Tulipwood.
Mimicking expensive (and often unsustainably harvested) exotic species like mahogany and teak at a fraction of the cost, thermally-treated Tulipwood imparts a sense of luxury and intrigue on any space.
Native to the eastern US, heat modification deepens the wood&#;s colour to an alluring dark brown &#; resulting in a clean, knot-free tropical timber.
Walnut&#;s iconic creamy, dark chocolate browns (sometimes with purple tinges) immediately evoke a sense of grandeur and magnificence.
A staple of luxury penthouses, walnut finishes beautifully and provides a luxurious, decorative appearance with its outstanding, eye-catching and breathtaking grain pattern.
It&#;s as iconic as oak and maple, but sits at the complete opposite end of the colour spectrum. Walnut slats are a go-to if you&#;re after a darker-themed interior, or you&#;re looking to provide balance to a very light and airy space.
Given the inherent beauty of wood and the clean, linear design, slats are exceptionally architecturally versatile. They are popularly used to create a feature wall, accenting key areas in a room, such as a fireplace, seating or plant arrangements. If you&#;re framing a TV or media area, slats can even be used to hide cables and streamline the wall.
Do you have an interior design style in mind? Paler woods like maple, oak, fir and cedar can be used to create a contemporary, Japandi or Nordic-inspired space, with darker woods like walnut and Thermo-Tulipwood adding grandeur, elegance and atmosphere.
You might want to match your slats with other wooden elements in your design scheme (perhaps with your flooring or other furniture), or contrast them with your wall colours allowing the slats to &#;pop&#;. Use them to define your space without dominating it; too much texture or colour can be overwhelming. Sparing use is key.
Pay attention to those wood elements in your space which you would want to retain when designing &#; sofas, coffee tables, flooring, TV stands. Matching these with your slats, even if just closely, can make a room seem really well put together and cohesive.
If you have darker coloured walls, maple or oak can add an elegant contrast; similarly, walnut or Thermo-Tulipwood can complement white walls to create a magnificent feature. A slatted wall can bring character, warmth and a textural element to a room of &#;cold&#; colours.
Slatted panelling in a bedroom, perhaps behind the bed, can bring an uplifting warmth to the room &#; somewhere you&#;d love to wake up every morning.
As you&#;ll probably have gathered from reading so far, wood slats can be used almost anywhere! They really are exceptionally versatile, able to be applied as a focal point or intriguing backdrop.
They aren&#;t reserved just for the go-large architectural finishes, either. They can be at home in almost any area of the house &#; whether in your bathroom or as a flourish in your home office. One creative, practical and visually appealing idea is to use slatted panels on your staircase.
Another interesting design trend is to use wooden slats to camouflage your doors. Blending in cloak rooms or spare toilets provides a decorative, contemporary finish. The same principle can apply to integrated appliances in your kitchen; you can make it seem as if your fridge isn&#;t even there, creating a seamless path for the eyes to travel across.
Depending on the shape of your space, these slats can also be used to divide your room, creating small little areas of privacy without making your room seem any smaller. Using these as slatted screens can be a stylish alternative to a solid wall, making the space flowing easily, with the shadow silhouettes from the sun or lighting providing a nice aesthetic touch throughout the day.
Slats can help you to make an architectural statement on any type of building, including commercial properties. Redcar Leisure and Community Heart boasts Western Red Cedar interior panelling of different widths.
The most popular orientation for internal slats is undoubtedly the more contemporary vertical style from floor to ceiling, which has the added benefit of adding the illusion of height. Horizontal slats evoke a more traditional feel, but can still work fantastically. A panelled feature wall is a timeless thing, so you can be sure it&#;ll look smart for years to come.
If you&#;re seeking wood slats in a certain block colour to match your scheme, then they can be painted, but we always think it&#;s best to let wood&#;s natural beauty shine through. That said, black slats are a great solution if you&#;re looking to introduce a darker wall to your space without it seeming too devoid of character, which is a big risk when painting.
So, to sum up some of our top tips when designing an interior with wood slat panelling&#;
At Duffield Timber, we&#;re a leading UK importer, machinist and supplier of quality interior solid timber wall slats.
Our slats are available as individual pieces and are wider than most others offered on the market. This gives you more natural wood, less fixing time and greater coverage, making them more cost effective.
We source the finest, most beautiful, sustainable and durable timber species from across the world and machine them right here on site in North Yorkshire. We also offer external timber cladding, decking and fencing!
You can also reach us through our contact page, by emailing or by phoning 640 564.
Ever since the first time I saw a wood slat wall, I couldn&#;t wait to add one to my home! I have seen many different styles (plain wood against a white wall, painted wood on a painted wall&#;) and wanted to try something slightly different. I absolutely love black accent walls, like the one that I have in my master bedroom, but didn&#;t want the entire wall black. That&#;s when I decided on a black wall with stained wood slats!
For more information, please visit wooden slat panelling.
My next obstacle was justifying the cost of a wood slat wall. I am big on budget friendly home renovations and this was no exception. The wall I wanted to install the slats on was rather large and the cost of wood started to add up. Therefore, I decided plywood was a cost effective alternative.
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Determine Amount and Type of PlywoodIn order to determine how much plywood I would need, I had to do a little math (which oddly is one of my favorite parts of my projects). I wanted my slats and spacing to be the same width. For easy of planning, I decided on 1&#; wood slats and spaces. I divided the width of the wall by two and this was the total number of slats that I would need.
In order to account for waste from the saw blade cuts and to make sure I had a few extra slats, I purchased two pieces of 3/4&#; x 4&#; x 8&#; birch plywood. I chose to use birch plywood since I would be staining it. Any stain grade plywood would work.
Cut the PlywoodI had my local hardware store cut the plywood in half when I purchased it. This made it easier for me to handle.
Luckily, I had a little help from my husband when cutting the plywood. A second set of hands is super helpful when running plywood through a table saw! We cut both sheets of plywood into 1&#; slats.
Safety is obviously key when working with power tools. It is very important to keep your hands away from the saw blade and use a push stick or pushblock with the table saw. We were extra careful when we got to the last few slats on each piece of plywood.
Sand the PlywoodI started by sanding the cut edges of the plywood. I mainly wanted to get rid of the rough edges since I knew it would be nearly impossible to make them smooth. It was easiest to line all of the pieces up and sand them at once using my orbital sander.
As soon as the top and sides were sanded, I hand sanded the edges with a sanding sponge to smooth them out. I didn&#;t bother sanding the face of the plywood that would be up against the wall.
Paint the WallSince most of the paint would be covered by the slats, I want concerned about the quality of paint. I used a cheap matte black paint and applied two quick coats to the accent wall. I allowed the paint to dry before installing the wood slats.
Stain the PlywoodSometimes I wonder why I bother venturing away from my go-to products.. For the stain, I purchased a Golden Oak color thinking that I wanted a light stain. I tested a piece of the plywood in the room and ultimately decided it was too golden against our dark floors. Therefore, I went with my favorite stain, Special Walnut (which I should have chosen in the first place).
I started by lining up several slats on their side. I used a paint brush to apply stain to the two cut sides first. The brush did a much better job of getting stain in all of the cracks than a rag. These sides really sucked up the stain.
Once the sides were stained, I applied a light coat of stain to the front surfaces using a rag. I allowed the stain to dry overnight.
If I were smart, now is when I would have sealed the plywood&#;but I decided to wait until it was on the wall.
Cut the Slats to LengthSince no wall in my house is straight, I did not expect this wall to be an exception. Therefore, I only cut a handful of slats at a time. I cut the length of the wood slats using a miter saw. I installed those slats and then cut the next batch. This ensured that the slats weren&#;t too long or short.
Install the SlatsI&#;ve found that it&#;s easiest to install repeating trim work if I use a spacer. For the slat wall, I cut one of the slats slightly shorter than the rest and used it as a spacer. This would ensure that the wood slats and spacing were the same. The spacer was cut shorter than the slats so that it would be easier to remove once the slat was installed.
To secure the slats to the drywall, I used both construction adhesive and my finish nailer. I applied several small dots of construction adhesive to the wood slat and then nailed it to the wall, making sure the spacer was tight between the two slats. I put the nails in at a slight angle and alternated directions (left to right). Once the slat was secure, I removed the spacer and moved on to the next!
Cut around Any OutletsI had one outlet and one blank cover plate on the accent wall. Luckily, the slats were spaced perfectly to where I only needed to cut one slat per plate cover. For these, I simply cut out enough of the slat to install the covers.
Seal the Wood SlatsAs I said earlier, it would have been much easier to seal the slats before I installed them on the wall. Using a brush, I applied a quick coat of polyurethane with a satin finish to the front surface of each slat.
Air Out the RoomJust a fair warning&#;the stain from the slat wall did smell for quite a few days after installing it. I aired the room out, used an odor absorber, and made sure the smell was gone before I allowed my sons to sleep in this room. If you are not able to keep the room clear until the smell dissipates, I recommend allowing the stained wood slats to cure elsewhere before you install them.
Enjoy the Beauty of the Wood Slat WallThe finished slat wall was quite satisfying&#;it made the room feel much more rich. I loved it so much that I decided to extend the slat wall to the area around my bay window! The slat wall and bay window treatment made my boys&#; bedroom look amazing!!
Now all I need to do is find another place to install a slat wall! I think I&#;m just a little obsessed&#;
For more projects and inspiration, follow me on Instagram and Pinterest&#;I&#;m always working on something new!
**Note: I am not a professional and do not claim to be an expert. Please be sure to always read instructions for all tools and products. Safety is very important and should be your top priority. Wear necessary protection when using tools (eye wear, hearing protection, gloves, etc.) and dust masks when sanding or cutting. Simply Aligned Home is not responsible for any injury or damage. All of my designs are not professionally designed and are for private use only.**
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